Damian Lillard was honoured to achieve a feat only previously accomplished by Michael Jordan on the NBA's All-Star weekend.
Lillard saw off competition from the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns and the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young to win the 3-point contest on Saturday, then he dazzled again one day later.
The Milwaukee Bucks guard was named All-Star Game MVP after putting up 39 points as the Eastern Conference All-Stars recorded a 211-186 win over their Western Conference counterparts.
Chicago Bulls legend Jordan is the only previous player to complete such a double, having taken the 1988 dunk contest before winning the first of his three All-Star MVP trophies.
For Lillard, who was appearing in his eighth All-Star Game but his first as a starter, following in Jordan's footsteps made it all the more memorable.
"Anytime you're mentioned in the same category as Mike, it's an honour, it's a major accomplishment, even if it's All-Star weekend," Lillard said during his post-game news conference.
"Because if it was that simple, more people would have done it. I'm a vet in the game at this point. Why not go and try to get an MVP? I've been here enough."
However, a perceived lack of competitiveness in Sunday's All-Star Game – the highest-scoring in history – led to criticism from some quarters.
The league's all-time leading scorer LeBron James said the All-Star Game "is something we need to figure out", with players unwilling to risk injury in the mid-season exhibition.
Asked for his views on that debate, Lillard said: "I think it could be more competitive, 200 is a lot to be scored. It shows we didn't go out there and compete like I guess you would want us to.
"But I think that's just what it is. Guys are talented, they make a lot of shots. We hit a lot of 3s, and that was it."
Lillard joined the Bucks in a blockbuster trader from the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the season, but his first campaign in Milwaukee has been a turbulent one.
The Bucks fired coach Adrian Griffin last month, bringing in Doc Rivers after a short interim stint for Joe Prunty. They sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-21 record, but have lost five of their last seven games.
"It's been a tough year with the transition to a new team, we've had three coaches since I've been there," Lillard said.
"Anytime you have these types of experiences where you have adversity, that's the time you've got to show who you really are.
"Keep doing what you do, keep believing, and when you do that, usually it comes back to you. You just can't fold."
Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back to beat Magic in Game 7 and reach East semifinals
Trailing by 18 points in Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers' season appeared to be over. Donovan Mitchell, however, had other ideas.
Mitchell scored 39 points to help rally the Cavaliers to a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Fouth-seeded Cleveland, who won their first playoff series since 2018, will now face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Tuesday's series opener.
The Cavaliers won their first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993, though it looked like they were heading for a second straight first-round exit as they found themselves trailing 49-31 with less than four minutes to go in the second quarter.
The Cavs cut it to 10 at half-time, and Mitchell helped Cleveland complete the comeback with a sensational third quarter.
After finishing with 50 points in Friday's 103-96 Game 6 loss, Mitchell had two more points than the entire Magic team in the third, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Cleveland outscored Orlando 33-15 to take a 76-68 lead into the fourth.
The Magic stayed within striking distance throughout the first half of the final period until Darius Garland finally found his shot.
Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the final six minutes of the game, a stretch that began with a made 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers up by 11 points.
The Magic only connected on 3-of-15 3-point attempts after half-time and made just 4-of-24 shots (16.7 per cent) in the pivotal third quarter.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 38 points and a career high-tying 16 rebounds but Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs combined for just 16 points on 3-of-28 shooting.
At 21 years and 175 days old, Banchero became the second-youngest player in NBA history to have at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game. The only player younger was Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days) on May 16, 1980.
Caris LeVert added 15 off the bench for the Cavaliers, while Evan Mobley had 11 points and a playoff career-high 16 boards.
Cleveland again played without All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, who sat out the final three games of the series due to a rib contusion.
He averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds in the series' first four games, and his status for Game 1 in Boston is uncertain.
Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back to beat Magic in Game 7 and reach East semi-finals
Trailing by 18 points in Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers' season appeared to be over.
Donovan Mitchell, however, then took over.
Mitchell scored 39 points to help rally the Cavaliers to a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Fouth-seeded Cleveland, which won its first play-off series since 2018, will now face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Tuesday's series opener.
The Cavaliers won their first play-off series without LeBron James since 1993, though it looked like the team was headed to a second straight first-round exit as Cleveland found itself trailing 49-31 with less than four minutes to go in the second quarter.
The Cavs cut it to 10 at half-time, and Mitchell helped Cleveland complete the comeback with a sensational third quarter.
After finishing with 50 points in Friday's 103-96 Game 6 loss, Mitchell had two more points than the entire Magic team in the third, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Cleveland outscored Orlando 33-15 to take a 76-68 lead into the fourth.
The Magic stayed within striking distance throughout the first half of the final period until Darius Garland finally found his shot.
Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the final six minutes of the game, a stretch that began with a made 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers up by 11 points.
The Magic only connected on 3-of-15 3-point attempts after half-time and made just 4-of-24 shots (16.7 per cent) in the pivotal third quarter.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 38 points and a career high-tying 16 rebounds but Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs combined for just 16 points on 3-of-28 shooting.
At 21 years and 175 days old, Banchero became the second-youngest player in NBA history to have at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in a play-off game. The only player younger was Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days) on May 16, 1980.
Caris LeVert added 15 off the bench for the Cavaliers, while Evan Mobley had 11 points and a play-off career-high 16 boards.
Cleveland again played without All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, who sat out the final three games of the series due to a rib contusion.
He averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds in the series' first four games, and his status for Game 1 in Boston is uncertain.
Jokic salutes 'special' Edwards after influential Game 1 display
Nikola Jokic paid tribute to "special player" Anthony Edwards following the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard's influential display against the Denver Nuggets.
Edwards notched up a career playoff high of 43 points as the Wolves drew first blood in the Western Conference semi-finals series with a 106-99 victory over the reigning champions in Game 1.
The two-time NBA All-Star shot 17-for-29 - including seven-for-10 on jump shots - seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal to become only the second player aged 22 or under in postseason history after Kobe Bryant to record successive 40-point performances.
Edwards has now scored 119 points across his last three playoff outings; the highest tally by a Wolves player across a three-game span in their postseason history.
The 22-year-old's exploits caught the eye of last season's NBA Finals MVP in Jokic, who shot just 11-for-25 (and two-for-nine from three-pointers) and conceded a game-high seven turnovers as the Nuggets surrendered home-court advantage at Ball Arena.
"To be honest, he's a special player," he said of Edwards. "I have huge respect for him; he can do everything on the floor. You need to give him respect for how good and how talented he is."
Minnesota have looked inspired during the playoffs, with a sweep of the Phoenix Suns helping them advance beyond the opening round for the first time since their only previous semi-final appearance in 2004.
And Edwards insists he and his team-mates are not daunted by the prospect of appearing in unfamiliar territory.
"Going against the best player in the world is always fun, going against the best team in the world is always fun," he said. "Our guys came out and competed, so it's not about me personally, it's about my team.
"It's not about introducing ourselves to anybody; we know who we are. We're coming out and as long as we've got each other's backs, it doesn't really matter what anybody else thinks."
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