2008 NBA All-Star Game

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2008 NBA All-Star Game
Image:2008NBAAllStarGame.png
1 2 3 4 Total
East 34 40 32 28 134
West 28 37 28 35 128
Date February 17, 2008
Arena New Orleans Arena
City New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP LeBron James
National anthem Deborah Cox (CAN), Stephanie Jordan and Jonathan Dubose (USA)
Referees #38 M. Smith
#36 D. Jones
#32 E. Rush
Halftime Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Davell Crawford, Art Neville, Ivan Neville, Jonathan Batiste, Ellis Marsalis
Attendance 17,271
Network Turner Network Television (TNT)
Announcers Marv Albert, Doug Collins and Reggie Miller
NBA All-Star Game

2007

2009 >

The 2008 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 17, 2008 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans Hornets. The game was the 57th annual All-Star Game, the first in New Orleans and the first major professional sporting event (outside of regular season games) to take place in the New Orleans Arena since Hurricane Katrina. The city was awarded the 2008 All-Star Game on May 22, 2006.[1]

The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 134-128. The East led early but blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter; however, in the end, pulled out the win due to the strength of Ray Allen and LeBron James. Allen scored 28 points in the game, 14 of those points coming in the deciding quarter and James finished with a near triple-double 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Through fan voting James took home the NBA All-Star Game MVP award, the second of his career.[2]

The Toronto Raptors had also put in a bid to host the game. All of this year's All-Star participants joined over 2,500 members of the NBA Family for the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service. The volunteers participated in a variety of service projects at ten different sites throughout New Orleans.

The inaugural NBA Development League Dream Factory Friday Night is modeled after the popular NBA All-Star Saturday Night. It included perennial NBA fan favorite events such as a Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk competition, while introducing H.O.R.S.E. and an interactive game of Hot-Shot with fans. Twelve D-League players, including an NBA-assigned player and five others with NBA experience, took to Center Court to showcase their skills throughout the evening’s competitions.

Contents

[edit] Broadcasting

[edit] Television

[edit] NBA on TNT

TNT televised the All-Star game for the fifth straight year
TNT televised the All-Star game for the fifth straight year

The Turner Broadcasting Network televised the game for the fifth straight year in the United States. The game was called by NBA on TNT commentators Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Doug Collins. TNT also televised the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, PlayStation Skills Challenge, Footlocker Three-Point Shootout and the Haier Shooting Stars Competition.

[edit] ESPN

ESPN televised the McDonald's All-Star Celebrity Game on February 15th. The event was simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile and ESPN Radio.[3] Although the All-Star game was not broadcast on ESPN, the game was on ESPN Radio.

[edit] NBA TV

Beginning the week of the All-Star game, February 11, NBA TV aired tributes to moments in All-Star game history, including a top-10 list, highlights and greatest moments. NBA TV aired the Basketball Hall of Fame Finalist Friday, February 15. The network also provided the behind-the-scenes practices of the East and West rosters, the NBA D-League All-Star game, and pregame and postgame coverage of the All-Star Game.[4]

[edit] International

The NBA vastly increased the global appeal of the All-Star Game, allowing 123 broadcasters to air the games in 215 countries in more than 40 languages. NBA TV covered All-Star weekend to another record 80 countries. Most foreign major sports networks aired the All-Star game live.[5][6]

[edit] The All-Star Game

February 17 East 134, West 128 New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Scoring by quarter: 34-28, 40-37, 32-28, 28-35

[edit] Eastern Conference roster

The Boston Celtics, the team with the league's best record, came into New Orleans with three players. Kevin Garnett, top vote-getter in the league with 2,399,148 votes (nearly 2.4 million), was selected as a starter, while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (replacing injured Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler)[7] were selected as reserves by the coaches of the Eastern Conference[8] Garnett did not play due to injury and Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh replaced him as starting power forward. [9] Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace replaced Chris Bosh as the backup power forward. The Pistons, who at the time had the second-best record in the league, also had guards Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton participating.

Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James and Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade started for the third straight year with two million votes each and fourth overall for the East.[8] Center Dwight Howard was voted to be a starting All-Star for the first time in his career after averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds for the first half of the season.[8] Shaquille O'Neal was not voted in as a center for the first time in 15 years. [10] Jason Kidd was voted in as the starting point guard for the East amid speculation that he would be traded to the Western powerhouse Dallas Mavericks.

