Steph And Dame Had A Halfcourt Shooting Competition To End The All-Star Game’s First Half

The first half of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game was, well, about what one would expect from a fanless All-Star experience. The normal lack of defensive effort was turned up (down?) all the way as both teams started out completely going through the motions, leading to this tweet from Joel Embiid as he watched from his hotel room after being removed for contact tracing.

Eventually, the two teams would pick up the action after a sloppy start and the first quarter was a competitive one, with Team LeBron edging out Team Durant by one point.

However, the talent and depth of Team LeBron showed up in the second quarter as Stephen Curry erupted as only he can, but to end the half he was joined by Damian Lillard for an in-game halfcourt shooting competition. After missing his first effort, Dame found the bottom of the net from 42 feet out to the delight of Curry, egging him on.

On the next possession, Steph had to make sure he got one up as well.

The first half featured a lot of Steph, as he was tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo for the leading scorer with 24 points, as he hit three deep threes, two from the T in All-Star and the other that midcourt shot. He also had a rare dunk on a lob from a sideline out of bounds play, that led to him returning the favor to Chris Paul immediately after.

Steph finished the half 8-for-11 with 24 points, as it seems to be a battle of he and teammate Giannis for MVP honors. Antetokounmpo was a perfect 11-for-11, including a pair of threes to the delight of his teammates.

The second half might not feature much game drama unless Team Durant makes a big third quarter run, but the MVP race on Team LeBron figures to be fun.