At one point in the second half, Westbrook slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a pass from LA Clippers point guard Chris Paul, and replays showed that he hit his head on the backboard in a stunning display of athleticism.
"It's amazing. It's a blessing to be here in New York City and go home with the trophy," said Westbrook, whose Thunder squad is in a fierce battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
"(Wilt Chamberlain is) a great. I'm happy to be close to him," Westbrook also said, later noting that he missed "four or five lay-ups" that could have helped him break the record.
The West took a huge lead early in the first half before the Cleveland pair of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, with help from four members of the Atlanta Hawks, led a rally by the East. A triple by Irving allowed the East to enter halftime down by just a point, 82-83.
A back-and-forth game followed in the second half, but the West took the lead for good when Houston's James Harden swished a step-back three-pointer with a little over four minutes left that made it 151-148.
Paul then drained two consecutive jumpers to give the West a 155-148 lead with 2:47 to go. The East came as close as three points, 158-161, with 2.8 seconds left after a lay-up by Pau Gasol, but Westbrook iced the win from the free throw line to wrap up the West's win.
"He's unbelievable," James said of Westbrook. "He's an unbelievable talent in our league. His motor, his athleticism, his demeanor about how he approaches the game, it's all great. It's great for our league."
New records
The two teams combined to score 321 points, a new record for the All-Star Game. The Western Conference also combined to hit 25 three-pointers, and the two squads combined for 48 triples – both new records.
Westbrook also set a new record for most points scored in a half when he made 27 points in the first two quarters.
Harden, a top MVP candidate this season, had a fine game as well with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in over 26 minutes of playing time. Stephen Curry, the new three-point shootout king, had 15 points, and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge had 18.
James finished with 30 points and passed Michael Jordan for second place in the All-Star Game scoring list. Kobe Bryant, who was voted as a starter but did not play due to injury, holds the record with 280 points.
Of the four Atlanta Hawks who played in the game, it was sharp-shooting Kyle Korver who shone brightest with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
The game made history right from the start as the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, lined up for the opening tap as the first siblings to ever start the midseason classic. Pau, now playing for the Chicago Bulls, won the tip.
"The opening tip was fun," West coach Steve Kerr said. "Just to see them jumping against each other and to think about them growing up in Spain. Who would have guess that one day, they would jump at center at the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden."
"That was a special moment."
The players from the West team went home with $50,000, double the amount taken away by the losing East players. -- With reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
