In his sixth NBA All-Star appearance, Kyle Lowry delivered a performance that perfectly encapsulates everything he is known for.
If you like competitive basketball, you might enjoy the performances of Kyle Lowry. But, if you like competitive basketball, you probably haven’t enjoyed the NBA All-Star Game for the last few years. In fact, that’s been the way for a long time now. The All-Star Game was more of an exhibition where the best players in the league just happened to be on the court.
This year’s format changed in honour of the late, great Kobe Bryant would likely alter the competitiveness of the game. It wouldn’t be a defensive clinic by any means, but with money for respective charities on the line, and the final quarter of the game essentially becoming a pick-up game with the first team to reach a target score, defense would at least be more than sporadic.
Team LeBron, led by LeBron James, would go on to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, reaching the target score of 157 points and winning 157-155 on a game-winning free throw from Anthony Davis, who missed the first free throw. Davis got to the line after being fouled by Kyle Lowry in the post, and that led to Lowry receiving criticism.
However, this was an on-brand performance from Lowry. It’s everything Toronto Raptors fans have witnessed over his spell with the Raptors, and it’s glorious. There was a lot of questioning over Nick Nurse’s decision to leave Lowry in crunch time when Trae Young, an All-Star starter, was left on the bench.
Defense was needed down the stretch, though, and that’s enough to necessitate Lowry playing over Young. Marv Albert even mentioned that both teams were playing their best lineups in the fourth quarter.
Lowry finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two charges taken. That’s right, Kyle Lowry took two charges in the NBA All-Star Game. That’s how much this man cares about winning.
It should have been three, in fairness. Lowry first attempted to draw a charge on LeBron James, before successful drawing one on Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Notably, the charge drawn on Harden canceled out a three-pointer that would have won the game, with Team LeBron leading 154-153. Only moments before, Lowry hustled on a switch and closed out Kawhi Leonard and forced him to miss a potential game-winning three.
He pushed the tempo, played sublime passes, and hustled like no one ever has before in the All-Star Game.
This could go down as one of the best All-Star Games of all-time, with a lot of it coming down to the commitment, and hustle from both teams. No play will encapsulate that sentiment more than Kyle Lowry drawing a charge, though.