INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead. More than ever before.
Once again, the All-Star Game was all offense.
Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 points on his way to being named MVP of the showcase matchup, and the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the 73-year history of the NBA All-Star Game. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
“We had fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said.
That fun came with 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 record of 191 in any half, set last year, and the East tied a single-team record for any half by scoring 104 by intermission.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32 for the East, while Antetokounmpo had 23 and Boston’s Jayson Tatum finished with 20.
“To be able to have this kind of accomplishment, it’s special,” Lillard said.
Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a former prep star at Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights, scored 31 points for the West.
“The shotmaking from the East was incredible,” said West forward Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns. “Hard to play defense when somebody’s shooting 30-, 40-footers over you.”
The West scored a ton of points, too: At 186, it had the fourth most by any team in All-Star history. And obviously, the most ever in a loss.
Among the other records:
— The East attempted 97 3-pointers; the previous record was 90 by Team LeBron in 2019.
— The teams combined for 66 3s made and 168 3s attempted (previous records were 62 and 167 in 2019).
— The teams combined for 163 field goals made and 289 attempted (previous records were 162 in 2017 and 286 in 2016).
“Obviously, it wasn’t high intensity at all,” Haliburton said.
Lillard made some history, too. He repeated as the 3-point shootout champion on Saturday night, then won MVP on Sunday night. The only other player to win a Saturday event and All-Star MVP in the same weekend was Michael Jordan in 1988, when the Chicago Bulls great won the dunk contest as well as the MVP trophy.
“Dame put on a show,” Tatum said of Lillard, “and I was happy for him.”
The highlights were from everywhere. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the third quarter: swish. Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks 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, who is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so the Golden State Warriors guard simply laid it in instead.
The only drama in the fourth was about the record — and really, that wasn’t in doubt. The East had 160 points through three quarters, needing 37 more to set the team All-Star record.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left broke the mark, giving the East 197. Haliburton made the shot that sent a scoreboard to the 200-point mark for the first time in any sort of official NBA history, connecting from deep with 1:27 left.
Lillard said the East wanted the record.
“Everybody was asking what the record was,” Lillard said. “We found out and went after it.”
Lillard ended it in style with a 44-footer to close the scoring. He made 11 3-pointers on the night, with the official distance of those recorded at 347 feet. A typical NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 feet; Lillard averaged 31 1/2 feet on his 3s Sunday night.
Durant said he was watching Lillard on the West bench while sitting with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard.
“We were in awe,” Durant said.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental. There were 14 steals, most of those coming off wayward passes, and there were even three blocked shots.
Otherwise, it was shooting practice. And the tone was set quickly as Haliburton had five 3s in a wild span of just 1:32 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 contest after last season’s 184-175 matchup was widely panned — and television ratings plummeted.
Even Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, was hoping the message from the league resonated and players took the event 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.”
They might not have competed the way Bird wanted, but they showed the fans plenty about how good they are.
It had a big-game atmosphere similar to the NBA Finals 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 activities with a hat on backwards.
Fun was had, and LeBron James — in his 20th All-Star Game, extending his record — said there was one big takeaway.
“The good thing that came out of tonight is none of the players were injured,” the Los Angeles Lakers forward said. “Everybody came out unscathed.”
Except the scoreboard, perhaps.