OGDEN, Utah, Feb. 18, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Damian Lillard may need an extra carry-on for the flight back to Milwaukee after a successful NBA All-Star Weekend.
The Bucks guard and former Weber State star hit 11 3-pointers — including a pair from half court — to finish with 39 points and win the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
“It’s an honor playing against the game’s best,” Lillard told TNT’s Ernie Johnson following the East’s record-setting 211-186 victory over the West at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. “To be able to come out in the end with [the MVP], it’s a special accomplishment.”
Lillard’s MVP performance in his debut as an All-Star starter was an encore to his stellar showing in the 3-Point Shootout on Saturday night. The eight-time All-Star became the first to repeat as champion in that event since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008.
Lillard also became the first player to win both the MVP and an event on All-Star Saturday Night since Michael Jordan won the Slam Dunk Contest and MVP in 1998.
The East All-Stars set a record for the most points scored in the 76-year history of the NBA midseason exhibition, topping the 196 scored by the West in 2016 in Toronto.
“Once we came out in the third [quarter], we made a lot of shots, and it was like, ‘What’s the record?'” said Lillard, a two-time Big Sky Conference MVP. “Everybody was asking what the record was. We found out and then we went after it.”
Lillard made 14 of 26 shots — including 11 of 23 from 3-point range — and added six assists in Sunday’s game.
Now in his 12th NBA season but his first in Milwaukee, Lillard is averaging 24.6 points per game, down from his career-high 32.2 points per game last season with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s also averaging fewest minutes of his career at 34.9 per game.
Former Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, finished with nine points and seven rebounds for the East.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl Anthony-Towns led all scorers with 50 points for the West.
