NBA All-Star Game 2019: Hits and Flops

Jame
2019 NBA All-Star Game
2019 NBA All-Star Game

The 68th NBA All-Star Game was hosted in Charlotte and we were again subjected to an incredible offensive display. Team LeBron came away with a win for the second year in a row with a scoreline of 178-164.

The All-Star had plenty of highlight reels with Dwayne Wade throwing off the backboard for a LeBron throwdown dunk. Giannis had a monster dunk off a Steph bounce pass. Steph himself had a 4-point play over his teammate, Klay Thompson.

Let's have a look at the best and the worst players from the match:

Flop - Joel Embiid

Embiid didn't have a good match
Embiid didn't have a good match

Joel Embiid is having an elite season with the 76ers. But he was quite throughout this All-Star match.

He finished the match with only 10 points and struggled to play defense. Both Durant and LeBron bothered him continuously on the defensive end for the entire match.

Embiid is averaging 27.3 points and 13.5 rebounds per game this season. He will be keen to put this display behind and help the 76ers mount a push for the Eastern Conference championship.

Hit - Klay Thompson

Klay had a great shooting night
Klay had a great shooting night

Klay Thompson is one of the greatest shooters that has ever graced this league. He again displayed his shooting prowess especially when his team needed it the most.

Team LeBron was 20 points behind Team Giannis at one point in the third quarter. But then the second group comprising of Klay, Dame and Beal started making almost all their three-pointers and cut through the lead. Team LeBron took a

Klay connected on 6-12 from outside and ended the match with 20 points. Lillard also had 6 made three-pointers including two consecutive from the NBA logo. Both were very impressive in getting Team LeBron back in the match.

Flop - James Harden

Harden had an off-shooting night
Harden had an off-shooting night

James Harden is the runaway leader for the NBA MVP award at this moment. The reigning MVP is having an all-time great scoring year. Harden is averaging an unbelievable 36.6 points per game for the season.

But Harden had a disappointing outing in this All-Star game. He finished with 12 points on 4-13 shooting from the field. All his 13 field goal attempts were from the 3PT line.

Harden didn't have the same scoring touch that he usually displays playing for the Houston Rockets. Harden and the Rockets will play their first game after the All-Star break at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hit - Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis was dominating as usual
Giannis was dominating as usual

Giannis Antetokounmpo looked like the All-Star MVP favourite after he got off to a dominating start and his team had built a sizable lead. But Team LeBron fought back to win this match and that denied Giannis the MVP award.

Giannis finished the match with a game-high 38 points on 17-23 shooting from the field. He also had 11 rebounds and 5 assists to cap off an impressive performance.

Giannis is also a candidate for the regular season MVP award with his Bucks currently having the best record in the entire NBA.

Flop - Stephen Curry

Steph shot 4-17 from the three-point line
Steph shot 4-17 from the three-point line

Stephen Curry is one of the best entertainers in sports. He is one of the most skilled basketball players ever and is perhaps the greatest shooter that the NBA has ever witnessed.

He had a lot of highlight reel moments in this match. From the bounce pass for a Giannis throwdown to a 4-point play over his Warriors teammate, Klay Thompson, Steph provided all the entertainment.

But from the perspective of the match, Steph's shot was way off. He struggled to get his range and ended up with 4-17 shooting from the 3PT line. He also went cold late in the 4th quarter and his team failed to mount a comeback.

Hit - Kevin Durant

2019 NBA All-Star Game MVP
2019 NBA All-Star Game MVP

Kevin Durant was selected as the MVP of the All-Star game for the second time in his career. Durant ended up scoring 31 points in the match on a very efficient 10-15 shooting from the field and 6-9 shooting from the 3PT line.

Durant didn't have many highlight plays but he quietly kept on getting buckets for his team. He also grabbed 7 boards for his team in 25 minutes of playing time.

The two times finals MVP winner is averaging 27.6 points per game for the season and is shooting a very efficient 51% from the floor.

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Edited by Kaushal Raj