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Posts tagged as “Jalen Brunson”

NBA announces All-Star Starters

January 25, 2025

We are just less than a month away from the NBA All-Star, as previously announced, the starters are composed of three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference have been named starters for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 16 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Eastern Conference starters:

  • Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
  • Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks
  • Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference starters:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
  • Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
  • Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
  • LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

This is how the starters are determined;

Fans accounted for 50% of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25% each.

The reserves for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game will be revealed by the end the month. Seven players will be named for each conference: two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players at any position. NBA head coaches will select the reserves.

After the reserves are announced, the 24 NBA All-Star selections will be divided evenly into three eight-player teams.

Team USA Suffers First Loss of FIBA World Cup 2023 to Lithuania

September 4, 2023

Team USA’s unbeaten run at the FIBA World Cup 2023, winning their first five games of the tournament, came to an end on Sunday 3rd of September, when they lost to Lithuania in a thrilling encounter. The final score was 110-104 in favor of Lithuania and in front of 11,349 fans.

The game was played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and saw Lithuania, who played a physical and aggressive game, take control early on. The Lithuanias built a 19 pts lead (12 – 31) in the first qtr and ended the first half with a comfortable 17 pts lead (37 – 54). The Americans led by Anthony Edwards tried to staged a come back but could not get closer than 4 pts (85 -89) with 4:45 mins remaining in the game. Anthony Edwards scored 34 pts and 2 assists, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges both scored 14 pts but where in effective in the closing period of the game. The trio are the only American player to score in double figures.

Compared to the Team USA, Lithuania played a more balanced game with 7 players in double figures. The team is lead by Vaidas Kariniauskas with 15 pts, followed by Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 14 pts and 12 pts, respectively. Valanciunas also grabbed 7 rebs with his 2 blocks.

Lithuania killed the Americans in the second chance points category, making 17 pts against 2 pts from Team USA, 61 – 38 point off the bench. They also shot 52.8% from the field and 56% from three-point range, compare to 37.9% in the 3-pts by the Americans.

The loss is a wake-up call for Team USA, which is still considered the favorite to win the tournament. However, they will need to play better if they want to avoid further upsets.
Despite the loss, Team USA still advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup and are qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They will face Italy on Tuesday, while the Lithuania will face Serbia, who are 4 – 1 in the tournament.

Game Highlights