Migos star shines in celebrity game, Watson does double duty

FILE: Quavo performing at the Veld festival in August 2017 (Photo By The Come Up Show – https://www.flickr.com/photos/thecomeupshow/36471057262/, CC BY 2.5)

LOS ANGELES — Quavo is known for dropping beats and delivering rhymes as one-third of Atlanta’s hip-hop trio Migos.

He can also make buckets on the basketball court.

Quavo was named MVP after scoring a game-high 19 points to lead Team Clippers to a 75-66 win over Team Lakers in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday.

When Migos members Offset and Takeoff arrived to take their courtside seats just before the start of the third quarter, Quavo had already piled up nine points, three rebounds and one assist. A former high school quarterback, he scored six of his team’s first 11 points.

Showcasing a smooth shot and ability to drive to the basket, Quavo finished 7 of 10 from the field. He also had five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

It’s been a good year for Quavo, with Migos’ new album “Culture II” debuting at No. 1. He was also on the sidelines for Georgia’s thrilling overtime win in the Rose Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff title game, and will be back in Southern California in April when Migos performs at the Coachella music festival.

In an event usually known for the antics of the Hollywood celebrities participating, the athletes instead took over to display some solid hoops.

Andre De Grasse, the Canadian sprinter who won a silver medal in the 200 metres and bronze in the 100 at the Rio Olympics in 2016, had 17 points and six rebounds for Team Clippers.

TV host Rachel DeMita, a McDonald’s All-American who played at Old Dominion, led Team Lakers with 17 points. Former NBA player Nate Robinson added 14 points, and boxer Terence Crawford had nine points and 12 rebounds.

Actor Jamie Foxx engaged in some pregame trash talk toward WNBA star Candace Parker, but the showdown never materialized. He played 8:20 and did not score.

Singer/song writer Justin Bieber wasn’t able to duplicate his MVP performance from the 2011 celebrity game, finishing with four points and two rebounds. Bieber certainly fared much better than he did in last year’s NHL All-Star celebrity game in Los Angeles, when he was memorably checked into the boards by Hall of Fame defenceman Chris Pronger.

But the game’s most interesting athlete had to be golfer Bubba Watson.

He shot a 1-under 70 in the second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera before making his way to the LA Convention Center to play for Team Clippers. Watson is tied for seventh place at 4-under, three shots behind leaders Patrick Cantlay, Graeme McDowell and Sam Saunders.

Watson said before the game that he got some grief from his fellow golfers about taking up a second sport while in contention.

“When you have a chance to win like that, why would you still want to come over here? Cause life is short,” said Watson, who had two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. “Life is fun, man, and so I want to be here.”