The Eastern Conference Team beat the Western Conference Team 211-186 in the NBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday.
The East's score set a new points record by any side in All-Star history after draining 42 triples, which is also an All-Star high. Damian Lillard made 11 shots from downtown to get 39 points and was named the All-Star Most Valuable Player.
Besides Lillard, the East had another two players who reached double-digit points: Tyrese Haliburton who had 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists after knocking down 10 triples, and Jalen Brown who got 36 points.
On the West's side, Sha Gilgeous-Alexander was the scoring leader in the starting lineup with 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns got court-high 50 points off the bench, but he shot 4-for-13 behind the arc.
Though the two teams combined to score nearly 400 points in Sunday's game, it was an awkward event. Usually, players only grow serious in the final quarter of the All-Star Game to make it look like a close contest. So, the two sides would often try not to create a big score difference in the first three periods.
Unfortunately, that was not the case on Sunday. Both the East and the West took most of their shots outside the 3-point line in the game, but the East simply shot much better than the West, hence the 24-point lead (160-136).
The All-Star Game would have been in a better rhythm if experienced veterans like LeBron James had been in control. Nonetheless, James played no more than 14 minutes because of his ankle injury. Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic were happy to leave the stage for the young generation. Kevin Durant and Towns played with more seriousness than their teammates, but their efforts were not enough to keep the game from turning into a forgone conclusion early.