Britney Griner impresses in her emotional return to the WNBA All-Star Game, as Jewel Lloyd’s record 31 points help Brenna Stewart’s team win
Lloyd hit ten 3-pointers to score a record number of points in the All-Star Game Both teams attempted 232 shots, including 137 3-point attempts Newstimesuk.com provides all the latest international sports news
Brittney Griner made an emphatic and emotional return to the WNBA’s mid-season showcase event.
He scored his team’s first six points, pulled down two dunks and finished with 18 points in the league’s all-star game Saturday night.
The sellout crowd roared as Griner was introduced, and visibly moved by the wave, he tapped his heart with his right hand.
No doubt, after a year of forced absence from the event, Griner was the star of the show.
‘I didn’t think I’d be here today,’ Griner said. ‘It means a lot to me to send letters and love to everyone.’
Britney Griner puts on a show as she helps Tim Stewart win a WNBA All-Star Game
Griner had a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 143-127 win.
Greener New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart edged Tim Stewart 143-127, led by Tim Wilson, led by A’ja Wilson.
Seattle Storm’s Tim Stewart’s Jewel Lloyd broke the All-Star Game scoring record with 31 points, set by Griner. Maya Moore and Kelsey Plum each held the previous record with 30 points. Lloyd earned MVP honors for the game.
Plum actually tied his own record with 30 points, one of four aces to compete for Tim Wilson, who received a loud reception from the home crowd in his pregame introduction.
This time last year Griner was jailed in Russia on drug charges, sparking international outrage that he was wrongfully imprisoned. The WNBA named him an honorary starter after every player wore his No. 42 jersey in the second half of last year’s game.
This time Griner was actually in the starting lineup — the only one with that jersey number — overshadowed almost everything that happened on the court.
Tim Stewart made Griner the centerpiece from the start. He delivered a dunk off an outlet pass from Stewart with 3:50 left in the first quarter. Griner also had a dunk just 25 seconds into the second half.
‘I got on my knees and talked to them and gave them a little pep talk,’ Griner, 32, said of his dunks.
At one point in the first quarter, Greener Tim Wilson challenged point guard Chelsea Gray of the Aces, but Gray outran the nine-time All-Star from the Phoenix Mercury and dropped a reverse layup off the glass.
Jewel Lloyd led the way for Tim Stewart, hitting 10 3-pointers for 31 points on the night.
In the first media timeout, Griner was shown on the video board as she sat on the bench, ‘Welcome Back Brittney Griner’ on the screen below her face.
Griner was among the players who wore a microphone during the game, joking that he ‘got something in my eye’ after missing a 3-pointer.
The game was played with a 20-second shot clock instead of the usual 24, two four-point spots were added to each side of the court, and there were no free throws. Teams can make a combined 12 four-point shots.
New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, representing Tim Stewart, made all three of her attempts from four-point range in the first half, carrying over her outstanding shooting from the day before. Ionescu set a WNBA and NBA record with 37 of a possible 40 points in the 3-point contest. He finished with 18 points.
Sue Bird, Simone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles were among the former WNBA players in attendance, with Fowles wearing Nefisa Collier’s Minnesota Lynx jersey.
Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Dwyane Wade were on hand to watch the NBA tie. Wade buys an ownership stake in the Chicago Sky.
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