SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH โ
Jayson Tatum scored a record 55 points and Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron 184-175 to win the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday and hand James his first loss in six times as captain.
Both namesake captains, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, made early exits with injuries. James left after bruising his right hand on the rim while making a dunk and Greek star Antetokounmpo due to a right wrist sprain he suffered three nights earlier.
That left the starring roles up for grabs and the All-Star Game MVP honors went to Boston Celtics star Tatum, who broke the old NBA All-Star Game record of 52 points scored by Anthony Davis in 2017.
“It means the world,” Tatum said. “You think of all the legends and great players that have played this game.
“Records are made to be broken, so I’ll hold it for as long as I can but I’m certain somebody will come along in a couple years and try to break it.”
Tatum made 22-of-31 shots from the floor, 10-of-18 from 3-point range and added 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
Tatum scored a record 27 points in the third quarter to give Team Giannis a 158-141 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“You see the first three go in and keep shooting, just stay hot and just keep running,” Tatum said.
The game again featured a unique rule that called for an untimed final quarter with a “target score” set to decide a winner โ the total for the team leading after three quarters plus 24 points.
Whichever club reached that number first won, setting a goal of 182 points for both teams.
Tatum sank a free throw to reach 53 and break the record, giving Team Giannis a 177-162 lead.
Tatum added a layup to put his club a point away from victory at 181-170. Damian Lillard sank a final 3-pointer to deliver the victory moments later.
Antetokounmpo had been 0-2 as a captain but was delighted to hoist the trophy despite a sore wrist.
“Winner winner Chicken dinner,” Antetokounmpo said.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell added 40 points and 10 assists for Team Giannis while Lillard, a Portland Trailblazers guard, had 26 off the bench.
Team LeBron reserve Jaylen Brown of Boston had a team-high 35 points plus 14 rebounds. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks each added 32 points, with Irving adding a game-high 15 assists.
James, a four-time NBA champion and league MVP, set a record by playing in his 19th All-Star Game but sat out the second half with his injury.
The 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar finished with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting with four assists and a rebound. He was able to manage numerous handshakes during a halftime ceremony to celebrate his becoming league’s new all-time scoring leader earlier this month.
Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar, made a dunk for the game’s first points before leaving for good seconds later due to his sprained wrist.
“It’s just hard,” he said. “I love competing. I wasn’t able to participate for the full thing but I wanted to go out there even for 10 seconds, sweat a little bit in the jersey, because I want to be part of this.”
Team Giannis led 99-92 at halftime, with Tatum scoring 17 points and Irving leading Team LeBron with 18.
Lillard, the 3-Point Contest winner, sank a 3-pointer from just beyond the half-court line to highlight a third quarter dominated by deadly NBA sharpshooters.
James fell to 5-1 as an All-Star captain since the format began in 2018, having won twice over Kevin Durant and Antetokounmpo and once over Stephen Curry.
Antetokounmpo and James were named captains after receiving the most votes for All-Star starting spots from the Eastern and Western Conferences.
The captains picked their rosters only minutes before tip off.
