TNT and NBA TV will be in Orlando for live exclusive coverage of NBA All-Star 2012 on February 24-26. Tonight, TNT will present the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at 9 p.m. (ET). Beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, February 25, TNT will have exclusive live coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm. The network’s exclusive presentation of the NBA All-Star Game presented by Kia Motors will tip off at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, February 26.
***CLIP OF THE NIGHT***
(Please click the link below to view)
TNT’s Cheryl Miller, Steve Kerr and Kenny Smith discuss the weekend’s All-Star activities
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Game 1: New York Knicks (88) @ Miami Heat (102)
Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)
Miller on Carmelo Anthony playing with Jeremy Lin for the New York Knicks: “Now you have two finishers on the floor and you have seen game winners by Lin as well as game winners by Anthony. All great players know how to adjust to any system and Carmelo won’t be any different.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra during the first half
Spoelstra on the emergence of the Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin: “We have a special affinity for those types of players…the guys that don’t get drafted that show the fortitude, the faith and the toughness to keep on banging on doors when doors get shut in their face. You have to have a toughness and a resolve to keep on pushing forward. Sometimes it becomes the opportunity. Sometimes it becomes the right fit, the right place, the right timing.”
Miller on Jeremy Lin facing the Miami Heat: “He hasn’t seen this type of speed from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He has to be able to adjust his speed on the fly. I think a lot has been put on his plate. There has been so much with media responsibilities, hype and publicity and he has handled it well.”
TNT’s reporter Craig Sager interviewed Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade following the first half
Wade on facing Jeremy Lin: “First of all he deserves all the credit he has been given. We knew it was going to be a tough time guarding him and our point guards did a good job tonight. We put a lot of pressure on him and we were successful.”
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Halftime Report
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith
Smith on Lin’s performance against Miami: “This is Jeremy Lin’s first time to really see what the NBA is all about because these are the best two players [LeBron James and Dwayne Wade] in the open court and in basketball right now. [The Heat] have two of the top five players and he hasn’t seen this yet.”
Smith on Lin being under the spotlight playing against Miami: “[The Heat] are focused in on [Lin]. He is part of the scouting report for real. This is a playoff atmosphere and they know that they want to put pressure on him.”
Barkley on Lin’s initial experiences playing in the NBA: “This is the first time he has really felt the bright lights on the road. His life has been turned upside down in the last two weeks. He’s got to be physically and mentally tired; he’s never been through this. “
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Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers (85) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (100)
Announcers: Dick Stockton (play-by-play), Chris Webber (analyst) and Marty Snider (reporter)
Webber on Oklahoma City Thunder’s weaknesses: “When you talk about a weakness for OKC, they are great at the play but they get in trouble because they do not space and share the ball when they play one-on-one. But [James] Harden, not only is he a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year, but he is also a candidate for the best penetrator in the league because he gets in the paint all the time.”
Webber on the Thunder’s roster: “This is OKC’s best lineup. You have three penetrators with [Kevin] Durant, [James] Harden and [Russell] Westbrook along with two big guys with [Kendrick] Perkins and [Serge] Ibaka. They are a tough team to beat.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and O’Neal
Barkley’s assessment on where the Lakers are right now: “The Lakers don’t use Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum enough. They shoot too many jumpers. I don’t think they have the athletic ability on the perimeter to beat some of the upper echelon teams in a seven-game series. “
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TNT’s Marty Snider interviews Thunder’s guard Russell Westbrook and forward Kevin Durant following the first half
Westbrook on establishing the Thunder as the best team in the West: “I know if we continue to play this way we will go a long way. So hopefully we will continue to do that.”
Durant on beating the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers back-to-back nights: “We have so much respect for those two programs but tonight we played together on both ends of the floor, we had fun, so it was a good win.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Barkley and O’Neal
Barkley on the Thunder and what they need to add to the team: “As long as they have Durant and Westbrook they can trade anybody else. They need to find a guy that can get to the basket as a low post scorer. They have a window where they are going to be in the conversation for the next few years with the two young studs that they have, but they still need a big guy that can get to the basket.”
O’Neal on changing the current lineup of the Thunder: “I wouldn’t mess with the mix that they currently have. They play with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. But if they don’t make a trade, they need to continue to shoot the ball at a high percentage and they have to believe in their defense. When they step up the defense, they get out on the fast break and create a lot of easy buckets.”
Barkley on the Thunder’s forward Serge Ibaka: “Ibaka is a terrific shot blocker, but he is going to get into foul trouble against a dominant big man. And that is going to hurt them in the long run.”
TNT’s Cheryl Miller chats with TNT Analysts Steve Kerr and Kenny Smith on All-Star activities such as the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge with the Dunk Contest Commissioner [Smith] and BBVA Rising Stars Coach for Team Shaq [Kerr]
Kerr on Coaching Team Shaq in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge: “I love my roster. I sent a message to Shaq and all it said was “Get me Ricky Rubio”. My theory is in these games, people like to shoot all the time. You have to have somebody to pass, somebody distributing and Rubio is going to get other people the ball. It’s going to be fun.”
Smith on the Dunk Contest and being a mentor: “There are a lot of promising guys. I really believe someone will come out of this and become a star. The next Jeremy Lin of dunkers is going to come out of this.”
Kerr on the Houston Rockets’ Chase Budinger: “Chase [Budinger] is one of those guys who kind of surprise you. You watch him and you don’t realize what kind of athleticism he has until he is dunking over the top of somebody. He’s got a lot in him.”
Barkley on the Dwight Howard trade rumors: “The Dwight Howard thing is going to be the talk of the weekend down here. In my honest opinion, something is going to happen; they just didn’t want to do it before All-Star. Something will happen next week. I think he will get traded to New York or New Jersey.”
O’Neal: “People need to look at the underlying picture. Keep in mind that if he stays here he can get $110 million, if he leaves he will get $80 million. So that’s just telling me that something is going on with him and the organization. He hasn’t said he wants to stay.”
Barkley on the San Antonio Spurs: “I pick the San Antonio Spurs to win the Western Conference. The thing that disturbs me the most is that there are so many injuries. I always thought the champion would be decided by injuries. It’s unfortunate when you look at a team like Denver, Derek Rose’s back situation. This condensed schedule is wreaking havoc on these players.”
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