1989 NBA All-Star Game

Result

MVP: Karl Malone

Box score

MVP: Karl Malone.

Bench (10+ points): Clyde Drexler (14), Tom Chambers (14)

Bench (10+ points): Terry Cummings (10), Larry Nance (10), Kevin McHale (10)

Game context

The 1989 All-Star Game moved to Houston's Astrodome on February 12, drawing an announced crowd of 44,735 — a new NBA All-Star attendance record at the time, continuing the trend of chasing outsized crowds in football-scaled domes that had begun with Pontiac in 1979 and Seattle's Kingdome in 1987. It was the first time Houston had hosted the event. Rap group Ultramagnetic MCs performed a specially written song naming each All-Star and coach before tip-off, an unusual pregame touch for the era. Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone was named MVP for the Western Conference's 143-134 win, scoring 28 points on a highly efficient 12-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds. The West jumped out fast, leading 47-31 after the first quarter and 87-59 (a combined first-half tally built on 40 more second-quarter points) at halftime, before the East mounted a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful rally, winning the second half 75-56. Michael Jordan matched Malone's 28 points on 13-of-23 shooting for the East, and Isiah Thomas added 19 points and a game-high 14 assists, but the deficit built in the first half proved too large to overcome. Dale Ellis came off the West's bench to score 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting, and John Stockton contributed 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds from the guard position. The game's most poignant storyline involved Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was added to the Western roster as an injury replacement for Magic Johnson (both Lakers teammates) and made what proved to be his 19th and final career All-Star appearance, an NBA record for selections at the time. Abdul-Jabbar scored only four points in limited minutes, but he delivered a fittingly cinematic exit, hitting the final shot of the game — his signature skyhook — as the clock expired, a quiet, elegant closing note to a run of All-Star appearances stretching back to 1970. Neither Magic Johnson nor Larry Bird, two of the decade's defining stars, played in this game despite remaining active players; Johnson's injury opened the door for Abdul-Jabbar's replacement selection, while Bird was also sidelined. John Stockton stepped into the Western starting lineup in Johnson's place. The Astrodome setting, the record crowd, and Abdul-Jabbar's storybook farewell shot combined to make the 1989 game one of the more memorable non-competitive-outcome editions of the event from the late 1980s. The Astrodome's 44,735 fans set a new NBA All-Star attendance record, surpassing the mark set at Seattle's Kingdome just two years earlier, continuing the run of oversized dome crowds the league periodically chased for the game during this period. Charles Barkley added 17 points for the East, and John Stockton, stepping into the Western starting lineup for the injured Magic Johnson, contributed 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds from the point guard position.

Sources

• Basketball-Reference — NBA All-Star Game History
• Basketball-Reference — NBA & ABA All-Star Game MVP (Kobe Bryant Trophy)
• Wikipedia — 1989 NBA All-Star Game
• Basketball-Reference — 1989 NBA All-Star Game Box Score