NBA All-Star: Giannis Antetokounmpo, the captain of the East and 23-point scorer, came his children to the court to show them the NBA All-Star Trophy.

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The East team, lead by captain Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, hoists the trophy alongside his kid (bottom) after defeating the West 211-186 in the NBA All-Star basketball game in Indianapolis. (Image: AP)

New Delhi: In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Eastern Conference outperformed the Western Conference with a dominant performance to win the 73rd NBA All-Star Game. Damian Lillard led the way with 39 points as the Eastern Conference destroyed the Western Conference 211-186 thanks to a record-setting effort.

The East broke the one-team record of 196 points set by the West in 2016 with the help of Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana and Jaylen Brown of Boston, who both scored 36 points off the bench. Milwaukee’s guard Lillard won the Most Valuable Player award by making an incredible eleven 3-pointers out of 23 attempts and going 14-of-26 overall.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the captain of the East, scored 23 points and was named the MVP of the 2021 All-Star Game. After the game, the Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks showed his children the coveted trophy in a heartwarming gesture.

Karl-Anthony Towns’s fruitless efforts

Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota failed to halt the East’s offensive momentum despite his game-high 50 points after coming off the bench. The Timberwolves player led Oklahoma City to a defeat despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroic 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Towns made NBA history by being just the fourth player to score fifty or more points in an All-Star game. Only Jayson Tatum (55 in 2023) and Anthony Davis (52 in 2017) have scored as many points in the history of the game as he did with his 50, which equaled him with Stephen Curry (2022).

A night to remember

In addition to shattering the single-team record for the All-Star Game (211 points), the East also broke the mark for the most combined points in one exciting evening. The former record was broken by 23 points with the 397 total points. LeBron James, the legendary player for the Los Angeles Lakers and four-time NBA MVP, made his record-tying 20th All-Star appearance at the age of 39, albeit he didn’t play much basketball. Due to a left ankle injury, James was limited to just eight points in 14 minutes and did not play in the second half.