In the midst of critiques regarding competitiveness, the NBA All-Star Game made history Sunday night as The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186. The East wrote down history as their 211 points broke the 73 year-old record for most points by a team in a game. 

The combined score of 397 shattered the previous record of 374 established in 2017, with the Eastern Conference sinking 42 3-pointers to surpass the 35 made by Team LeBron in 2019. Both teams scored a total of 193 points in the first half, surpassing the previous record of 191 set last year. The East team also tied a record by scoring 104 points by halftime in a NBA All-Star Game.

During the NBA All-Star game, Damian Lillard led the East with 39 points, followed by Jaylen Brown with 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the Indiana Pacers with 32. It may have gone unnoticed that Karl-Anthony Towns put up 50 points for the West in only 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched 31 points for the Western Conference team.

NBA ALL STARS AT INDIANA 

The highlights came from all over the place at the NBA All-Star Game . Lillard nailed a shot from halfcourt in the third quarter - nothing but net. Luka Doncic attempted a shot from approximately 70 feet away towards the end of the first half, but it hit near the top of the backboard. Towns even tossed an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is known for his shooting skills rather than dunking, so he opted for a layup instead. 

Playing defense seemed to be more of a choice rather than a priority.

Haliburton drained five 3-pointers in just over a minute in the first quarter, propelling the East to a 53-47 lead at the end of the first 12 minutes. 
Adam Silver, along with other league officials, aimed to enhance the competitiveness of the NBA All-Star Game following the criticism of last season's 184-175 score and the subsequent drop in TV ratings. 
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who was honored at the NBA Legends Brunch on Sunday, expressed his hope that the league's message would resonate with players and that they would take the All-Star Game more seriously.

The game had a significant, Finals-like vibe - although clearly not quite the intensity of a playoff game. Donovan Mitchell executed an impressive 50-foot inbounds pass with finesse, Bam Adebayo creatively inbounded the ball off Nikola Jokic's back before scoring a 3-pointer, and Devin Booker sported a backwards hat during pregame warmups.

THE NEXT NBA All-Star Game

The 74th NBA All-Star Game is set to take place on Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, the venue of the Golden State Warriors. This will mark the NBA's return to the Bay Area for the first time since 2000. 
 

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Image credit of Stacy Revere/Getty Images