A Sports Filled Weekend Above

The NBA All-Star Game has become a showcase of shooting and scoring, and woe to those who value defense. And so you get what you get.

The West beat the East 192-182 on Sunday night in New Orleans, with hometown hero and MVP Anthony Davis scoring 52 points to break Wilt Chamberlain’s 55-year-old record of 42. Everyone had a triple-double, a double-triple or a double cheeseburger except DeMarcus Cousins, who hardly played at all and is now being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans by the Sacramento Kings. That part is particularly interesting since the Kings promised him he would not be traded.

The combined point total of 374 in the All-Star Game broke the record of 369, set last year. Does anyone sense a trend?

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: No. 3 Kansas nipped No. 4 Baylor 67-65 on Saturday, putting the Jayhawks on a clear path to a record-tying 13th straight Big 12 title. No. 1 Gonzaga, at 28-0 the only unbeaten team in Division 1, topped Pacific 82-61. No 2. Villanova beat Seton Hall 92-70.

NASCAR: The season draws near. Chase Elliott nipped teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. by .002 seconds to win the pole for the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year. Elliott clocked 192.872 mph on the 2 ½-mile oval. This was Earnhardt’s first qualifying run since last July at Kentucky Speedway. He missed the second half of last season with effects from a concussion.

GOLF: Dustin Johnson’s 5-stroke victory at Riviera Country Club in the Genesis Open also elevated him to the top spot in the world rankings for the first time in his career. Johnson, 32, unseated Jason Day. Johnson went 49 holes without a bogey during Sunday’s 36-hole final that was made necessary by bad weather.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman