The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas and Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It was the 56th annual All-Star Game. It was the first time the All-Star Game was played in a city without an NBA franchise and first to be played on a college campus. The game was televised on TNT at 9 ET as part as the NBA on TNT production studios.
The Western Conference set All-Star records with 69 field goals and 52 assists on its way to an emphatic 153–132 win over the Eastern Conference All-Stars at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Amar'e Stoudemire racked up 29 points and nine boards and Carmelo Anthony had 20 and nine for the West. LeBron James led the Eastern Conference with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists and Dwight Howard tallied 20 points and 12 boards. Kobe Bryant, previously the MVP of the 2002 All-Star Game, moved from 11th to 10th place on all-time All-star scoring, surpassing Magic Johnson. Bryant posted 31 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists and steals; for his performance, he was selected as the MVP of the All-Star game receiving a more favorable reception from the crowd than 2002. Also, Dirk Nowitzki became the first European born-player to be a starter at the All-Star Game.
As announced on August 5, 2005, the NBA, led by Commissioner David Stern, would not allow wagering on the results of the game in the state of Nevada.
Famous quotes containing the word game:
“My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly say “I do not play bridge” is allowed to go over in the corner and run the pianola by himself, while the poor neophyte, no matter how much he may protest that he isn’t “at all a good player, in fact I’m perfectly rotten,” is never believed, but dragged into a game where it is discovered, too late, that he spoke the truth.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)