1965 NBA All-Star Game

Result

MVP: Jerry Lucas

Box score

Bench (10+ points): Hal Greer (13), Wayne Embry (11)

Bench (10+ points): Gus Johnson (25), Walt Bellamy (12)

Game context

The 1965 All-Star Game, played January 13 at St. Louis Arena — the third and, as it turned out, final time the game would be held in that city before the Hawks relocated to Atlanta in 1968 — was decided by a single point in a game that briefly looked like it might get away from the East entirely. Cincinnati Royals forward Jerry Lucas, in just his second NBA season, was named MVP after finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds, leading an East team that built a commanding 75-61 halftime lead and stretched it to 107-91 through three quarters before a furious Western fourth-quarter rally — the West outscored the East 32-17 in the final period — nearly erased the entire margin. The East held on, 124-123, in front of 16,713 fans, at the time one of the largest crowds the event had drawn. The game's tight finish belied how thoroughly the East had dominated for three quarters; the West's comeback attempt, sparked by players determined to salvage the contest in its final minutes, fell agonizingly short. Lucas's individual honor came in a season during which he was quickly establishing himself as one of the league's most versatile big men, a skilled rebounder and passer who would go on to a Hall of Fame career split between Cincinnati, San Francisco, and New York. Red Auerbach coached the East for yet another consecutive season during Boston's ongoing championship reign, while Alex Hannum, now with the San Francisco Warriors after having previously coached St. Louis to the 1958 title, led the West bench. St. Louis's status as a three-time host (1958, 1962, 1965) reflected the Hawks' consistent competitiveness through the late 1950s and much of the 1960s, a run that included the franchise's only NBA championship in 1958 and repeated Finals appearances against Boston across the era, even as the Hawks never again broke through against the Celtics dynasty. The Hawks' eventual 1968 move to Atlanta, following this game by only a few years, marked the end of an era for St. Louis as an NBA city and was part of the broader wave of franchise relocations reshaping the league's map throughout the 1960s, as teams chased larger media markets and more modern arenas in a rapidly growing and increasingly nationally televised sports landscape. Robertson and Lucas, both Cincinnati Royals at the time, gave the East a formidable one-two punch of MVP-caliber talent even in a game that, this particular year, was ultimately decided by Lucas's Eastern teammates holding on against a hard-charging Western fourth-quarter surge.

Sources

• Basketball-Reference — NBA All-Star Game History
• Basketball-Reference — NBA & ABA All-Star Game MVP (Kobe Bryant Trophy)
• Wikipedia — 1965 NBA All-Star Game