Shaq's OGs win the 1st NBA All-Star mini-tournament, topping Chuck's Global Stars 41-25 in the final
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“To me, that is the only way to play basketball,” Wembanyama said.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The winning total last year: 211 points.
The winning total this year: 41 points.
An All-Star Game like none other — since it was three games, not one — still had plenty of flash and not a lot of fire. And in the end, Boston’s Jayson Tatum had the dunk that decided a crown.
Shaq’s OGs won the first All-Star mini-tournament in NBA history on Sunday night, getting 15 points from Tatum and 12 from Stephen Curry — three of them on a half-court shot, the sort of highlight the All-Star Game is known for — to beat Chuck’s Global Stars 41-25 in the final.
Curry was the MVP on his home floor at Chase Center, where he and the Golden State Warriors play. He said the weekend was “a celebration of a lot of great things.”
“It’s obviously our responsibility to come out and put on a show,” Curry said, flanked by his fellow OGs. “And I thank them for helping me do that.”
The title game was basically over early, and the halftime show — an 18-minute tribute to TNT — lasted longer than the game did. The Global Stars started the title game 0 for 10 from the field, 0 for 6 from 3-point range and fell into a quick 11-0 hole.
In a regular NBA game, that’s no big deal. In a first-to-40 game against some of the best players on the planet, that’s a problem.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama led the Global Stars with 11 points in the final. He was visibly frustrated when Tatum scored the title-clinching basket.
Wembanyama came into his All-Star debut saying he would play hard, like a real game. And he did.
“To me, that is the only way to play basketball,” Wembanyama said.
It was the debut of the All-Star mini-tournament format: four teams, three games, with only 40 points needed to end each contest.
The league opted for the untimed, short games with hopes that asking All-Stars to play fewer minutes would lead to better competition. Last year’s game in Indianapolis had a 211-186 final score, setting a slew of records but prompting the league to take action after years of urging players to take the exhibition a bit more seriously.
