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OHIO. — It was a clash of the titans over the weekend, or more precisely a meeting of the titans as 2019 Rugby World Cup winning Springbok Tendai “Beast’’ Mtawarira met American basketball legend Stephen Curry.
Zimbabwe-born Mtawarira (36) was attending the NBA All-Star Weekend which culminated with the 71st NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday.
Curry (33) is the greatest shooter of all time and once more was in top form on Sunday for Team Lebron against Team Durant. Team Lebron beat Team Durant 163-160, as Curry scored a game high 50 points which earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
In between match action, Mtawarira and Curry met in the centre of the court. No doubt Curry had heard that Mtawarira was a Rugby World Cup winner for South Africa, but he seemed surprised, even possibly intimidated, to learn that his nickname was “Beast’’.
The pair also went shoulder-to-shoulder in a scrumming or mauling action as Mtawarira showed Curry how physical the game of rugby is.
Curry also announced he would be making donations to charity according to the number of points he scored in the game.
Meanwhile, Curry got another 3-point record. LeBron James got another All-Star win.
Not a bad night in Ohio for the two All-Stars from Akron.
“It’s right on the nose of how it should go,” Curry said.
Curry turned boos to oohs and aahs with the greatest long-distance shooting performance in All-Star Game history, then James made a turnaround jumper that gave Team LeBron a 163-160 victory over Team Durant on Sunday night.
Curry made 16 3-pointers and scored 50 points, two off Anthony Davis’ record. He was clearly hunting it, asking on the sideline during a sizzling third quarter how many points it would take.
On a night both players were among the greats of the game who were honoured during a half-time ceremony celebrating the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, Curry and James showed why they continue to stand out among today’s best.
Curry, who earlier this season became the NBA’s career leader in 3-pointers, missed his final attempt beyond the arc that would have allowed him to surpass Davis. But with James’ team needing a basket to reach the target score of 163 points, they couldn’t afford to keep feeding Curry.
So James pulled up from deep on the right side for the winning bucket, making him 5-0 in the format where the leading vote-getters in each conference draft teams.
The All-Star Game’s return to Cleveland was expected to be James’ night. He is the Cavaliers franchise’s greatest player, having led them to their only NBA championship in 2016.
Instead, he fittingly co-starred with Curry, who was born in the same Akron hospital three years later.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, increasing what was a 28.8 average that was already best in All-Star Game history. James finished with 24 in his old home. Joel Embiid led Team Durant with 36 points.
Curry finished 16 of 27 beyond the arc — sometimes well, well behind it. He launched a few from the All-Star 2022 logo near midcourt, running backward without even waiting to watch one go in.
The 3-point arc is slightly more than 23 feet away. Curry had made shots listed from 37, 33 and 34 feet during one stretch of the third quarter. Curry had been booed all weekend, smiling through the sounds during program introductions as Cleveland fans made clear they hadn’t forgiven him for helping Golden State beat the Cavaliers three times in the NBA Finals from 2015-18.
But the fans were enjoying his show too much to keep going as the game went on, though the boos returned when he was presented the MVP award that in 2020 was renamed in honour of Kobe Bryant, who won a record-tying four of them. — IOL Sport
Online Reporter