[edit] Western Conference roster

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, 2007 All-Star MVP, was the top vote-getter in the West with nearly 2,000,500. However days before the game, he was examined by Lakers' doctors and revealed a torn ligament in his right pinky finger.[11] Deciding to put off required surgery until after the season, the Lakers appealed to the league to replace Bryant but league policy stated Bryant must play after playing in the last game before the break.[11]

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson was voted an All-Star for the first time since moving to Denver.[12] Along with him, teammate Carmelo Anthony earned a starting nod at forward.[12] Power forward Tim Duncan made his tenth straight appearance and center Yao Ming his sixth (Yao Ming was voted to All-Star Game 2007 but did not play).[8]

[edit] Rosters

 
Western Conference All Stars
Pos. Player Team App.
Starters
PG Flag of the United States Allen Iverson Denver Nuggets 9th
SG Flag of the United States Kobe Bryant4 Los Angeles Lakers 10th
SF Flag of the United States Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets 2nd
PF Flag of the United States Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 10th
C Flag of the People's Republic of China Yao Ming Houston Rockets 6th
Reserves
PF Flag of the United States Carlos Boozer Utah Jazz 2nd
PG Flag of Canada Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 6th
PF Flag of Germany Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 7th
PG Flag of the United States Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 1st
SG Flag of the United States Brandon Roy Portland Trail Blazers 1st
C Flag of the United States Amaré Stoudemire Phoenix Suns 3rd
PF Flag of the United States David West New Orleans Hornets 1st
Eastern Conference All-Stars
Pos. Player Team App.
Starters
PG Flag of the United States Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 10th
SG Flag of the United States Dwyane Wade Miami Heat 4th
SF Flag of the United States LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 4th
PF Flag of the United States Chris Bosh1 Toronto Raptors 3rd
C Flag of the United States Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 2nd
Reserves
SG Flag of the United States Ray Allen2 Boston Celtics 8th
PG Flag of the United States Chauncey Billups Detroit Pistons 3rd
SF Flag of the United States Caron Butler2 Washington Wizards 2nd
PF Flag of the United States Kevin Garnett1 3 Boston Celtics 11th
SG Flag of the United States Richard Hamilton Detroit Pistons 3rd
PF Flag of the United States Antawn Jamison Washington Wizards 2nd
SG Flag of the United States Joe Johnson Atlanta Hawks 2nd
SF Flag of the United States Paul Pierce Boston Celtics 6th
PF Flag of the United States Rasheed Wallace3 Detroit Pistons 4th

^1 Unable to participate due to injury. Chris Bosh was named to the starting lineup due to a Kevin Garnett injury[9]
^2 Unable to participate due to injury. Ray Allen was named to the roster in place of Butler.[7]
^3 Unable to participate due to injury. Rasheed Wallace was named to the roster in place of Kevin Garnett.
^4 Kobe Bryant played three minutes due to ligament tear in pinky[13]

[edit] Coaches

The Eastern Conference team was coached by Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics. He clinched it nearly a month before the game on January 21, against the New York Knicks.[14] The Celtics entered All-Star Weekend with a 41-9 record, the best record and win percentage in the league.

The Western Conference team was coached by Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets. He clinched the coaching spot on January 31, when the Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in Boston.[15] The Hornets entered All-Star Weekend with a 36-15 record, and the best winning percentage in the Conference at .706.

[edit] 2008 NBA All-Star Game Boxscore[16]

NBA All-Star East

Pos Player FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb Ast PF ST TO BS (Blocked Shots) BA (Blocked Attempts) Pts
G J. Kidd 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 10 0 4 1 0 0 2
G D. Wade 7-12 0-1 0-2 1 3 4 3 1 0 2 1 1 14
F C. Bosh 7-15 0-0 0-2 2 5 7 1 1 0 1 0 2 14
F L. James 12-22 2-7 1-1 1 7 8 9 3 2 4 2 1 27
C D. Howard 7-7 0-0 2-3 5 4 9 3 4 3 1 1 0 16
R. Allen 10-14 5-9 3-5 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 28
C. Billups 3-10 0-6 0-2 2 5 7 1 1 0 1 0 2 14
R. Hamilton 4-9 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 9
R. Wallace 1-5 1-5 0-0 2 3 5 0 2 1 1 2 0 3
J. Johnson 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 3
P. Pierce 5-9 0-3 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 10
A. Jamison 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2

NBA All-Star West

Pos Player FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A Off Reb Def Reb Tot Reb Ast PF ST TO BS (Blocked Shots) BA (Blocked Attempts) Pts
G A. Iverson 3-7 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 6 0 4 6 1 0 7
G K. Bryant 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
F T. Duncan 2-7 0-1 0-0 4 5 9 1 1 1 4 1 0 4
F C. Anthony 8-17 0-0 2-3 5 2 7 1 0 0 2 0 1 18
C M. Yao 2-5 0-2 2-2 1 4 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 6
B. Roy 8-10 2-3 0-0 1 8 9 5 2 1 0 1 0 18
C. Paul 7-14 2-6 0-0 2 1 3 14 5 4 2 0 1 16
D. Nowitzki 5-14 1-4 2-2 1 3 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 13
A. Stoudemire 8-11 1-2 1-3 0 5 5 0 2 1 1 1 0 18
S. Nash 4-8 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 6 3 0 1 1 0 8
C. Boozer 7-15 0-0 0-2 4 6 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 14
D. West 3-6 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 3 6

[edit] All-Star Weekend

[edit] T-Mobile Rookie Challenge

The Sophomores defeated the Rookies 136-109. During the first half of the game Daniel Gibson tied the record of Kyle Korver by hitting seven three-pointers (Korver's record was for the entire game). He later set the whole-game record in the second half with eleven total three-pointers, finishing the game shooting 11-20 from three-point range. Gibson was named MVP of the game, finishing with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

February 15 Sophomores 136, Rookies 109 New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Scoring by half: 66-52, 70-57.
 
Rookies
Pos. Player Team
PG Flag of the United States Mike Conley Memphis Grizzlies
SF Flag of the United States Kevin Durant Seattle SuperSonics
SG Flag of the United States Jeff Green Seattle SuperSonics
C Flag of the Dominican Republic Al Horford Atlanta Hawks
PF Flag of the People's Republic of China Yi Jianlian Milwaukee Bucks
SF Flag of the United States Jamario Moon Toronto Raptors
SG Flag of Spain Juan Carlos Navarro Memphis Grizzlies
PF Flag of Argentina Luis Scola Houston Rockets
C Flag of the United States Sean Williams New Jersey Nets
Sophomores
Pos. Player Team
PF Flag of the United States LaMarcus Aldridge Portland Trail Blazers
PF Flag of Italy Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors
SG Flag of the United States Ronnie Brewer Utah Jazz
PG Flag of the United States Jordan Farmar Los Angeles Lakers
SF Flag of the United States Rudy Gay Memphis Grizzlies
PG Flag of the United States Daniel Gibson Cleveland Cavaliers
PF Flag of the United States Paul Millsap Utah Jazz
PG Flag of the United States Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics
SG Flag of the United States Brandon Roy Portland Trail Blazers

[edit] Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

Gerald Green returned to defend his crown won in last year's All-Star game. Young NBA stars Rudy Gay, Dwight Howard and Jamario Moon were also invited. What made the Slam Dunk contest unique in 2008 was the introduction of the fan vote. While judges (in this particular contest, Karl Malone, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Darryl Dawkins and Dominique Wilkins) still scored dunks on a scale from one to fifty and selected those who would move on to the next round, fans had the last word. NBA viewers for the first time could decide the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk contest, under the tag line "They Dunk. You Decide." For five minutes after the final round, polls were open on NBA.com and through SMS TXT and the dunker with the most votes at the end of the time limit was the winner. Dwight Howard won the contest, grabbing 78% of fan votes.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team Ht. Wt.
SF Flag of the United States Rudy Gay Memphis Grizzlies 6-9 220
SG Flag of the United States Gerald Green Minnesota Timberwolves 6-8 200
C Flag of the United States Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 6-11 265
SF Flag of the United States Jamario Moon Toronto Raptors 6-8 205

