INGLEWOOD – Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars came out on top during the All-Star Game on Sunday with an easy 47-21 mini-tournament victory over USA Stripes. The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket last year.
Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat to the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Maxey went 4 of 8 from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went 3 of 5 with a pair of 3-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games and was named MVP.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes.
USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an early 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.
A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, while going 0 of 4 from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.
In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in extra time on a 3-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.
–Field Level Media