Eight All-Stars were picked ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the All-Star draft. He may have taken that personally Sunday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting as Team Chuck defeated Team Kenny, 41-32, to move on to the final game. He hit both of his three-pointers, delivered an assist and blocked a shot in the NBA's new All-Star format that contained a surprising amount of defense.

While the teams did combine for six blocks, the game did feature some of the wild highlight-reel passing that the All-Star game is known for — and many of those fancy passes went straight into the crowd. That's why SGA managing to avoid a single turnover truly helped Team Chuck advance.

Team Chuck was loaded with international players, including the Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander and the NBA's other leading MVP candidate, Nikola Jokic, who played in a Twin Towers lineup alongside Victor Wembanyama. But it was an injury replacement from America who helped get his squad over the top.

Trae Young replaced an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and finished his first game with five assists and four points on 2-of-2 shooting. The NBA's assist leader was one of the most egregious All-Star snubs, but he's a natural for the All-Star Game, where everyone wants to score and few players are content to dish.

That also describes Jokic, who made his only shot but seemed intent on throwing great passes and getting his teammates dunks.

Plenty of international stars excelled in the first game, but it was Gilgeous-Alexander whose star shone the brightest.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com