TORONTO — The Air Canada Centre’s jumbotron played two extended highlight videos. Magic Johnson took center stage to deliver an appreciative speech. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry urged the crowd to rise to its feet for a standing ovation when he checked out, and the fans responded by chanting his name.
But the All-Star Game’s defining Kobe Bryant tribute came when both teams decided to play apathetic defense like the Lakers.
All of the elements for a memorable send-off for Bryant were in place on Sunday, when the West smashed the East 196–173 in a record-setting performance, except for the most critical one: intensity.