[edit] Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout

Jason Kapono became the first back-to-back winner of the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout since Peja Stojakovic won in 2002 and 2003. Kapono also tied the all-time record set in 1986 by Craig Hodges by scoring 25 points in the final round.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team Made Att. Pct.
PG Flag of the United States Daniel Gibson Cleveland Cavaliers 104 222 .468
SG Flag of the United States Richard Hamilton Detroit Pistons 43 92 .467
SF Flag of the United States Jason Kapono Toronto Raptors 50 98 .510
PG Flag of Canada Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 101 216 .468
PF Flag of Germany Dirk Nowitzki1 Dallas Mavericks 41 139 .295
SF Flag of Serbia Peja Stojakovic New Orleans Hornets 122 264 .462

^1 Kobe Bryant was looking to be the first player to win a Slam Dunk contest and a Three-Point Shootout title until he was replaced by Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki due to injury.[17][18]

[edit] Playstation Skills Challenge

Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams won the Skills Challenge, with a first round time of 31.2 seconds and a record finish in 25.5 in his second run. For the first time since 2005, Dwyane Wade did not win the contest. He finished with a low 53.9 seconds, ending his streak at two. Jason Kidd, winner of the event in 2003, finished at 40 seconds. Chris Paul advanced to the finals with 29.9 seconds in the first go-around, but failed to match Williams in the end. [19]

Contestants
Pos. Player Team 1st run 2nd run
PG Flag of the United States Jason Kidd New Jersey Nets 39.7s
PG Flag of the United States Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 29.9s 31.2s
SG Flag of the United States Dwyane Wade Miami Heat 53.9s
PG Flag of the United States Deron Williams Utah Jazz 31.2s 25.5s

[edit] Haier Shooting Stars Competition

After an impressive run in the first round, Team San Antonio took care of business in the finals of the 2008 Haier Shooting Stars challenge against Team Chicago, as Duncan drained a half-court shot to give the Texas threesome a time of 35.8 seconds.

Contestants
Chicago
Flag of the United States Chris Duhon Chicago Bulls
Flag of the United States Candice Dupree Chicago Sky
Flag of the United States B. J. Armstrong Chicago Bulls (Retired)
Detroit
Flag of the United States Chauncey Billups Detroit Pistons
Flag of the United States Swin Cash Detroit Shock
Flag of the United States Bill Laimbeer Detroit Pistons (Retired)
Phoenix
Flag of the United States Amaré Stoudemire Phoenix Suns
Flag of the United States Cappie Pondexter Phoenix Mercury
Flag of the United States Eddie Johnson Phoenix Suns (Retired)
San Antonio
Flag of the United States Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs
Flag of the United States Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars
Flag of the United States David Robinson San Antonio Spurs (Retired)

[edit] D-League Weekend

[edit] D-League All-Star Game

After trailing late in the first quarter, the D-League Blue All-Stars rallied to tie the game in the second quarter and never looked back. Both teams played hard, ran all night, defended well to the end and put on a show for the fans. Tandems of teammates worked together to score, showing fancy passing and plenty of highlight dunks. But behind All-Star M.V.P. and Fort Wayne Mad Ants guard Jeremy Richardson's 22 points, Blue had Red singing the blues in this, the city of jazz, winning handily by a score of 117-99.

 
Blue Team
Pos. Player Team
SG Morris Almond Utah Flash
SF Sean Banks Los Angeles D-Fenders
PG Andre Barrett Bakersfield Jam
PF Rod Benson Dakota Wizards
C Kyrylo Fesenko Utah Flash
PG Keith Langford Austin Toros
PF/C Ian Mahinmi Austin Toros
C Jelani McCoy Los Angeles D-Fenders
SF Carlos Powell Dakota Wizards
SF Jeremy Richardson Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Red Team
Pos. Player Team
C Lance Allred Idaho Stampede
PF Elton Brown Colorado 14ers
SF Kaniel Dickens Colorado 14ers
PF Nick Fazekas Tulsa 66ers
PG Eddie Gill Colorado 14ers
PG Randy Livingston Idaho Stampede
SG Dwayne Mitchell Iowa Energy
SF Kasib Powell Sioux Falls Skyforce
SG Billy Thomas Colorado 14ers
SF Cory Violette Idaho Stampede

[edit] D-League Dream Factory Friday Night

[edit] H.O.R.S.E.

Two preliminary rounds of two games each were played with the winners of the first two rounds competing in a final round for the title of H.O.R.S.E. Champion. Each round was capped at five minutes, and utilized a 24-second shot clock. Contestants were outfitted with a wireless microphone in order for fans to hear the player call his shot.

