Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco.
Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.”
Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden.
Photo: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James withdrew from the lineup, citing a nagging foot and ankle injury, but even without the 40-year-old, the veteran lineup was always in control against opponents spearheaded by Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell.
Curry was named Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game, the second time he has achieved the accolade after winning the honor in 2022.
“It’s a celebration of a lot of great things — to be able to play with these guys for as long as we have,” Curry said after being handed his award.
“It’s our responsibility to come out and put on a show, and I thank them for helping me do that,” Curry added, gesturing to his teammates.
The NBA opted to shake up the format for this year’s All-Star game after mounting criticism of the annual celebration as being a meaningless exhibition game lacking in competitive edge.
The old Eastern Conference v Western Conference format was scrapped in favor of a four-team mini tournament, with each team managed by basketball greats O’Neal, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Candace Parker. Each game was played on a first-to-40 basis rather than in the conventional four-quarter format, but this year’s new format failed to impress everyone.
Curry’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green — working as a television analyst — lambasted the competition during Sunday’s broadcast.
“You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done. C’mon, what are we doing? This is ridiculous,” Green said. “This sucks. It ain’t basketball.”
However, Milwaukee star Lillard voiced approval for the format after helping O’Neal’s team complete victory in the final.
“I think they were just looking for a more competitive game and trying to find ways to create that,” Lillard said. “I thought tonight was a little bit more competitive than it had been the last few years. I think that was the No. 1 thing — provide a bit of entertainment and a little bit more competitiveness on the floor, and it felt like we did that tonight.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS