Tim Ajmani
The Corsair
Well, you can’t say there wasn’t any defense or physicality in the NBA All-Star Game. The NBA’s 2012 All-Star Game was held Sunday evening with the Western Conference All-Stars defeating the Eastern Conference 152-149. Unlike the NFL Pro Bowl held earlier in February, the NBA All-Star game got a little tight and heated at times. Kobe Bryant suffered a nose-bleed after a hit from Dwayne Wade, which resulted in possibly the first ever stoppage of time in a NBA All-Star game due to blood.
There was also trash talking, including Kobe jarring with both LeBron James and Paul Pierce. The first half was quite the laughter as the West built a nineteen point lead at halftime, which expanded to as big as twenty-one in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, the East made a game of it, headed by James who made several spectacular three-pointers in the closing stretch of the game. While James again struggled in the final minute, he very possibly could have won the MVP award had the East pulled out the victory.
Kevin Durant was named MVP instead, accounting for 36 points on the night and leading the West in scoring. While it took a while for the competitiveness of the players to kick in, the NBA All-Star game left me longing for the second half of the NBA season to start. It can’t come fast enough.