Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey led the USA Stars to a commanding victory over the veteran USA Stripes in the 75th NBA All-Star Game final.
THE USA Stars, powered by young talent, overwhelmed the veteran-laden USA Stripes 47-21 in Sunday’s final of a revamped NBA All-Star tournament.
Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey sparked the victory at the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We chose to compete today and we came out on top,” said Edwards, who won the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award.
The Stars began the championship game with a dominant 12-1 run, powered by seven points from Maxey.
They later added a 15-0 run for a 33-9 advantage that the Stripes could not overcome.
Maxey finished with nine points while Edwards and Chet Holmgren added eight each for the Stars.
Donovan Mitchell had six points and LeBron James added five for the Stripes in the final.
The league replaced its traditional East-West format with a tournament featuring two US teams and a World team.
The new structure produced the competitive spark often missing from recent All-Star contests.
“I know a lot of people have been concerned about the All-Star Game, not seeing as much effort. Today we saw it,” said former US President Barack Obama from courtside.
He noted the international rivalry and young players’ desire to prove themselves fueled the intensity.
The World team needed to beat the USA Stripes in the final round-robin game to advance.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, including a decisive three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, for a 48-45 Stripes win.
“I made my first one, kept on from there and they just kept falling,” said Leonard, who hit 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
French star Victor Wembanyama led the World team with 19 points in that loss.
In the tournament opener, Edwards scored 13 points as the USA Stars beat the World 37-35 in overtime.
Scottie Barnes sank the winning three-pointer in the extra period.
Wembanyama had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks in an intense contest.
“I ain’t going to lie, Wemby set the tone,” Edwards said. “He came out hard and we had to follow that.”
Game two featured more drama, with De’Aaron Fox hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Stripes a 42-40 win over the Stars.
“You live for these moments,” James said. “That’s a big time play for us older heads.”
The new format successfully delivered the hustle and defensive effort fans had been craving.