One of the best All-Star Weekends in recent memory was capped off with a record breaking finale Sunday night as the NBA’s best from the Eastern and Western conferences squared off.
The West were victorious, defeating their eastern counterparts by an All-Star record score of 196-173. Both team’s scores shattered the previous high score of 163 in a game, which was met in both 2014 and 2015.
The score would come as no surprise to any who watched – the score at half time was 92-90, another All-Star record. Both sides set the record for points in a half in the first half with 182. This year’s’ Western squad broke the record for points in a half by a team with 92 in the first, and then proceeded to break that record in the second half by scoring 102 points.
In addition to all of these team records, Indiana Pacers forward Paul George set the record for 3 point shots made with 9 in an All-Star game. George almost came close to breaking the record for most points scored by a player in an All-Star game, but fell a point short of matching Wilt Chamberlain’s record 42 points.
This All-Star game will also be remembered as Kobe Bryant’s last. The Black Mamba, who announced his retirement earlier this season, didn’t leave without setting a few record of his own, by surpassing Michael Jordan’s record of 37 steals in their All-Star career and starting in his 15th straight All-Star game. After the game, Bryant couldn’t be happier with his final All-Star performance.
In the end it was the West’s Russell Westbrook who was named the 2016 All-Star MVP. Westbrook is the first player to win back to back All-Star MVP awards since Bob Petit in 1958 and 1959. Despite this great accomplishment, Westbrook’s main goal was to enjoy the moment.