NBA Celebrity Game 2017: Top Moments, Video Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Moving back to a traditional East vs. West matchup for the 2017 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, the East side rode a commanding first half to an easy 88-59 victory over the West in New Orleans. 

Last year's MVP of the celebrity game, Win Butler, got off to a dazzling start for the East with six points in the first quarter, pushing his team out to a 20-12 lead early. 

Jonah Keri of CBS Sports, not surprisingly, praised Butler's efforts on and off the court with a stellar Arcade Fire pun thrown in to make it the perfect tweet from Canada's favorite sportswriter:

However, it was Brandon Armstrong who stole the MVP award from his teammate with 16 points and 15 rebounds. 

But the story of the game is not about stats. The bigger topic of discussion is always about which celebrities either show their actual basketball chops or make a complete fool of themselves on national television. 

Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry displayed his shooting form and got a word of encouragement from his team's best player:

As good as Lasry's form looked to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks owner was upstaged by 59-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Schmidt when he showed off some range with his jumper, via the NBA:

Plays like that helped the East storm out to a 39-23 lead at the half. Butler, showing no signs of slowing down, nearly had a double-double in the first half with 12 points and seven rebounds. The Arcade Fire singer just missed becoming the third player to win multiple MVP awards, after Kevin Hart (four times) and Terrell Owens (twice).

Coming out for the second half, there was a brief moment of harmony between the two teams as they participated in the mannequin challenge:

Eric Freeman of Yahoo Sports was not a fan of this wonderful show of community from these competitors who were fighting for every point they could get:

It's easy to get caught up in competition while watching an athletic event, but sometimes we have to remember there are times to put away the animosity on the court for the greater good. What's better than the mannequin challenge?

After the East and West were able to get back to business, Armstrong decided to impersonate James Harden and was wildly spot on:

The non-travel call summed up the night for the West squad. It was a struggle on both sides of the ball, leading to an outburst of emotion from head coach and SportsCenter anchor Michael Smith. 

There was one moment late in the game that was able to bring Smith back down to earth. Famed New Orleans Saints fan Jarrius Robertson was a surprise sub late in the fourth quarter and showed some terrific crossover skills before draining his only shot of the game, via the NBA:

Robertson's moment of triumph salvaged what was an otherwise grim day for the West. 

The East earned its victory through force of will, determination and talent. The West had the unfortunate distinction of being on the other side of things, but no one can put a price on kicking off All-Star weekend in glorious fashion.