NEW ORLEANS — The show didn’t end for John Wall when he grabbed the ball from the Washington Wizards’ muscular blue mascot G-Wiz and threw down a double-pump reverse jam to claim the first slam dunk title in franchise history. His celebratory dance with Indiana Pacers forward Paul George late Saturday was merely the appetizer for the event for which he has waited four years to be a participant.
Though he felt that he should’ve been starting, Wall made the most of his limited time off the bench, producing several highlight plays while scoring 12 points in 15 minutes as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 163-155, in the 63rd annual All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center. Wall was a spectator for the final stretch of the fourth quarter but still finished with the most points scored in an all-star game by a Wizards player since Michael Jordan had 20 in his 14th and final appearance in 2003.
Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving occupied most of the minutes at point guard and it was hard to dispute the decision of Indiana Pacers Coach Frank Vogel as Irving was named most valuable player after scoring 31 points. Irving, a third-year point guard who was voted in as the starter, was the best offensive weapon for the East with his range from long distance and ridiculous handle.
Matched up with Houston center Dwight Howard, Irving got some separation with a sick crossover dribble, then threw up a high arcing shot that was just outside of Howard’s reach and dropped. Irving was dropping fadeaway jumpers and penetrating into the lane for layups to help the East rally from an 18-point deficit to take a 153-152 lead.
But District native Kevin Durant answered with a three-pointer only to have Houston Rockets guard James Harden foul George on a three-pointer. George made all of the free throws and Irving later found Carmelo Anthony (30 points) for his all-star game record eighth three-pointer to put the East up by four points. When Irving fed LeBron James for a driving layup, the game was all but secured.
Durant has been the front-runner for league’s MVP for most of the season, assaulting scoreboards with his 30-point outbursts and was out to separate himself from the best of the best as he matched Blake Griffin with a game-high 38 points.
Wall had to wait the entire first quarter to enter the game, with Vogel going with an interesting lineup featuring James at point guard, George at shooting guard, Anthony at small forward, Chris Bosh at power forward and former Georgetown star Roy Hibbert at center.
At the end of the first period, Magic Johnson grabbed the microphone and led the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for NBA legend Bill Russell, who turned 80 last week. Johnson then coerced all of the all-stars to pay their respects to Russell and shake his hand.
Wall went from greeting Russell directly to hitting the floor and it didn’t take long for him to get on the scoreboard. With San Antonio guard Tony Parker playing more apathetic defense than usual in this exhibition, Wall easily glided down the lane for a layup that he hopes will be the first of many more in all-star competition.
This weekend was difficult for Wall as his mother, Frances Pulley, remains hospitalized, but the 23-year-old has tried his best to have some fun during a stressful time. He is part of a new generation of all-stars born in the 1990s — along with George and Irving, Portland’s Damian Lillard and New Orleans center Anthony Davis — that is taking its cue from the new “old heads” in James, Dwyane Wade and Anthony.
“We babies coming up. We babies trying to follow the path those guys set,” Wall said before the game. “Try to make a statement on this league and have a good career. Hopefully, that’s my goal to be one every year from now on. Once you get started, I want to be one until my career is over. That’s my goal, to try to keep improving and try to win games.”
Wall was feeling so good after his basket went in that he decided to take a three-pointer that missed badly. After missing another point-blank layup, Wall decided that the best way to finish was to dunk. He took a pass from Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson and converted a two-handed reverse.
Griffin scored 18 points in the first quarter, throwing down seven dunks. His Los Angeles Clippers teammate Chris Paul, whose career began in New Orleans, whirled the ball around his waist and dropped off a pass to Griffin. Griffin uncorked a vicious windmill slam.
But while Griffin led in volume, James led in bombast with his first-quarter dunks. He started the game with back-to-back dunks and brought all of his teammates on the Eastern Conference bench out of their seats when he caught a lob pass from Anthony, switched hands from right to left while mid-air and threw down a dunk. James’s missed dunk even generated a buzz as he attempted to finish another alley-oop dunk but bumped his elbow at the bottom of the basket and lost control of the ball.
When Wall returned late in the third quarter, he helped the East close within 126-123 when he had a crossover dribble to get around Portland’s Lillard, then drove the lane the lane for a two-handed scoop shot. Wall added a two-handed, double pump slam dunk and two more free throws before his night was over.
“It’s kind of different, but we’ve got a lot of young talent in the NBA that’s starting to develop and prove that they belong in the NBA on an all-star level,” Wall said. “I think this league is in a great place.”
