Sports Brief: Week of Feb. 12 – 18

NBA: All-Star Weekend

Prior to the tipoff, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade took the opportunity to thank Commissioner Adam Silver and their league counterparts for their inclusion in the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte, NC. Both of the future Hall of Famers showed flashes of their younger days as Dirk drained back-to-back threes late in the first quarter and Wade combined with LeBron James to connect on another iconic alley-oop.

Kevin Durant, who scored 31 points and grabbed seven boards, led Team LeBron back from a 20-point deficit to win 178-164, giving him his second All-Star Game MVP.

The All-Star festivities, which kicked off two days prior to the All-Star Game on Feb. 15, showcased the upcoming talent in the league. Los Angeles Laker Kyle Kuzma, who redshirted his freshman year of college and was a late first-round pick, finished with 35 points in the Rising Stars game and was titled the 2019 Rising Stars MVP.

The next day featured the Skills Challenge, Three-point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest. Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics threw in a half-court shot to defeat Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young in the Skills Challenge. Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris started the three-point contest off with a 25-point opener and toppled marksman Stephen Curry in the final round. Oklahoma City’s own Hamidou Diallo took home the dunk-contest crown, leaping over 7-foot-1-inch Shaquille O’Neal along the way.

UFC: Fight Night

The UFC Fight Night featured the highly anticipated return of Cain Velasquez in the main event of the evening, Feb. 17. Knockout artist Francis Ngannou needed only 26 seconds to drop Velasquez with a short right-handed uppercut. The heavyweight contest headlined ESPN’s first live event with the UFC.

For a recap of the remainder of the fight card, click here.

NASCAR: Daytona 500

Denny Hamlin won his second Daytona 500 in four years yesterday, Feb. 17. Hamlin dedicated his race and season to JD Gibbs, whose oldest son died last month due to a degenerative neurological disease. Gibbs, who helped start the racing team owned by his father, discovered Hamlin in a test session at Hickory Motor Speedway early in his career and was part of the pit crew during Hamlin’s first Daytona 500 victory.

In the waning laps of the event, Paul Menard turned Matt DiBenedetto, who slammed into the wall, creating a 21-car pileup. It was one of five crashes within the last 20 laps of regulation.

College Hoops: Cameron Young drops 55

Quinnipiac University guard Cameron Young scored a massive 55 points in a 107-100 triple-overtime win against Siena College on Sunday, Feb 17.

Young’s scoring came primarily from beyond the arc, sinking nine of his 13 attempts from deep. He finished shooting 63 percent from the floor and connected on 16 of his 20 free throw attempts. It is the highest scoring output in a NCAA Division I game since 2008, when North Dakota State University’s Ben Woodside finished with 60 points against Stephen F. Austin University.

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