Anthony Davis’ free throw clinches NBA All-Star Game for Team LeBron

Players were taking charges, bodies were hitting the floor, calls and non-calls were being screamed about on both ends. The fourth quarter of the NBA All-Star Game was as intense as the final moments of a playoff game, the biggest stars in the league holding absolutely nothing back.

And in the end, former Kentucky star Anthony Davis was a hometown hero by making a free throw.

Kobe Bryant — ever the competitor — would have simply loved the way this night went.

“That was pretty damn fun,” a sweat-soaked, exhausted LeBron James said at the end.

Davis made a game-ending free throw to give Team LeBron a 157-155 win over Team Giannis in the revamped NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night in Chicago, the format overhauled to put in elements for charity and ensure that someone was going to hit a shot to end the game.

That someone was Davis, the Chicago native who missed the first free throw and made the second to end the NBA’s midseason showcase that went down as the closest All-Star Game since the Eastern Conference topped the Western Conference 141-139 in 2010.

“You can’t draw that stuff up. It’s a Hollywood ending,” Frank Vogel, Davis’ coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, said of his player hitting the game-winner in his hometown.

Kawhi Leonard, the game’s MVP and the first recipient of the trophy now named for Bryant, scored 30 points for Team LeBron, while James — his team’s captain — and Chris Paul each scored 23, and Davis finished with 20.

“This one’s for him,” Leonard said, speaking of Bryant afterward.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who captained his team, led his squad with 25 points, Kemba Walker had 23 for Team Giannis, Joel Embiid scored 22 and Rudy Gobert added 21.

The finish was frantic, and then some. James tried a layup that would have put his team one point away — it was blocked by Antetokounmpo, called a goaltend at first but ruled a clean block after review. Team LeBron controlled the resulting jump ball and James tried a 40-footer to end it but missed.

James Harden then had a chance to win it for Team LeBron, and his three-pointer went in — but it was waved off by Kyle Lowry taking a charge against the NBA’s scoring leader. James got a dunk not long afterward to make it 156-153, and Embiid made two free throws to cut Team LeBron’s lead to one.

With that, it was next-basket-wins time.

Davis was fouled on the next trip, got the free throw to win it, and that was that.

“I told my team I was going to miss the first one to put a little more pressure on myself here at home,” Davis said. “I think everyone likes that format because it brings the intensity back to the (All-Star) game. … It was a fun game.”

James’ team wore blue jerseys, all with the No. 2 for Gianna Bryant. Antetokounmpo’s team wore red, every player wearing No. 24 on the back for Kobe Bryant. And on their right shoulders was a black circular patch with nine stars, one for each victim of the helicopter crash that took the lives of Bryant, his daughter and their seven friends on Jan. 26.

“His presence was felt,” James said.

Ex-Cats stats

Davis also had nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks for Team LeBron.

Former UK stars Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo both made their All-Star Game debuts. Booker added six points and four rebounds for Team LeBron while Adebayo had eight points, two rebounds and an assists for Team Giannis.

Booker’s night included a putback dunk that got his teammates off their seats in the first half.

“I don’t know how I did that, honestly,” he said, according to The Athletic’s Gina Mizell. “That’s not even my game, man. It must have been the lights … It was crazy. I’m glad I had that moment. I think I caught a few people off guard with that.”

What if?

James, Davis and Leonard were all wearing the same uniform, Vogel coaching on the sidelines, and a helpless group of defenders watching as the trio carved them up like a holiday ham.

During the opening quarter, Team LeBron cruised to a 53-41 win thanks to the almost-Lakers, who combined to score 27 of the team’s first 30 points.

It could’ve been a nightly reality for teams around the league, with Leonard speaking to the Lakers during free agency before eventually signing with the Clippers.

“At the time when it was going down before he decided, you’d think about what the team could be,” Davis said Saturday. “The defensive mindset we could’ve had, the scoring ability we could’ve had. Me, him and LeBron — it’s obviously something that teams would fear.”

Leonard said he enjoyed the time with the Clippers’ rivals, saying “we go at each other all year round and … it’s great to just be able to pick their brains and just be around them and joke and laugh.”

Davis said he had no hard feelings about Leonard’s choice in July.

“I think he just made the league interesting,” Davis said. “He made the league fun. And that’s the great thing about sports. You never know what’s going to happen.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 1:36 AM.