Lance Allred faced Fort Wayne’s Jeremy Richardson. Both players were tied at the time limit, but Allred managed to advance in sudden death when Richardson could not convert on his attempt. In the other first-round matchup, Utah Jazz assignee Morris Almond advanced over Sioux Fall's Kasib Powell, as he held an H-O advantage at the time limit. In the final, Allred earned the victory over Almond when he sank a bank shot from just outside the elbow, leaving Almond facing an H-O deficit as time expired.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team
C Lance Allred Idaho Stampede
SG Morris Almond Utah Flash
SF Kasib Powell Sioux Falls Skyforce
SF Jeremy Richardson Fort Wayne Mad Ants

[edit] Hot-Shot

Hot-Shot contestants took to the floor to compete in a race against the clock to score the most points with the help of a D-League fan. Each team had one minute to tally the highest score from four designated shooting spots on the court, including a one-point layup, a two-point foul shot, a three-pointer from behind the arc, and a five-point half-court shot, with the fan only eligible to shoot from the lay-up position. Two teams competed simultaneously, one on each end of the court, during the first round with the winners advancing to a final round of head-to-head competition where the stakes were high – the fan from the winning squad had an opportunity to be a judge in the Slam Dunk Contest.

In the first round, Bakersfield’s Andre Barrett came out on top with a total of 24 while Dakota’s Carlos Powell checked in second with 23 points. Billy Thomas (20 points) and Randy Livingston (5 points) were eliminated after the first round.

In the second and final round, Powell and his teammate Will, a New Orleans resident, won the title with a total of 24, edging Barrett and company’s total of 21.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team
PG Andre Barrett Bakersfield Jam
PG Randy Livingston Idaho Stampede
SF Carlos Powell Dakota Wizards
SG Billy Thomas Colorado 14ers

[edit] Three-Point Shootout

Each contestant had 60 seconds to sink up to 21 three-pointers from seven shooting stations assembled around the three-point line. Each station had two orange balls (worth one point each) and one "money" ball (worth two points) which may only be attempted after both orange balls have been shot. Fans enjoyed one preliminary round and a championship round featuring the contestants with the top two scores from the first round.

Adam Harrington dominated the contest, posting the highest score of all four competitors in the first round, and then edging Kaniel Dickens in the final round to earn the victory. Dickens advanced to the final via a 30-second shootout with Josh Gross after two players tied for the second best total in the opening round.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team Made Att. Pct.
SF Josh Gross Albuquerque Thunderbirds 25 64 .391
SF Kaniel Dickens Colorado 14ers 88 202 .436
SF Adam Harrington Tulsa 66ers 49 100 .490
PG Keith Langford Austin Toros 43 101 .426

[edit] Slam Dunk Contest

The Slam Dunk Contest, which consisted of two rounds of two dunks each, began with each dunker submitting his top two dunks and selecting a fan from the crowd who chose the first dunk to be performed in the first round of competition. A composite total of the scores from the first round of dunks of competition was tallied for each dunker and the dunkers with the two highest scores competed in a championship round consisting of two dunk attempts. Contestants were allowed one replacement dunk per attempt.

The Idaho Stampede pair of Brent Petway and Mike Taylor emerged from the first round and headed to the finals. Petway emerged as the victor after he completed a spectacular through-the-legs dunk that brought down the house at Jam Session and earned a perfect 50 score. Taylor attempted to counter with a show-stopping dunk of his own, but failed to convert on his two alloted attempts. Fort Wayne's Eric Smith and Iowa's Doug Thomas also performed some impressive dunks, but did not record high enough scores from the judges to advance to the final round.

Contestants
Pos. Player Team Ht. Wt.
SF Brent Petway Idaho Stampede 6-8 210
SF Eric Smith Fort Wayne Mad Ants 6-8 220
SG Mike Taylor Idaho Stampede 6-2 165
SF Doug Thomas Iowa Energy 6-9 235

[edit] Schedule

  • February 15-17: NBA Jam Session (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
  • Friday, February 15: NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
  • Friday, February 15: 2008 Rookie Challenge
  • Saturday, February 16: 2nd Annual D-League All-Star Game
  • Saturday, February 16: NBA All-Star Saturday (Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout, Shooting Stars Competition, Skills Challenge)
  • Sunday, February 17: 57th Annual NBA All-Star Game

[edit] Musical happenings

[edit] References

[edit] External links