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| Date | February 26, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Amway Center | ||||||||||||||||||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Kevin Durant[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Mary J. Blige (US);Neverest (Canadian) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Pitbull,Ne-Yo,Nayer,Chris Brown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 17,125[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Network | TNT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Marv Albert,Steve Kerr andReggie Miller Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller,Mike Fratello,Charles Barkley,Kenny Smith andShaquille O'Neal (All-Star Saturday Night) Kevin Harlan and Kenny Smith (Rising Stars Challenge) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| NBA All-Star Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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The2012 NBA All-Star Game was anexhibitionbasketball game that was played on February 26, 2012, during theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2011–12 season. It was the 61st edition of theNBA All-Star Game, and was played at theAmway Center inOrlando, Florida, home of theOrlando Magic. TheWestern Conference defeated theEastern Conference, 152–149.[3][4]Kevin Durant was named theAll-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
The Orlando Magic were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissionerDavid Stern on May 4, 2010. This was also the second time that Orlando has hosted the All-Star Game; the city had previously hosted the event in1992 in theOrlando Arena, the Magic's previous home arena.[5] Despite the2011 NBA lockout, which reduced the regular season to sixty-six games on a condensed schedule, the All-Star Game took place as scheduled.[6]
TheAll-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 24, 2012, with theCelebrity Game and theRising Stars Challenge, a game featuring the league's best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, which featured theShooting Stars Competition,Skills Challenge,Three-Point Shootout andSlam Dunk Contest. TheD-League All-Star Game and theD-League Dream Factory, which includes the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout and Shooting Stars Competition, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. Both events were held on Saturday before the NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
The coaches for the All-Star game are the head coaches who led the teams with the best winning percentages in their conference through the games of February 15, 2012. The head coaches from theprevious year,Doc Rivers andGregg Popovich were not eligible for selection.
The coach for theWestern Conference team wasOklahoma City Thunder head coachScott Brooks.[7] The Thunder had a 22–7 record on February 15, the best record in the Western Conference. The coach for theEastern Conference team wasChicago Bulls head coachTom Thibodeau.[8] The Bulls had a 23–7 record on February 15, the best record in the Eastern Conference and in the league. This was the firstAll-Star Game selection for both Brooks and Thibodeau.
The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards, two forwards and one center who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consist of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.
Dwight Howard of theOrlando Magic topped the ballots with 1,600,390 votes, which earned him a starting position as a center in theEastern Conference team.Derrick Rose,Dwyane Wade,LeBron James, andCarmelo Anthony completed the Eastern Conference starting position.[9] Howard, Rose, Wade and James were starters forthe previous year's Eastern Conference team, while Anthony started for the Western Conference team. The Eastern Conference reserves includes three first-time selections,Luol Deng,Andre Iguodala, andRoy Hibbert.[10]Atlanta Hawks guardJoe Johnson suffered an injury and was replaced byBoston Celtics guardRajon Rondo.[11] TheMiami Heat is represented by three players, Wade, James andChris Bosh, while theChicago Bulls and the Celtics are represented by two players each.
The Western Conference's leading vote-getter wasKobe Bryant, who earned his fourteenth consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,555,479 votes.Chris Paul,Kevin Durant,Blake Griffin, andAndrew Bynum completed the Western Conference starting positions.[9] Bryant, Paul and Durant were starters for the previous year's Western Conference team. Griffin became an All-Star Game starter for the first time after he was selected as a reserve in last year's game. Bynum received 1,051,945 votes to earn his first All-Star Game selection and a starting position at center. Bryant/Bynum and Paul/Griffin became the first two pair of teammates who were voted to start for one conference since the1997 game.[9] TheWestern Conference reserves include two other first-time selections,LaMarcus Aldridge andMarc Gasol.[10] Both Los Angeles teams, theLakers and theLos Angeles Clippers, are represented by two players each, all of them are starters. Durant, of theOklahoma City Thunder, is the only Western Conference starter that does not play in either teams of Los Angeles. The Thunder is also represented by two players, Durant andRussell Westbrook.
