Davis leads ex-Cats with 24 points in West’s All-Star Game win

Kobe Bryant said his NBA All-Star Game goodbye and the next generation of the West’s best sent him off a winner, rolling to a record-setting 196-173 victory over the East on Sunday night in Toronto.

The first All-Star Game outside the U.S. was the highest-scoring ever, with both teams scoring more than any team had ever managed. Bryant didn’t provide much of the offense but many of the memories.

He finished with just 10 points, so few that he lost his career lead in All-Star Game scoring to LeBron James, even though James also had a quiet night.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points in his second straight All-Star MVP performance.

The game featured three former University of Kentucky players. Anthony Davis led the way with 24 points and six rebounds, and DeMarcus Cousins added 11 points in the West’s win. John Wall had 22 points for the East.

Seven of Chris Paul’s game-high 16 assists went to Davis.

“He was open,” Paul said. “He’s crazy athletic.”

Wall was 10-for-14 from the field. He also had three rebounds and three assists.

“Yeah, I was trying to score. I told y’all I was going to try to score the ball,” Wall said. “My first five minutes I was just being cool, and then I went for it.”

Cousins said the players “had fun. … The biggest thing was the West got the win.”

Paul George finished with 41 for the East, tying Westbrook’s total from last year in New York that was one off Wilt Chamberlain’s record.

James finished with 13 points, just enough to move ahead of Bryant for most ever in the All-Star Game. He has 291, while Bryant, who is retiring after this season, leaves with 290.

He checked out with 1:06 left to cheers and hugs from his fellow All-Stars who now put up points in bunches the way Bryant did for so long.

“You get a chance to enjoy it a little bit after having 19 years where you’re just completely, completely focused and immersed in competition,” said Bryant, an All-Star selection for the 18th time. “To have one year where you relax and soak it in feels good.”

Bryant had seven assists and six rebounds, but shot just 4-for-11 in a game where there isn’t really much defense and had never been less. The 369 combined points were 48 more than last year’s record, and both clubs blew away the previous individual team record of 163.

Before Sunday’s game, Bryant said that he had no designs on dominating the ball. He was true to his word.

“I’ve had four MVPs here,” Bryant said. “I mean, these experiences don’t come around that often for the young guys. It’s important for them to take advantage of the moment while it’s here, and I’m here to help them.”

Cousins said his favorite part of All-Star weekend was that “I got to play with a legend, Kobe Bryant. That basically speaks for itself.”

Throughout the game, the coaches let the players draw up some of their own plays. When asked which of his players drew up the best one, the West’s Gregg Popovich picked Cousins.

“We gave him the clipboard and he said ‘Get out of my way, go flat on the baseline and I’m shooting it,’ and he made the three. That might be the only one that worked all night long,” Popovich said.

The game goes back to the U.S. next year, and for the first time since 1997 won’t have Bryant. He made his All-Star debut in New York in 1998, a game also remembered for Michael Jordan’s last with the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan, now chairman of the Hornets, was on hand Sunday for a ceremonial passing of the All-Star torch from Toronto to Charlotte, the 2017 host.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Davis leads ex-Cats with 24 points in West’s All-Star Game win."