By Robert Steward

NEW YORK CITY–

The NBA held its annual playground pick-up game, otherwise known as the All-Star game, tonight at Madison Square Garden, which has certainly seen its share of iconic moments. One can’t forget The New York Knicks’ Willis Reed hobbling onto the floor in the opening moments of game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals and hitting his first 2 shots in the early going to inspire his teammates to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers and crown the Knicks as NBA Champions. Other iconic moments have included the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971, the so-called “Fight of the Century,” and when the New York Rangers won the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 1994. Tonight’s game will not be remembered as such.

In a game that featured a record total of 321 points between both teams, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars, 163-158. Both squads were intent on making sure that no injuries occurred, as there was absolutely no defense played and no hard fouls committed by either side. But, as those who follow the NBA know, it is only an exhibition for the fans. Tonight’s contest resembled a glorified highlight reel shootaround. A 3-point contest ensued as both teams threw up an insane number of 3-point attempts. The West connected on 25 of 65 from long range, while the East was 23 of 68 from beyond the arc.

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson appeared to still be in a 3-point funk carryover from last night’s 3-point shooting contest, where he was trounced by teammate Stephen Curry in the finals. Thompson, in 20 minutes of playing time, threw up 11 shots, 9 of which were from 3-point range. He connected on exactly one trey and finished with 7 points. Meanwhile, Curry was a little better, making 6 of 16 from the floor, 3 of 10 on 3-pointers, for 15 points in 27 minutes of play. Sacramento Kings’ Center DeMarcus Cousins made the most of his 18 minutes of playing time, making 6 of 7 from the floor and finished with 14 points.

The West had more success in the early going, leading 47-36 after the first quarter. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook set an All-Star record for most points in the first half when he reached 25 with 7:24 still left in the half. Officiating the game with actual referees should be considered optional in future All-Star games, as the players resembled wax figures from Madame Tussauds when they were on defense. One of the game’s rare defensive highlights occurred for the East with 4:07 left in the first half as Toronto’s Kyle Lowry actually made a steal and then gave up the ball for a nice alley-oop to Washington’s John Wall to make it 73-63, in favor of the West. The East made a late 10-2 run at the end of the half to cut the West’s lead to 1, 83-82, at halftime. The 165 total points for both teams set a new All-Star record. A grand total of 2 fouls were called in the first half.

Another highlight play occurred at 8:11 in the third quarter as Lowry threw an underhand lob from way beyond the 3-point line to Cleveland’s LeBron James for a resounding reverse dunk to put the East in front, 93-91, following an 11-0 run by the East. But the lead was short-lived as Thompson hit his one and only 3-point shot 8 seconds later to regain the lead for the West, 94-93. Westbrook finished the quarter with a total of 33 points and both squads were tied at 122 entering the 4th quarter.

As the 4th quarter played on, more iconic moments at the Garden came to mind. There were great concerts played there, such as Elvis in 1972, Michael Jackson in 1984, and, of course, who could forget the 2001 concert in the wake of 9/11, which featured Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Jay-Z? While Ariana Grande put on quite the halftime show, the layup drills and 3-point bonanza continued as the game drew to a close. Following a 3-pointer by Houston’s James Harden, the West lead, 161-153, with 1:23 left. The East made one last valiant effort as the hometown Knicks’ representative, Carmelo Anthony, nailed a trey to cut the West’s lead to 161-156 with 42 seconds left. Following a miss by the Clippers’ Chris Paul, the East proceeded to miss three straight 3-point shots until Chicago’s Pau Gasol put back a miss to make it 161-158 with 2.8 seconds left. Inexplicably, the East then fouled twice to give Westbrook one more chance to go to the free throw line. He sank both free throws for the final 2 points of the game.

Westbrook finished with 41 points, one shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s record, to earn the MVP of the game. Harden added 29 for the West squad, while Portland’s LaMarcus chipped in with 18, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. The East All-Stars were led by James, who scored 30 on a game-high 32 minutes. Atlanta’s Kyle Korver came off the bench to score 21 on 7 of 13 from the floor, all but one shot coming from beyond the arc. Wall finished with 19 for the East. As far as being an entertaining game, well, let’s just say I’ve never heard the Garden that quiet for such an extravaganza.