Bucks’ Damian Lillard named MVP of 2024 NBA All-Star Game

INDIANAPOLIS – It was Ladies’ time throughout the NBA All-Star weekend.

Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks was named Kobe Bryant's All-Star Game MVP on Sunday after scoring 39 points with 11 3-pointers to lead the Eastern Conference to a 211-186 victory over the West.

He joined Michael Jordan in 1988 as the only other players in league history to win a Saturday night event and be named MVP on the same All-Star weekend.

Lillard won the 3-point contest, edging out Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks in the final round. Jordan won the dunk contest in 1988.

“It's an honor. I've been here many times, so to be able to have this kind of accomplishment, it's special,” Lillard told TNT in an on-court interview after receiving the MVP award. “Whenever you have enough of this type of experience, you want to have This experience – you want to be MVP of the All-Star Game. »

Lillard, in his first season with the Bucks, became the fifth player to win the All-Star Game MVP in his first season with a new team, excluding rookies.

He also became the 20th player to win All-Star MVP while playing for his coach during that season; Milwaukee's Doc Rivers coached the East team, which had the most points in the 73-year history of the game. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.

Lillard said the East wanted the record.

“Everybody was wondering what the toll was,” Lillard said. “We discovered it and we pursued it.”

And Lillard finished with a bang – a 44-footer to close out the scoring.

Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns said he watched Lillard from the West bench while sitting with Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers. “We were impressed,” Durant said.

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics had 36 points for the East, while Tyrese Haliburton of the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32. Lillard's MVP announcement was met with boos from the Indianapolis crowd, who wanted to see Haliburton win the trophy.

“I was just going to keep shooting until I missed…just having fun, playing basketball,” Haliburton said. “I didn't know how many minutes I was going to play, I didn't know how my leg would feel, but I felt good today, even after the one-legged dunk, so that's positive for me.

“It wasn’t high intensity at all, but it felt good to feel good and I hope I can continue that in the future.”

Towns scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 31 points for the West.

ESPN Stats & Information and the Associated Press contributed to this report.