Points records fall at the All-Star Game

INDIANAPOLIS: The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead — more than ever before. And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense.

The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday (Monday in Manila), with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.

Points records fall at the All-Star Game

It was a flurry of records: The total points of 397 smashed the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. The sides combined for 193 points in the first half to break the any-half record of 191 set last year, and the East tied an any-half record by scoring 104 by intermission.

All-Star MVP Damian Lillard scored 39 points for the East, while Jaylen Brown had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32.

Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 for the West.

The highlights were from everywhere. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the third quarter — swish. Luka Doncic tried a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half; it hit near the top of the backboard. Towns even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so he simply laid it in instead.

Defense was optional, sometimes accidental.

Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a 1:32 span in the first quarter, helping the East take a 53-47 lead after the opening 12 minutes.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 matchup was widely panned — and television ratings plummeted.

Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, said was hoping the message from the league resonated and players took the All-Star Game a little more seriously.

“I know what this league’s all about and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I’m proud of today’s players. I like the game they play. … I think it’s very important when you have the best players in the world together, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to show the fans how good they really are.”

It had a big-game, Finals-type atmosphere — but obviously, nothing near a playoff feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inbounds pass underhand, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s backside before dribbling downcourt and making a 3, and Devin Booker went through pregame with a hat on backwards.

The 74th NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, the home of the Golden State Warriors. It’ll be the first time the NBA for the game in the Bay Area since 2000.