All-Star Grades: East All-Stars

All-Star Grades: Rising Stars | Celebrity | Skills | 3-Point | Dunk | East | West

The East was down by 20 points in the first half but got back into it to push the West in the final minutes before losing 163-158.

TEAMS: STARTERS | RESERVES

STARTERS

John Wall, Wizards | Grade: A-

Stats: 19 PTS (9-16) | 3 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Wall was born for these games. He kicked things off by cracking Steph Curry's ankles for a two-handed slam in the first quarter. After being left off the Team USA squad, Wall played like he had something to prove. He drained a 3, threw down dunks and fed the ball to shooters.

Kyle Lowry, Raptors | Grade: B+

Stats: 10 PTS (4-13) | 3 REB | 8 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Starting in his first All-Star Game, Lowry was pretty quiet ... and then out of nowhere, the putback dunk happened. Lowry stands maybe 6 feet tall and packs an enormous caboose in tow. So watching him rise up for a one-handed putback slam generated a collective "Wait, Kyle Lowry?" gasp from the audience. The temperature outside was warmer than his jump shot, though.

Carmelo Anthony, Knicks | Grade: D+

Stats: 14 PTS (6-20) | 7 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK

Analysis: It took awhile for Melo to catch fire on his home court, but he eventually hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the second quarter and did his signature head pound walking back on defense. Actually, it was more like a spark. Melo was ice cold for the rest of the night. True story: Melo blocked someone in an All-Star Game. Maybe a sign he won't shut it down?

LeBron James, Cavaliers | Grade: A

Stats: 30 PTS (11-21) | 5 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: LeBron James played harder on defense in this one than he did in any November game. James was everywhere on both ends of the court, scoring 15 points in the first quarter before you could blink. There's nothing quite like watching James sprinting full-speed with the ball and he did it a bunch in this one.

Pau Gasol, Bulls | Grade: C

Stats: 10 PTS (5-7) | 12 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK

Analysis: Starting against his younger brother, Pau Gasol wasn't playing around. From the outset, he welcomed first-time All-Star Klay Thompson to the big stage by swatting his transition 3-pointer into the front row. His real highlights came on the video board in between timeouts when he was quizzed about New York terminology and failed brilliantly on each query.

RESERVES

Al Horford, Hawks | Grade: B

Stats: 8 PTS (4-6) | 7 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Like Chris Bosh, Horford's style doesn't scream All-Star, but he did have a Vine-able putback dunk in the third quarter. He soared from the top of the key and caught the ball from the rafters for the two-handed throwdown. Outside of that and a handful of rebounds, Horford just played solid hoops in the most Horford way possible.

Paul Millsap, Hawks | Grade: C-

Stats: 5 PTS (2-6) | 6 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Millsap wants that one back. In the third quarter, he flubbed a wide-open tomahawk dunk from a feed by Kyle Korver. So Hawks. Oddly enough, Korver and Millsap struggled to get into rhythm all night. Luckily for Millsap, he got to dunk an easy one on the very next play. He used two hands though.

Jeff Teague, Hawks | Grade: B+

Stats: 14 PTS (6-9) | 1 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: He stole Damian Lillard's cookies in the second quarter and flushed it home for a two-handed jam. Not a bad way to debut in the All-Star Game. As a Wake Forest alum, I have to point out that Teague was one of three Demon Deacons in this game along with Tim Duncan and Chris Paul, the most alums for any school in the game. He put Kevin Durant in a blender, but couldn't finish the layup.

Jimmy Butler, Bulls | Grade: C

Stats: 6 PTS (3-4) | 1 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Butler stayed within his lane for most of the night and didn't get much run. Probably shrewd considering how many miles he's about to burn in the second half of the season. Maybe Tom Thibodeau put in a call to Coach Bud?

Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers | Grade: B-

Stats: 11 PTS (4-9) | 6 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: While John Wall dazzled the crowd, Irving kept it cool out there. Maybe he burned too much energy in the 3-point contest or Saturday night's festivities. He got same late-game minutes next to James, which probably shows the kind of respect Budenholzer has for the Cleveland duo.

Kyle Korver, Hawks | Grade: A

Stats: 21 PTS (7-13) | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: Korver made up for his disappointing 3-point contest performance by draining his first three trifectas in the game. He has hit 55 percent of open catch-and-shoot 3-pointers this season, so he's tailor-made for the All-Star Game, which traffics almost exclusively in fast breaks. All in all, he drained seven 3-pointers, but it felt like 17.

Chris Bosh, Heat | Grade: C

Stats: 10 PTS (4-6) | 3 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK

Analysis: As the lone Miami rep in this game, Bosh never even got the chance to warm up. He was glued to the bench for most of this game, which is probably fair because his finesse game doesn't cater to the night's fireworks.

DNP: Dwyane Wade, Heat (hamstring)