CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Jonquel Jones, Nneka Ogwumike and Dominique Malonga made WNBA history on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
It was quite the All-Star party in the league\u2019s 30th season.<\/p>\n
Jones had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, helping Caitlin Clark and Team Spoon outlast Marina Mabrey and Team Coop 129-122 in the WNBA All-Star Game.<\/p>\n
Playing with a heavy heart<\/a> after the death of an aunt, Jones was named MVP. The 32-year-old New York Liberty center became the first player to win the league, WNBA Finals, Commissioner\u2019s Cup and All-Star MVP awards.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what mood I\u2019m in, basketball can pick me back up,\u201d Jones said, \u201cand so just leaning into that.\u201d <\/p>\n Malonga had a first-half dunk for Team Coop, but Team Spoon had eight players score in double figures in an All-Star Game that featured 127 3-point attempts and very little defense. Allisha Gray had 19 points for Team Spoon, and Clark finished with 17.<\/p>\n It was the first WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago since 2022. This time, the marquee event was played in front of a record crowd of 19,783 at the United Center instead of the smaller Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to have tonight, have 19,000 people in the highest attendance ever in the All-Star Game just really shows that our league is growing and people want to be around us and want to be a part of this and understand how special it is,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Ogwumike scored 11 points for Team Spoon while passing Maya Moore (119) for the most career points in All-Star Game history.<\/p>\n Kelsey Mitchell had 28 points for Team Coop, and Mabrey scored all of her 23 points during a red-hot first half. The 20-year-old Malonga finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.<\/p>\n \u201cI got to see a few go down early,\u201d said Mabrey, who matched the WNBA scoring record when she had 53 points<\/a> for Toronto in a win over Los Angeles on June 25. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of like my thing. Get them up when they\u2019re going in.\u201d <\/p>\n WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams<\/a> from players that were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players<\/a> or chosen as reserves by the league\u2019s coaches<\/a>. Las Vegas\u2019 Becky Hammon coached Cooper\u2019s team, and Minnesota\u2019s Cheryl Reeve was in charge of Weatherspoon\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n Clark went 5 for 15 from beyond the arc and had five assists in her return to the All-Star game. The Indiana Fever guard missed last year\u2019s event in Indianapolis because of a groin injury.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year really stunk being in our home city, you never want to miss that for the fans,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI love to show up and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n The 24-year-old Clark came out firing, connecting from 33 feet and 37 feet on her way to 11 points in the first 2 1\/2 minutes. She buried another 3 early in the second quarter off a slick no-look pass from Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles, the only rookie selected for the game.<\/p>\n Clark and Mabrey each put on an offensive show, but Malonga got the biggest cheer of the night. The 6-foot-6 center from the Seattle Storm ran down the lane, got a pass from Angel Reese and threw down a right-handed jam<\/a> with 6:24 left in the first half.<\/p>\n Reese jumped up and down as Malonga finished the play, and the two exchanged a mid-air chest bump on their way back down the court.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way she makes it look easy, the excitement around it,\u201d said Paige Bueckers, who scored 12 points for Team Coop. \u201cI love Dom … really happy for her in just how easy she makes it look.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the first dunk in a WNBA All-Star Game since Sylvia Fowles in 2022. Lisa Leslie (2005), Jones (2017), Brittney Griner (2019) also have accomplished the feat.<\/p>\n Leslie was on hand for the festivities, along with South Carolina coach and former WNBA guard Dawn Staley. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade also was courtside.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n