NBA All-Star Game 2016: West outscores East, 196-173

Drake ruined what could have been one of the best sports photos of all time. The smile on LeBron’s face while he’s guarding Kobe. Seeing Mamba focused like a laser on his opponent. It’s all perfect ... except for Drake. Commenters took notice:

What people didn’t know was that this is a regular occurrence. Drake has been ruining amazing sports photos for decades and nobody noticed.

The Western Conference dismantled the Eastern Conference in a record-setting offensive barrage, 196-173, in Toronto on Valentine’s Day. The 196 points by the West was an NBA All-Star Game record, and the teams’ combined point total of 369 set a record, too.

Like in nearly every All-Star game, defense was hard to come by. No team had scored 90 or more points in a half in All-Star Game history, but with the West leading 92-90, both teams did so in the first half.

We thought it would take months if not years to see someone dethrone Aaron Gordon’s dunk as the best dunk performed on an NBA court, but somehow it only took a day.

During a brief timeout in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, the fans witnessed the dunking prowess of Jordan Kilganon, who used the same elements of Gordon’s dunk and just took it a step further. This man has the skills to jump over his partner, grab the basketball, and slam it. Without looking. In jeans.

Bryant had 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists in his final All-Star Game. He was treated to two montages before the game and a heartfelt speech from Magic Johnson. He addressed the crowd before tip-off, thanking the fans for voting him into a starting spot.

He was sent off to a standing ovation, fitting for the 18-time All-Star -- and four-time All-Star Game MVP.

Westbrook won his second MVP award in as many years. The reigning MVP was in attack mode — just like every other game — all night. He took advantage of the All-Star Game level defense by the East, who gave up 105 points over the second and third quarters.

He didn’t score 41 points like he did in last year’s MVP performance, but he attacked the rim with ferocity all night and he drove the West’s offensive onslaught all night.

Slam Dunk Contest: Aaron Gordon is the best runner-up ever

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Sting, who is 64 and from England, has a glorious beard.

Sting next sang a Police song called “Message in a Bottle,” which came out in 1979, when current NBA commissioner Adam Silver was 17 and clearly in love with new wave music.

We love basketball. We love Adele. So why not combine both? Well they did at the NBA All-Star Game.

So great.

On his final stretch before retiring, Kobe Bryant has been congratulated from almost everyone that has come across his path this NBA season.

in December, the Hornets honored Kobe in his final game in Charlotte. In that tribute, Michael Jordan said a few words to the Lakers legends. He called him his little brother. But the praise from His Airness did not stop there. Just before Kobe participated in his final All-Star Game, the Jordan brand sent out a congratulatory tweet of its own. But this tweet comes with a few gifts. Kobe will be receiving every Air Jordan shoe.

The All-Star Game is under way and everyone is going all in. We’ve seen bullet passes and insane alley-oops. We even saw a Steph Curry dunk. Kevin Durant also had a wide open slam, but you wouldn’t be able to tell if you saw Gregg Popovich. In fact, he looks a little sad.

I guess Pop is just accustomed to seeing great players play.

Before the game, Cirque du Soleil put on a performance that included some basketball. At one point, one of the performers spun around over and over while they held a giant basketball. Most of it was was a beautiful mix of colors, which performers leaping into the sky and disappearing a second later. At one point, the giant screen they used for illusions became a basketball court but then the screen became an endless stream of temporary doors.

The performance ended with a short montage of NBA plays and soundbites, including a remix of Shaq saying “Can you dig it?”

With Kobe Bryant playing his final NBA All-Star Game, we have already seen a few tributes to the Lakers legend. Drake honored him with with a custom jacket. Every other All-Star got their chance to take a photo with the Black Mamba prior to the game.

But fans in attendance got their own Kobe memento. Every fan received a timeline depicting Bryant’s entire All-Star career.

The Memphis Grizzlies could have used anyone on their roster to make a Valentine’s Day post. They could have used Marc Gasol, but he’s out indefinitely so we can see why the team wouldn’t use him. It would be too sad. But using Matt Barnes on Twitter brings up a whole other range of emotions.

Late last year, Barnes reportedly attacked former Knicks coach Derek Fisher because he was involved with Barnes’ ex-wife. That resulted in a two-game suspension. To make matters worse, Barnes called Fisher a snitch when asked about the altercation.

For the West, all eyes will be on the guards. Curry is having one of the best scoring seasons ever and routinely does things like pulling up from near center court. The setting is perfect for him to let loose and fire away, showing off his historically great shooting.

When it comes to the East, James is still the biggest draw. In the eyes of many he no longer holds the title of best player in the world anymore, so he could be motivated to take over the game to show everyone that he’s still the king. James has two All-Star MVP awards but won his last one in 2008. It will be interesting to see if he goes for it this year or if he defers to his teammates.

In a field of stars in their prime, 37-year-old future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant will be the center of attention at the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto. The 18-time All-Star, who’s seven years older than his next-oldest teammate, is set to make his final appearance in a game that parades the league’s best.

MVP-favorite Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard will join Bryant in a starting lineup which doesn’t include a true power forward or center.

The NBA tends to experiment with its All-Star jerseys, which is not always a good idea. Fortunately, the millions of viewers who will tune in Sunday to watch the league’s best players battle will not be distracted by the uniforms. The design for the 2016 All-Star game is clean and Canada-inspired, with just enough details to pay tribute to the host city, Toronto, without going overboard.

All those elements have been seamlessly integrated, so they don’t attract too much attention. It’s not common for jerseys to be so referential to the city hosting the event, but since it’s the first time the game will take place outside of the U.S. the decision to go in that direction makes sense. In the end, the uniforms look sleek without being bland. The league got it right this time.