By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer<\/p>\n
INGLEWOOD \u2014 If you still didn\u2019t like the NBA\u2019s newest All-Star Game format, you probably just don\u2019t like All-Star games.<\/p>\n
That seemed to be the sports sphere\u2019s consensus after the U.S.-against-the-world, round-robin tournament on Sunday produced three thrilling mini-games and several impressive individual performances<\/a>. Something about the setup compelled these stars to play their exhibition at a level much closer to real competition than usual<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think every team honestly wanted to win,\u201d said Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, a member of the victorious Stars team.<\/p>\n That\u2019s no small statement about an event that had become sports shorthand for pointless midseason pseudo-competition<\/a> \u2013 a charade that wasted fans\u2019 time and produced unwatchable TV while players simply tried to get it over with.<\/p>\n That\u2019s precisely why the NBA implemented its fourth format in four years, creating a World team and two teams of Americans to play 12-minute games.<\/p>\n To the surprise of those who assumed this event was irredeemable, it actually worked for most people.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been asking for it, fans have been asking for it, media have been asking for it, (and) I feel that after today, I think you all can see the competition is there,\u201d New York Knicks forward Karl-Anthony Towns said. \u201cI think that we all brought it today, brought a sense of effort. I hope that the fans and all of you appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n An Americans-versus-everybody finale didn\u2019t materialize, however. Instead, the team of slightly younger Americans routed the team of slightly older Americans in an anticlimactic finale.<\/p>\n Even that finish had its entertaining points, though: \u201cWe\u2019re definitely one-up on the uncs right now,\u201d said a grinning Tyrese Maxey, a Philadelphia 76ers guard who scored nine points in the final.<\/p>\n The NBA hasn\u2019t declared a format for next year\u2019s All-Star Game in Phoenix, and the World component has potential problems depending on how many international players are having All-Star-worthy seasons.<\/p>\n Several players, including the Lakers\u2019 LeBron James and the Clippers\u2019 Kawhi Leonard, said they still want a return to the classic East vs. West format \u2013 you know, the one that produced enough bad games to force the NBA to try something different in the first place.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough to imagine basketball in its current state producing an All-Star Game significantly better than this one, but not everything about the All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome was savory.<\/p>\n The highs and lows of an eventful weekend in Inglewood:<\/p>\n DISMAL DUNKS<\/p>\n Just when the NBA might have its All-Star Game fixed, the Slam Dunk Contest was underwhelming enough to prompt fan discussion on how to save a venerable competition that\u2019s running out of steam.<\/p>\n The event immortalized by the likes of Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant was mostly compelling for bad reasons this year, although Miami\u2019s Keshad Johnson did well enough to join 3-Point Contest champion Damian Lillard in an all-Oakland sweep<\/a> of the two marquee events at\u00a0All-Star Saturday.<\/p>\n In the early round, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes gave an effort that drew online criticism from his own fans<\/a>. Orlando\u2019s Jase Richardson took a horrifying fall onto his back and head when his arm hit the backboard on a 360-degree spin attempt<\/a>. Richardson was OK, but the frightening moment underscored the dangers of this event.<\/p>\n Johnson won anticlimactically when San Antonio\u2019s Carter Bryant couldn\u2019t complete an impressive second dunk after scoring a perfect 50 on his first<\/a>.<\/p>\n Can the NBA persuade star players to return to the contest? Can the dunkers rediscover the creativity that compelled Blake Griffin to jump over a car<\/a>, Gerald Green to blow out a cupcake candle on the rim<\/a>, Dwight Howard to put on a cape<\/a> and Vince Carter to stick his whole arm in the hoop<\/a>?<\/p>\n That\u2019s no slam dunk.<\/p>\n KAWHI\u2019S BARRAGE<\/p>\n