NBA All-Star Game 2015: Score, Top Performers and Highlights
The superteam that is the Atlanta Hawks, down one, did not have enough to lead the Eastern Conference over the Western Conference at the 2015 All-Star Game. This game did not feature some newfound display of effort and defensive intensity to match the resurgence of the Slam Dunk Contest from the night before.
It was still one memorable spectacle, though.
The Gasol brothers faced one another to start things at center court and never looked back.
From there, the action produced wild passes, wow-worthy dunks and even a slam by one Dirk Nowitzki:
More a celebration of the sport than anything else, the event served up the same winner for the fourth time in five years, although it did so in historic fashion this time, as ESPN Stats & Info details:
Below is a look at more highlights and the top performers.
2015 NBA All-Star Game Score
| WEST | 47 | 36 | 39 | 41 | 163 |
| EAST | 36 | 46 | 40 | 36 | 158 |
Top Performers
Someone has to be that guy at the All-Star Game each year.
This year it was Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. From the opening tip, Westbrook clearly moved at a different pace than his peers, weaving in and out of nonchalant defenders and stuffing the stat sheet.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders summed up Westbrook's first-half performance:
The top highlight, if one has to choose among the many, comes thanks to a connection with Chris Paul:
Westbrook finished the half with 27 points and went on to shoot a 16-of-28 mark from the field with five conversions from long range for a grand total of 41 points. Feel free to sprinkle in the five rebounds, but the points are what matters.
The league's Twitter account captures Westbrook's special moment, one that fell just one point shy of breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record for most points in an All-Star Game:
While perhaps the biggest record of all did not come into his grasp, Westbrook goes down in the history books as the guy who led the 2015 game to a historic outcome.
From there, the only way to go is up.
LeBron James
It is somewhat poetic that LeBron James chose Madison Square Garden as the venue where he would surpass Michael Jordan for the second-most points in All-Star Game history
Alright, he didn't plan it out like some sort of mastermind years in advance, but rest assured a competitor at his level is concerned about his legacy to the point that he knows where he stands on the all-time list, regardless of whether most everyone else thinks it trivial.
James came out Sunday similar to Westbrook and poured in 22 points by halftime before finishing with 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting with five boards and seven assists.
As much as those assist numbers pop off the page, James was the beneficiary of the love too:
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a superstar such as James would take the night off, especially if a championship run in the second half of the season appears to be in the cards.
This was not true of James, though, who put on a show to remember.
Next year, it's all about taking the No. 1 spot on the list.
A favorite for the league MVP award, James Harden hit the court with something to prove Sunday night.
Most mock Harden for his lack of defense, something that has changed in a major way this season as he leads the Houston Rockets to serious contention mostly without Dwight Howard.
Still, Harden fit in pretty well with the lackadaisical defense put on by all Sunday, and who can blame him?
On the offensive end of the court, Harden was predictably on fire and the beneficiary of one smooth pass by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors:
Harden wound up so impressive on the offensive side of the court that he almost stole the MVP award outright from Westbrook.
Nearly posting a triple double with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists tends to do that for a player.
For Harden, his ability to hum along and post a gaudy stat line that still falls short of some individual hardware may be a cruel bit of foreshadowing. Alas, the competition for the real MVP award is even closer than Sunday's near miss.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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