Wow, what an unexpected ending. World get the win in OT and as expected on All Star weekend, it was a defence optional, high scoring affair with its fair share of matador impressions on the defensive end and highlight reel plays on the more glamorous end. 

In a game that looked like it was going to be a blowout end to end went on to have many twists and turns, the best way to review this is quarter by quarter including OT with a top 3 player ranking and overall review for each side.

1st Quarter

USA came out on fire, running circles around the World side and looking like trying to end the match in the first 12 minutes. Jaylen Brown came out with a point to prove, looking like a man amongst the boys out there. He got to the basket at will and was locked in on the other side of the ball showing why Portland have been so reluctant to trade away their budding star. For the World side Joel Embiid did his best to counter the offensive onslaught being brought down on by USA by working in the mid post and trying to bully his way to the hoop leading to a stagnating and inefficient offence. With the score sitting at 35 - 23 in favour of USA, World had plenty of work to do to keep this match interesting let alone to give themselves a chance at winning.

2nd and 3rd Quarters

These two quarters have been lumped together as they were very similar with World scoring 18 points in each one and USA increasing their lead by small increments scoring 22 and 23 in each. It was a seesawing affair with the two Aussies Simmons and Maker starting to leave their imprint on the game and for USA, Tatum and Kuzma were starting to hit shots and make their presence felt in different facets of the game.

4th

With the game seemingly wrapped up USA took their foot off of the pedal and World really took advantage. The 19 point deficit didn’t seem to phase them as they ramped up the defensive pressure causing turnovers which in turn lead to fast break dunks which was a sight to behold. USA were trying everything to disallow World putting the ball in the basket but to no avail. World came back to tie the game from an unprecedented deficit in the 4th quarter to have the game tied up as the final buzzer sounded!

OT 

In OT World carried on the momentum they built up in the 4th. They rained in bucket after bucket with USA firing in some of its own but they could just not keep up with the plucky World side led by Maker with 28 points, Embiid with 26 and Simmons with 22. USA were led by Kuzma with 29 points, Tatum with 25 and Brown with 19. 

Best of the World

1. Ben Simmons 

This young man was everywhere on the court, racking up 16 assists, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 22 points. He left an imprint on every category in the box score and was named Player of the game due to this great well rounded performance.

2. Thon Maker 

Another young Aussie big man to light it up on this stage. He poured in 28 points seemingly from everywhere to go along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. The only thing holding Maker back from being in the number spot is his inefficient shooting from the 3 point line with him only hitting 1 of 8. 

3. Joel Embiid

A pattern seems to be emerging with the third and final best player from the World squad being a big man. Embiid dominated the boards by pulling down 14 including 3 offensive to go along with 26 points and 2 blocks in 41 minutes! A few great performances from these young lads and all have extremely bright futures in the league. 

Best of the USA

1. Kyle Kuzma 

Really worked his way into the game nicely showing off his versatile offensive skill set thats was so sought after by Boston in trade earlier in the season. Kuzma put up 29 points off 9 of 15 shooting along with hitting 5 of his 10 threes, absolutely torching the twine. All those points along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block led his game to be the best for USA.

2. Jayson Tatum

Another efficient offensive performer for USA, Tatum could barely be stopped. Tatum poured in  25 points on 9 of 19 shots including 5 of 10 from 3 showing his well rounded inside and outside game. All this to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and only 1 turnover shows what this man can do and hints at what he will be able to do with a few more years experience under his belt, excellent performance.

3. Jaylen Brown

Started like a man possessed and it seemed like he was going to carry USA to victory all by himself but ultimately he cooled off after a scorching first quarter. Scoring 19 points on 7 for 13 shooting to go along wiht 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 boards is still a great stat line for the young man but is probably still a bit disappointing considering how he started. This just reiterates the sky high potential of this young man and just how good we know he will become.

What a highly entertaining spectacle this ended up becoming, until next year xoxo