INDIANAPOLIS – It was all sevens for Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić at the NBA All-Star game Sunday night at
Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
In the starting lineup for the Western Conference in this glitzy midseason classic, Dončić scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds and distributed seven assists. And his jersey number is 77.
Unfortunately, the odds didn’t stack up in favor of Dončić and his teammates as the Eastern Conference went on a record-setting scoring binge in knocking out the West, 211-186. It was the most points ever scored in the All-Star game’s 73-year history, breaking the record 196 points the West scored in 2016.
One of the highlights of the night for Dončić was his breakaway slam dunk early in the third quarter. But he quickly followed that up with another uncontested dunk – which he missed, much to his chagrin.
“That wasn’t good,” Dončić said. “The first one was good. On the second one I was tired.”
When told that he wears No. 77, and he finished the game with seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Dončić smiled and said: “That was my plan.”
Overall, Dončić played 23 minutes and was 3-of-10 from the field, including 1-of-6 from three-point land.
“It was fun,” Dončić said. “It’s always fun for me. Just being here — the fifth time being an All-Star — it’s unbelievable. I’m just having fun out there.”
While Tyrese Haliburton of the hometown Indiana Pacers drained five consecutive three-pointers to open the game, Dončić later found LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers for a fast break dunk, then found Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors for a long three-pointer.
By halftime, with the East leading 104-89, Dončić had two points, three rebounds and a game-high tying four assists.
Dončić said the highlight of the weekend for him was simple.
“Probably today, sharing the locker room with LeBron, Stephen and KD (Kevin Durant),” he said. “I haven’t done this for a long time at the highest level, so it’s unbelievable.”
The NBA’s leading scorer at 34.2 points per game, Dončić wasn’t interested in jacking up a lot of shots to showcase his shooting skills. He’s been there, done that in the regular season and playoffs, and doesn’t see a need to add that as part of his repertoire.
“People coming here and playing 20 minutes,” Dončić said. “They don’t want to get injured.
“Everybody just gets out of the way. I don’t know how to fix that.”
Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard followed winning the Three-Point Contest on Saturday for the second year in a row by winning Sunday’s Most Valuable Player award with 39 points and six assists. In just 28 minutes, Lillard was 14-of-26 from the field, including 11-of-23 from downtown.
Meanwhile, Dončić played 10 minutes in the first half and 13 more in the second half and was very comfortable with his output in what was his fifth All-Star game during his six seasons in the NBA.
“Every time I’ve been excited to be here,” he said. “The players I share the locker room with, it’s unbelievable.”
BRIEFLY: For the West, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns poured in a game-high 50 points off the bench in 28 minutes. Towns was 23-of-35 from the field and also grabbed eight rebounds. Also for the West, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 31 points and handed out six assists . . . In addition to Damian Lillard, also for the East, Boston’s Jaylen Brown had 36 points (15-of-23 field goals) and eight rebounds and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton scored 32 points and collected seven rebounds and six assists. He also was 11-of-15 from the field, including 10-of-14 from downtown in just 27 minutes . . . Some of the celebrities on hand for Sunday’s game included Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, 50 Cent, Chris Tucker, Bill Murray, Common, Russell Wilson and Jadakiss. Babyface sang the National Anthem and singer Jennifer Hudson provided the halftime entertainment . . . Dončić and the Mavs will now get back to work as they’ll host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center. After that, the Mavs will be in Indianapolis to play the Pacers on Sunday. . .The Golden State Warriors will host next year’s All-Star game in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Clippers will show off their brand new arena and host the 2026 All-Star game, and the Phoenix Suns will host the 2027 All-Star game. The Clippers will open their new arena in Inglewood, CA, next season.
X: @DwainPrice
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