NBA All-Star Game: Team Shaq cruises to victory as new tournament format comes under fire

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In an All-Star tournament that was met with pushback for its format and its coverage, Team Shaq prevailed on Sunday when the basketball was all said and done.

In the three-team mini-tournament, Team Shaq’s squad of All-Star veterans defeated Team Candace’s roster of non All-Stars in the semifinal round. It then rolled past Team Chuck’s squad of international All-Stars via a 41-25 victory in the final to secure the title of 2025 All-Star champions.

Each player on Team Shaq secured a $125,000 prize for the victory. Team Chuck’s runners-up earned $50,000, while the semifinal losers secured $25,000 each just for making it to Sunday.

After facing a challenge from Team Candace’s Rising Stars team in the semifinals, Team Shaq started the final on fire with an 11-0 lead, sparked by eight early points from Jayson Tatum. Team Chuck never challenged as Team Shaq cruised to a 41-25 win.

Tatum led the way with 15 points, including the game-winning bucket. Warrios star Stephen Curry added 12 points in front of a San Francisco crowd.

Format, broadcast draw less-than-glowing reviews

In between and sometimes during the games, the broadcast featured commentary and banter from comedian Kevin Hart that distracted from the basketball and was met with vocal criticism on social media.

The tournament format itself, meanwhile, was the subject of harsh criticism on the TNT broadcast from Draymond Green.

Team Shaq avoids disaster

Playing without an injured LeBron James, Team Shaq averted disaster in the second semifinal of Sunday’s All-Star mini tournament.

Led by nine points from Damian Lillard, Team Shaq scored a 42-35 win over Team Candace’s roster of Rising Stars.

In the first-to-40 format, Team Candace kept pace with Team Shaq for much of the game that was tied at 28-28. But Team Shaq pulled away with a 14-7 run to secure the win and avoid losing to a team of non-All-Stars. Team Shaq missed a bunch of shots down the stretch as they tried to end the game on a 3-pointer while sitting on 37 points.

Officials then ignored an obvious foul of Kevin Durant as Team Shaq sat on 39 points in an apparent effort to avoid having the game end on the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/live/nba-all-star-game-team-shaq-cruises-to-victory-as-new-tournament-format-comes-under-fire-000557340.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-17 00:05:00

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