Starting 5, Feb. 19: Lillard wins MVP, East wins 73rd All-Star

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Ten years ago, as a 23-year-old rising-star guard, Damian Lillard became the first player to participate in five All-Star weekend events.

Last night, as the oldest player on the Eastern Conference All-Star roster, he made a lot more history.

THE LINEUP

  1. ⌚ What a weekend for Dame
  2. Hali, Brown, Towns go off
  3. Tyrese being Tyrese
  4. Top photos from All-Star 2024
  5. Into the home stretch

1. WHAT A WEEKEND FOR DAMIAN LILLARD

Damian Lillard goes off for 39 points on 11/23 3PM to be named the 2024 Kia NBA All-Star Game MVP.

Just 24 hours after becoming the first repeat champion in the Starry 3-Point Contest in 16 years, Damian Lillard still had a few 3s left in the tank to unleash during Sunday’s All-Star Game.

Dame’s 11th and final 3 of the night came on a pull-up from half court with 22 seconds left ( here’s every angle), putting a bow on his brilliant showing and the final points of a record-setting night in Indianapolis (more on that in Section 2).

In his first All-Star start and his first All-Star representing the East, Dame claimed his first All-Star Game MVP, adding the Kobe Bryant trophy to his 3-point trophy from Saturday night. He’s got a lot of hardware to pack before heading back to Milwaukee.

  • The numbers: 39 points, 14-26 FG, 11-23 3P, 6 assists, 3 rebounds in 28 minutes
  • The highlights: Dame’s night summed up in 3:51
  • The company: Joined Michael Jordan (1987-88, Slam Dunk) as only players to win an All-Star Saturday Night competition and All-Star MVP in the same year
  • The plan:  Dame said the 3-point champ/MVP combo was his goal entering the weekend: “It was something that I put my mind on and that’s going to be what my intentions are this weekend and I was able to do it.”
  • The p[hotoshoot:  It’s customary for contest winners and MVPs to have photos taken with their trophies postgame. But Dame had a special photographer … his daughter

While the Indianapolis crowd was pulling for Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton for MVP, Dame’s fellow All-Stars had nothing but praise for his performance.

  • Kevin Durant: “Me and Kawhi was in awe of him shooting from the halfcourt line like it’s a free throw… strength, power, muscle memory.”

2. HALIBURTON, BROWN, TOWNS LEAD THE WAY

Timberwolves star goes off for game-high 50 points in 73rd NBA All-Star Game.

The East finished with a trio of 30+ point scorers as they posted All-Star Game records of 211 points and 42 3-pointers, passing the previous marks of 196 and 35, respectively.

  • Jaylen Brown: The AT&T Slam Dunk runner-up scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half, including eight straight in the final two minutes of the third quarter after the West had cut the East’s 25-point lead down to 12
  • Haliburton: The hometown star caught fire early, draining five 3s in the first, with the crowd exploding after every splash. He finished with 32 points almost exclusively on 3s (10-14 from 3, 1-1 from 2)
  • Haliburton postgame: “I don’t take this life for granted, it’s a dream come true for me.”

In the West, the game’s high scorer, Karl-Anthony Towns, dropped a 50-burger, including 31 in the fourth – the most points ever scored in a single quarter in All-Star history.

New Setting, Same Shai: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a league-high 39 30+ point games in 53 games played this season. On Sunday, finished with 31 —  the closest he could possibly get to his regular season average (31.1).

3. TYRESE BEING TYRESE

Tyrese Haliburton comes out firing, going 5-for-5 in front of his home crowd in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

As he warmed up before making his first All-Star start in his home city, Haliburton chatted with the Inside the NBA crew while being mic’d up, leading to this exchange with Shaquille O’Neal.

  • Shaq:  “I’m going to give you some advice my brother. This is your city. Do not pass the ball. Take the game over. Make sure you go home with that MVP.”
  • Tyrese: “Shaq, you know passing is what I do though, right?”

Fast forward to the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter and this run of four straight East possessions:

  • Haliburton hits the 3 to give the East 200 points (1:27 to play)
  • He hits another 3 to give him 30 points (1:14 left)
  • He throws down a dunk to give him 32 and has the home crowd amped for a late MVP burst (1:01)
  • He misses a 3, but the game is well in hand at this point (0:50)

Haliburton (32 pts) had the ball in his hands with a chance to pass Lillard (33 pts) as the scoring leader of the winning team. But rather than heed Shaq’s pregame advice, Tyrese did what he does.

He passed … to Lillard … who drained a 3 to give him 36 points. Dame then caps it off with the half-court 3 on the East’s final possession.

After the game, Hali seemed content with how things played out. “Good weekend overall, had a lot of fun, put on for the city, so it’s a W for us. Let’s get ready for the second half of the season.”

More Fun Moments From Sunday

  • After unleashing a fast break tomahawk dunk that gave us mirror images of his first All-Star Game back in 2005, LeBron joked with Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic on the West bench about the guys he played with during his first All-Star: Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Dr. J …”
  • Luka and Joker were not only joking with LeBron, they also played a game of hot potato coming up the court – passing back and forth three times before Jokic tipped it over to SGA for a layup
  • The four first-time All-Stars put together some highlight moments as they combined for 44 points, 24 rebounds and 16 assists in 71 minutes. Scottie Barnes led the group with 16 points, followed by Brunson (12), Maxey (10) and Banchero (6).
  • Playground games: The All-Star Game saw Trae Young dribble between Kevin Durant’s legs to get into the paint for a finish, as well as Bam Adebayo pull off the self-inbounds pass by tossing it off of Jokic’s back. 

4. SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE 73RD ALL-STAR GAME

From college reunions to debut performances, check out some of the greatest moments from Sunday night, captured in real time.

5. INTO THE HOME STRETCH

The NBA schedule roars back with 12 games on Thursday, with Mavs-Suns at 7:30 ET on TNT, Lakers-Warriors at 10 ET on TNT and 52 days until the regular season ends. What should you know?

  • 30 under 30: Every NBA team has fewer than 30 games left until the regular season ends on April 14 and the NBA AT&T Play-In Tournament starts two days later
  • 10 advance: The teams with the seventh through 10th-best winning percentages in both conferences earn spots in the Play-In. The two teams who emerge from that bracket become the 7th and 8th in the Playoffs, which start April 20

Out West, four teams sit within 3 games of 1st place for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when six teams did.

  • Those teams? The first-place Wolves, who lead the conference at the break for the first time ever, followed by the Thunder (1.5 games out), Clippers (2 games) and Nuggets (3 games)
  • Who’s on fire? Over their last 15 games, the Clippers and Suns (both 11-4) Lakers, Wolves and Thunder (all 10-5) have put up the best records in the conference. Over their last 10, the Warriors lead the West at 8-2
  • 10 Over .500: From the first-place Wolves to the 10th-place Warriors (27-26), the top teams in the West all sit above .500

In The East, the Celtics hold a 6-game lead over the field, the first East team to have a lead that big coming out of All-Star since the 2019-20 Bucks.

  • Cleveland wants a word: Since Jan. 1 – not to mention over their last 15, 10 and virtually any way you slice it – Cavs have the NBA’s best record, at 18-3 since 2024 started
  • In that time, they’ve climbed from seventh in the East to second, ahead of the Bucks in third
  • Just three games separate the fourth-place Knicks and eighth-place Magic