^INJ Joe Johnson was unable to participate due to injury.[11]
^REP Rajon Rondo was named as Joe Johnson's replacement.[11]
February 26, 2012 7:30 p.m.ET |
| Western Conference152,Eastern Conference 149 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–28, 49–41, 36–43, 28–37 | ||
| Pts:Kevin Durant 36 Rebs:Blake Griffin 8 Asts:Chris Paul 12 | Pts:LeBron James 36 Rebs:Dwight Howard,Dwyane Wade 10 each Asts:Dwyane Wade 10 | |
Amway Center,Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,125 Referees:
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The West led by as many as 21 points and held on to win the game, 152–149.Kevin Durant scored 34 of his game-high 36 points in the first three quarters and was named thegame's Most Valuable Player.LeBron James also scored 36. The West's lead was reduced to one point at 148–147 after aDeron Williams' steal and layup with 1:44 remaining. Leading 151–149,Blake Griffin secured the victory by intercepting James' pass. Griffin was fouled and made one of twofree throws with 1.1 seconds left.[13]Kobe Bryant was guarding James on the play and chastised James for not attempting the potential game-winning shot.[14][15] Bryant left the game earlier in the third quarter after he was bloodied from a hard foul to his face byDwyane Wade.[13][16] He was diagnosed after the game with abroken nose and aconcussion.[17]
Bryant finished with 27 points and became the leading scorer in All-Star history (271), passingMichael Jordan (262). Wade had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, joining James and Jordan as the only players to record atriple-double in the All-Star game.[13] The West set an All-Star record with 88 first-half points, and the teams' 157 combined points at the half was also a record. The 301 combined points at the end of the game were two shy of the record set (in overtime) in the1987 NBA All-Star Game. The East made 14 three-point field goals, another record.[13]
TheBBVARising Stars Challenge featured the best first-year players ('Rookies') and the best second-year players ('Sophomores') going at each other. The game was divided into two twenty-minute halves, similar tocollege basketball. For this edition of the Rising Stars Challenge, a pool of the participating players was selected by the league's assistant coaches. Then, the teams were drafted by former NBA players and current TNT analystsShaquille O'Neal andCharles Barkley, who serve as "General Managers" for their respective teams.[18] Former NBA player and current TNT analystKenny Smith served as the "Honorary Commissioner" for the Rising Stars Challenge. SophomoreJeremy Lin of theNew York Knicks and rookieNorris Cole of theMiami Heat were two last-minute additions to the player pool.[19][20] SophomoreDerrick Favors of theUtah Jazz was selected as an injury replacement forTiago Splitter.[21] Lin played only nine minutes in the game, at his request, due to exhaustion from his rise to stardom that month.[22]
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^INJ Tiago Splitter was unable to participate due to injury.[21]
^REP Derrick Favors was named Tiago Splitter's replacement.[21]
^DNP Kawhi Leonard did not play due to injury.[24]
February 24 9:00 p.m.ET |
| Team Shaq 133,Team Chuck 146 | ||
| Scoring by half: 65–77, 68–69 | ||
| Pts:Tristan Thompson 20 Rebs:Greg Monroe 10 Asts:Kemba Walker 10 | Pts:Kyrie Irving 34 Rebs:Cousins,Turner 11 each Asts:Kyrie Irving 9 | |
Amway Center,Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,125 Referees:
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Kyrie Irving, who scored 34 points on 8/8 three-point shooting, won the MVP award of the Rising Stars Challenge.
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | Pct |
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| F | Chase Budinger | Houston Rockets | 6–7 | 218 | 28% |
| F | Jeremy EvansREP | Utah Jazz | 6–9 | 194 | 29% |
| G/F | Paul George | Indiana Pacers | 6–8 | 215 | |
| F | Derrick Williams | Minnesota Timberwolves | 6–8 | 241 | |
| G | Iman ShumpertINJ | New York Knicks | 6–5 | 220 |
^INJ Iman Shumpert was unable to participate due to injury.[25]
^REP Jeremy Evans was named Iman Shumpert's replacement.[25]
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Tiebreaker (24 seconds) | Final round | Tiebreaker (60 seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Kevin Love | Minnesota Timberwolves | 6–10 | 260 | 18 | 5 | 16 | 17 |
| F | Kevin DurantREP | Oklahoma City Thunder | 6–9 | 235 | 20 | — | 16 | 14 |
| F | James Jones | Miami Heat | 6–8 | 215 | 22 | — | 12 | — |
| G | Mario Chalmers | Miami Heat | 6–2 | 190 | 18 | 4 | — | |
| F | Ryan Anderson | Orlando Magic | 6–10 | 240 | 17 | — | ||
| G | Anthony Morrow | New Jersey Nets | 6–5 | 210 | 14 | — | ||
| G | Joe JohnsonINJ | Atlanta Hawks | 6–7 | 240 | — | |||
^INJ Joe Johnson was unable to participate due to injury.[11]
^REP Kevin Durant was named as Joe Johnson's replacement.[11]
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Final round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Tony Parker | San Antonio Spurs | 6–2 | 180 | 29.2 | 32.8 |
| G | Rajon RondoREP | Boston Celtics | 6–1 | 186 | 32.8 | 34.6 |
| G | Deron Williams | New Jersey Nets | 6–3 | 209 | 28.3 | 41.4 |
| G | John Wall | Washington Wizards | 6–4 | 195 | 32.8 | — |
| G | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 6–3 | 187 | 33.8 | — |
| G | Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers | 6–3 | 191 | 42.2 | — |
| G | Stephen CurryINJ | Golden State Warriors | 6–3 | 185 | — | |
^INJ Stephen Curry was unable to participate due to injury.[26]
^REP Rajon Rondo was named as Curry's replacement.[26]
| City/State | Members | Team | First round | Final round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Landry Fields | New York Knicks | 38.7 | 37.3 |
| Cappie Pondexter | New York Liberty | |||
| Allan Houston | New York Knicks (retired) | |||
| Texas | Chandler Parsons | Houston Rockets | 42.7 | 47.6 |
| Sophia Young | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||
| Kenny Smith | Houston Rockets (retired) | |||
| Atlanta | Jerry StackhouseREP | Atlanta Hawks | 55.3 | — |
| Lindsey Harding | Atlanta Dream | |||
| Steve Smith | Atlanta Hawks (retired) | |||
| Joe JohnsonINJ | Atlanta Hawks | |||
| Orlando | Jameer Nelson | Orlando Magic | 1:04 | — |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | Phoenix Mercury | |||
| Dennis Scott | Orlando Magic (retired) |
^INJ Joe Johnson was unable to participate due to injury.[26]
^REP Jerry Stackhouse was named as Joe Johnson's replacement.[26]
