Team LeBron Tops Team Giannis 157-155 on Anthony Davis FT; Kawhi Wins First NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant MVP Award
Born in Chicago. $300,000 on the line for charity. Anthony Davis at the free throw line. One point to win the 69th NBA All-Star Game. Would he make it?
The new All-Star game format meant three 12-minute quarters where the scores were wiped out to start each quarter. The winner of each quarter won $100,000 for their charity.
Team LeBron won the first quarter for the Chicago Scholars Foundation, which is a group aiming to provide college access, success mentoring and a career support program to Chicago’s youth. Team Giannis won the second quarter for After School Matter, which provides after-school and summer program opportunities for more than 19,000 Chicago teens every year.
Kawhi Leonard was ridiculous in the first half, missing just one shot and hitting 6/7 from three-point land. Leonard finished with 30 points on 11/14 shooting and 8/14 from deep. Leonard would earn the first ever NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award.
So, at halftime each team had earned $100,000 for their charities. The two squads tied 41-41 in the third quarter, meaning that $100,000 rolled over to the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was worth $200,000 before the teams tied in the third, which made the fourth actually worth $300,000 for charity.
To honor Kobe Bryant, the fourth quarter took the leading team’s (Giannis) total points through three quarters (133) and added 24 to set the Target Score. The team to reach 157 points first would win.
Back to Anthony Davis. The Lakers big man had 19 points with Team LeBron one point away from winning the game. He had two free throws to attempt to win the NBA All-Star game and a total of $400,000 for Chicago Scholars.
The Chicago native missed the first free throw, which he said he did on purpose, but he drilled the last free throw to win the game and $400,000 for charity.