2013 NBA All-Star Game: How the West won

NBA All-Star weekend has come and gone in Houston, with the Western Conference All-Stars notching their third straight All-Star Game victory in the contest. The West topped the East, 143-138, Sunday night as we said goodbye to Kevin Hart cameos and Alicia Keys’ leather sweatpants.

Kobe’s clock is ticking, and in the past he has made it a point to chirp at LeBron during the All-Star Game. During last year’s All-Star Game, Bryant chided LeBron for not taking the final shot. In Houston, Kobe went after James again, and it turned into two blocks that had everybody buzzing.

Afterward, Paul acknowledged what the award meant to him:

It was not surprising to see Paul excel in a game like this, as the fast pace suits his style of play well:

Given that Ke$ha tends to pander to a much younger crowd, this actually isn’t that far off. Some may say that Allen doesn’t know who Ke$ha is. I say he knows exactly who Ke$ha is. Is there a better possible description of her than this?

Actual resumes on the coat instead of patches would be really entertaining.

With the East on the ropes late, Joakim Noah broke down the court with the ball. Chris Paul challenged him from behind and ...

Yep, Noah popped him with an elbow. In the chops. In an All-Star Game.

The off-the-glass jam is always fun, but usually not that spectacular. Well done, Blake.

EXCLUSIVE!

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Because, of course.

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I’m really not sure what’s going on in this .gif, but I know it’s glorious. It comes from the TNT Overtime feed, time unknown. Consider this a stand-in for the lack of inflatable mascot dancing .gifs.

Alicia Keys performed at halftime of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston. It’s important to note the game was in Houston, because Keys started the show with a version of Empire State of Mind. In case you’re unfamiliar with the song, it involves shouting “New York” a lot and talking about how great New York is. It was as weird and awkward as it sounds.

Keys was wearing what are best described as leather sweatpants. Our own Tom Ziller assures me that her pants are considered very fashionable right now. If you have a better way to describe them, I’m open to suggestions.

Say, Alicia Keys, do you think it’s a good idea to sing “Empire State of Mind” when Jay-Z is sitting in the crowd?

Do you think those leather sweatpants are a good idea?

The West has been leading throughout pretty much the entire half. They bolted out to a quick 10-4 lead and held a 31-26 lead after the first quarter. The East kept it close in the second quarter, but trailed by as many as eight late in the half before trimming the deficit back down to four at the break.

I’m sure there are people that know Alicia Keys better than me that have a perfectly valid explanation for those pants. To me, though, they look like LeBron James’ shirt from All-Star Saturday Night, and that’s not a compliment.

Paul did save face for Bosh at halftime, saying that Bosh was guarding so well that between the legs was the only way to get past him.

Meanwhile, Chris Paul is still really good at passing the ball.

Something tells me KG is going to miss this part of his career more than you think.

Welp.

Why did Oklahoma City have to make that trade?

Bosh is currently on pace for eight air balls in the All-Star Game.

Update: Wally Szczerbiak is not impressed.

Another angle!

Of course the announcing crew mentioned that the dunk was better than most of what we saw in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday. Because it was. LeBron is all we need.

Apparently in Canada every child learns the national anthem and apparently Drake is from Canada and apparently he enjoys hanging out at NBA events and apparently he wants everyone to know that he still knows all of the words to the Canadian national anthem and apparently he can sing!

Drake!