On Selasa, 18 Februari 2014
NEW ORLEANS — If you like defensive basketball, you were out of luck at Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.
The 163-155 Eastern Conference comeback victory was the product of a record-setting night, the most points in the history of the game.
There were great performances: Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant had 38 points each. Griffin hit 19 of 23 shots. Kyrie Irving had 31 points and 14 assists. Carmelo Anthony was 8-for-13 from three-point range.
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Irving, who had told Shaquille O'Neal on NBA TV earlier in the week he wanted to be MVP, got his wish.
"I was going out there trying to compete," said Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard. "It's a great honor."
But this is the All-Star Game and that means that when you end up being the star of stars, then you've got to show it off. So it was that as Irving was handed the trophy, former Cavs star LeBron James was pushing for him to raise it up high.
"I wanted him to have his moment and the moment is to hold that trophy over your head," James said. "It's one of the few moments in our game like that. Winning a championship and get MVP and All Star MVP."
For his part, Irving — who won the MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge two years ago and the Three-Point Contest last year — said he was more interested in the East winning the game. They had lost the past three.
"We kind of took it personal," he said.
Except for that part about defense.
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The East came from being 18 points down midway through the third quarter, and finished the game on a 10-0 run that put it away.
As they were on that last run, the West got a couple of chances to hit a shot
So East coach Frank Vogel was yelling for them to get back on defense.
"They just laughed at me," Vogel said.
West coach Scott Brooks admitted defense wasn't a big part of the game plan.
"No," Brooks said when asked if he pushed his team to play defense. "But they played it enough. It's an All-Star Game. I marvel at their talents for them to come together after about 15 minutes of practice and do a great job of playing with each other."
