San Francisco (AFP) – Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco on Sunday. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded line-up coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.”
Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting line-up that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James withdrew from the line-up, citing a nagging foot and ankle injury.
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But even without the 40-year-old James, the veteran line-up was always in control against opponents spearheaded by Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Donovan Mitchell. Curry was named Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game, the second time he has achieved the accolade after winning the honor in 2022.
“It’s a celebration of a lot of great things — to be able to play with these guys for as long as we have,” Curry said after being handed his MVP award. “It’s our responsibility to come out and put on a show and I thank them for helping me do that,” Curry added, gesturing to his teammates.
The NBA opted to shake up the format for this year’s All-Star game after mounting criticism of the annual mid-season celebration as being a meaningless exhibition game lacking in competitive edge. The old Eastern Conference v Western Conference format was scrapped in favor of a four-team mini-tournament, with each team managed by basketball greats O’Neal, Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Candace Parker. Each game was played on a first-to-40 basis rather than in the conventional four-quarter format.
But this year’s new format failed to impress everyone. Curry’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green — working as a television analyst for the event — lambasted the competition during Sunday’s broadcast. “You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done. C’mon what are we doing? This is ridiculous,” Green said. “This sucks. It ain’t basketball.”
However, Milwaukee star Lillard voiced approval for the format after helping O’Neal’s team complete victory in Sunday’s final. “I think they were just looking for a more competitive game and trying to find ways to create that,” Lillard said. “I thought tonight was a little bit more competitive than it had been the last few years. I think that was the number one thing — provide a bit of entertainment and a little bit more competitiveness on the floor, and it felt like we did that tonight.”
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