The NBA’s leading scorer played like it Sunday night in Cleveland.
Sixers superstar Joel Embiid did not win All-Star Game MVP, though, because of a spectacular Stephen Curry shooting display.
Curry earned the Kobe Bryant MVP Award with 50 points and 16 made three-pointers, an All-Star record, in a 163-160 win by Team LeBron over Team Durant. It’s the first All-Star MVP for the 33-year-old, who sank several shots from near half court in an electrifying performance.
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Embiid, an All-Star starter for the fifth consecutive time, posted a team-high 36 points on 14-for-20 shooting (5 for 8 from three-point range), 10 rebounds and four assists.
Curry, who in December set the NBA’s all-time mark for made threes in a career, was born in Akron, Ohio. So was LeBron James, whose fadeaway jumper over Zach LaVine and Embiid sealed the victory.
Embiid was casually efficient throughout the night. At seven feet tall, he made a windmill dunk look rather easy.
He took the fourth quarter seriously as both teams fought to reach the Elam Ending target score of 163. Though Nuggets big man and MVP contender Nikola Jokic started the game, Team LeBron closed with Jarrett Allen.
Embiid drew two fouls on Allen, but the Cavs center managed to stop him in a couple of one-on-one encounters. Last Saturday, Embiid threw down a fierce dunk over Allen and notched a 40-point triple-double.
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New Sixer James Harden was part of Team LeBron but did not play. Harden has been rehabbing his left hamstring and said at his introductory press conference Tuesday that his hamstring felt “really good.”
“You talk about guys that I’ve played with, he’s probably going to be the best yet based on what he’s accomplished in his career so far," Embiid said of Harden last week. “So it’s just about getting everybody on the same page and finding the right way to play. We already have a system in place and we’ve just got to try to bring him along, incorporate a bunch of new stuff that he’s good at, and put it all together.”
Harden was honored at halftime as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history. Former Sixers Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Julius Erving and Billy Cunningham were in attendance, too. The late Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Hal Greer and Dolph Schayes were also among those recognized with the league celebrating its 75th season, as well as the late Paul Arizin, a Philadelphia native and star for Villanova and the Philadelphia Warriors, and Earl Monroe, who grew his legend on Philadelphia playgrounds.
The Sixers haven’t had an All-Star Game MVP since Iverson in 2005. He first won the award in 2001, the year he led the Sixers to the NBA Finals and also lifted the league MVP trophy.
For Embiid, replicating the final two parts of that special Iverson season still looks like a possibility.