The Eastern Conference's advantage was indeed enormous.
Even after Chen Xi left the court, they still maintained a firm grip on the game's rhythm, even widening the score difference further.
The interesting part was that when James Harden and Paul George entered the game and successively knocked down outside three-pointers, the situation and tempo on the court began to grow increasingly strange.
Held back by the ever-growing score difference, the Western Conference players finally felt some urgency and, wanting to catch up, immediately began taking far more Three-point shots.
Then, after their opponents answered with two straight threes, the Eastern Conference side seemed to take it as a provocation and likewise dramatically increased their Three-point attempts.
Thus, a perfectly good All-Star Game was inexplicably brought into the atmosphere of a Three-Point Contest.
One side pulled up for a dribble jumper, the other launched one from way beyond the arc.
Whether it went in or not, they shot first and worried later~~
Whoever had the hot hand was tonight's MVP~~
Whoever had the cold hand obediently passed the ball and grabbed rebounds...
Time gradually ran its course amid this somewhat absurd exhibition game.
Finally, with the sound of the whistle, the game came to an end.
The final score between the Eastern and Western Conferences was 174-165.
The East All-Stars won the game by 9 points.
And Damian Lillard, the player with the best touch from beyond the arc that night, rode the momentum of hitting a full 11 three-pointers and scoring a game-high 39 points to win the MVP trophy for this All-Star Game.
As for Chen, in roughly twenty minutes of playing time, he put up a "mere" 8 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals, happily coasting through the entire game.
After the final All-Star MVP award