All of the All-Star festivities have come to an end and it was the East All-Stars who came away victorious, edging out the West 141-139.  The results from some of the other events included Nate Robinson winning a lackluster Dunk Contest (his 3rd), Paul Pierce shooting his way to the top in the 3-Point Shootout, Steve Nash showing off his skills on his way to winning the Skills Challenge, and the guard dominant rookies beating the sophomores 140-128 in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge Game.  The All-Star game itself wasn’t the most exciting game, but you can’t expect too much as it is an exhibition game after all.  Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant, who sat out with an ankle injury, said it best, “This is the best pick-up game in the world.”  It was good to see that the game was actually close and the players did get more competitive down the stretch, looking like they actually cared about winning.  Dwyane Wade put on a good show for the East All-Stars, coming away with the MVP award with a stat line of 28 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.  The hometown All-Star Dirk Nowitzki played well, finishing with 22 points, but it was Carmelo Anthony who led the West All-Stars with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  LeBron James also put on a good show for the East, and had some dunks that were better than what we saw in the Dunk Contest itself.

Speaking of the dunk contest, it was one of the poorer contests in recent years.  I get it, Nate Robinson is a little guy who can leap and has some entertaining dunks, but is he really worthy of being a 3-Time Dunk Contest Champion?  I was very disappointed in Shannon Brown of the Lakers, who I really thought would bring the house down as he is the most explosive leaper in the NBA in my opinion.  It’s time for the stars to start competing in the contest again (LeBron where you at?).  Paul Pierce and his 45% 3-point percentage this season came and lit it up from downtown on his way to winning the contest.  Pierce had to go ahead and ruin his shootout win by declaring himself, “The best shooter in NBA history.” Great shooter?  Yes.  Best in NBA history?  Not even close.

The biggest story of the All-Star Weekend, however, was not who won the actual All-Star game or who came away as the Slam Dunk Contest Champion, but it was the atmosphere of the event itself.  The fans poured into the new $1.2 million Cowboys Stadium, 108,713 to be exact.  That absolutely shattered the previous All-Star game attendance record of 44,735 set in 1989 at the Houston Astrodome.  Even the All-Stars themselves, who are used to constant attention and large crowds, were awed by just how huge of an event this really was.  Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban and Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones got this event together, and they deserve a lot of credit.  I would like to see a NCAA Final Four here within the next few years, as that stadium can make events go from huge to epic.  All in all, the All-Star weekend was an entertaining and fun event, with the players and fans really getting to enjoy themselves.  Now it is time for a strong and competitive second half of the NBA, and it’s looking like Kobe and the Lakers may be meeting LeBron and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals this year.