NBA All-Star Game, Halftime Analysis: West 76 – East 64
The Western Conference All-Stars lead their opponents from the Eastern Conference 76-64 at half time in the All-Star game at the Staples Centre.
First Quarter Recap
New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire had the first two points of the game for the East with a breath-taking slam dunk shot. Stoudemire then extended the lead to 4-0 with a simple and effective lay-up shot.
The West responded with four straight points to level the score at 4-4 with 11 minutes to play in the quarter. Denver Nuggets small-forward Carmelo Anthony scored off a driving lay-up shot to give the West a two-point lead but Howard’s alley oop dunk shot
tied the game at 8-8.
The West picked up the pace halfway through the opening quarter and went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with seven minutes remaining. The East fought hard to make the score a respectable one as they got some nice lifts from power-forward Chris Bosh and
Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen.
However, the West got big time dunk shots from centre Dirk Nowitzki and the sizzling Blake Griffin to stretch their lead to 29-19 with just over three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The East cut the 10-point deficit by four with two minutes remaining.
The West answered with a pair of free throws from San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili to maintain a 37-27 advantage going into the second.
Second Quarter Recap
The West once again came on strong in the second quarter, getting a nice lift from Griffin and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook. The East recovered from their mistakes by turning up their defensive intensity again and continuing their
balanced scoring attack but the West kept playing some good defence.
Johnson did all he could as he grabbed two consecutive three-pointers to bring the East to within 41-33 with nine minutes remaining in the second. Westbrook had a turnaround fade away shot to extend the West’s lead to 10 points for the second time in the
contest.
Lay-up shots from Stoudemire and Derrick Rose soon cut the ten-point deficit to 49-43 with six minutes to go. However, the West’s strong position was truly never in doubt as they controlled every aspect of the quarter, limiting turnovers, making shots in
the second quarter, and playing some tenacious defence.
The West is leading the game 76-64 at half time courtesy of another superb game from Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, who has scored 34 points.
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