LOS ANGELES, United States — Somebody forgot
to tell
Stephen Curry that the three-point contest was Saturday as the Golden
State Warriors superstar put on a shooting clinic to lead Team LeBron to
victory in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
اضافة اعلان
LeBron James sank the game-winning basket as his
side edged Team Durant 163–160, giving James his fifth straight all-star win as
team captain.
But Curry was the brightest shooting star, winning
the MVP award with a 50-point performance that included a record 16 threes in
front of a crowd of 19,400 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
He finished just two shy of
Anthony Davis’
single-game scoring record of 52 points but shattered Paul George’s previous
record of nine threes in 2016.
“I tried, I
tried,” said Curry of flirting with the single-game scoring record, held by
Los Angeles Lakers’ Davis who scored 52 points in 2017.
“When I get going the energy picks up. It is pretty
special being back in Ohio.
“Obviously this trophy has very special meaning. I
am very humbled, very blessed and I appreciate it.”
The All-Star Game was preceded by the three-point
shooting contest on Saturday, a competition Curry won in 2021 in
Chicago.
Karl-Anthony Towns won this year’s contest, which Curry did not enter.
Curry was booed during the introductions because of
the three titles he won over the Cleveland Cavaliers with the Warriors.
Ohio-born local hero James nailed the winning shot
with a fadeaway jumper to elevate Team LeBron to the target score of 163.
“I could not have dreamed of that moment, any better
than the actuality that just happened,” James said.
The 37-year-old was playing in his 18th all-star
game, which ties him with the late
Kobe Bryant and moves him to one shy of the
record held by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James was one of
two captains, the other being
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who did not
attend the game due to the death earlier Sunday of his grandmother.
Memphis Grizzlies rising star Ja Morant scored six
points and was one of seven players making their all-star debut.
The other first-time all-stars were the Charlotte
Hornets’
LaMelo Ball, Cleveland Cavaliers duo Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland,
the Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins, the San Antonio Spurs’ Dejounte
Murray and the Toronto Raptors’ Fred VanVleet.
During Saturday’s halftime, the league honored the
NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team with players from every decade of the league’s
existence in attendance for the diamond anniversary.
The 76 players who made up the anniversary team —
including six 2022 all-stars — have combined for 736 all-star selections.
“I was like a kid in a candy store just watching all
the greats, all the legends,” said Curry of meeting his boyhood heroes. “That
helped me in the third quarter because I just let loose and had fun.
“You walk around talking to the best of the best, it
brings out the best in you,” he said.
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