Just as in the past NBA Africa Games, new names were added to the list of players who distinguished themselves on African soil, history was made, and fans enjoyed an evening of fine entertainment.
The biggest hero of the day has got to be Danilo Gallinari, mainly because he ended up on the winning side. The Los Angeles Clippers forward set a record that may be hard to beat in this series: his shooting was ridiculous. ‘The Rooster’ made 9-of-10 field goals, and was 100 percent from range at 3-for-3. He led Team World with 23 points and was rightly named Most Valuable Player.
But that was because Team Africa came up short. Joel Embiid also had a memorable NBA Africa Game debut with a game-high 24 points. And he also led Team Africa in all major categories with eight rebounds and four assists.
Another high point was the intensity of the game: both teams played solid defence. JaVale McGee stayed with Embiid early, to stop him from getting in the groove; Gallinari was accidentally poked in the eye down the stretch as Team Africa tried to stop his roll and the Italian complained; and Embiid floored John Collins while attempting a block. There were 19 steals in the game—Team World had 10 while Team Africa grabbed nine as the hands got busy. It was an intense exhibition game.
It was a joy to see Luol Deng enjoying himself after such a long time on the Lakers bench. The 33-year-old proved there was nothing wrong with his game, and would have given some NBA general managers something to think about. Deng scored 14 points in 23 minutes on 6-of-10 shooting, and added three rebounds and three steals.
History was made with 8:11 left in the second quarter, when two former WNBA stars stepped on the floor. Clarisse Machanguana, who is from Mozambique and played with the Los Angeles Sparks, Charlotte Stings and Orlando Miracle, replaced Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, while three-time WNBA champion and four-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash came on in place of Garret Temple. Their presence opened the door to a future possibility of the addition of current WNBA stars to future NBA Africa Games.
JaVale McGee has attempted only 15 shots from range in the 558 games he has played in his 10-year NBA career, and he has made only one. That lone 3-point shot came in the 2012-13 season when he was at Denver. McGee attempted four against Team Africa, and made one. That was the most he has attempted in any game.
Then there was the halftime show, where Joel Embiid again showed the size of his heart. The Cameroonian was picked out by children playing to win ZAR100,000 for Nelson Mandela Charity as the one they wanted to play against. Their job was to make a basket within 40 seconds, and they made the shot in half the time. Then, JoJo added his own ZAR100,000 to the kitty, and the crowd cheered.
Finally, there were the plays. Gallinari nailed a late dagger to end the hopes of a Team World comeback, Harrison Barnes, Hassan Whiteside and Embiid threw down eye-catching jams, Embiid showed his handle in the third quarter with a pretty play that started at the top of the key, and ended with a layup, Luwawu-Cabarrot nailed timely treys that kept Team Africa in the game, and Pascal Siakam was impressive with his hustle at both ends of the floor when he came of the bench.
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