All-star Giannis puts on a show
The Bucks’ leader has 11 dunks but Team LeBron beats Team Giannis, 178-164.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Giannis Antetokounmpo had the team he wanted, the players he picked. The Milwaukee Bucks star put on a dunk show worthy of the biggest stage. His team led by as many as 20 points at one juncture.
But with a second-half barrage of 22 three-pointers, LeBron James' team ran away with the 2019 All-Star Game, 178-164, Sunday night at Spectrum Center. Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 31 points in the second half to take home MVP honors and help Team LeBron earn the victory, the second successive year a squad picked by James won the AllStar Game.
While the game didn't have the outcome
Antetokounmpo had hoped for, he certainly made a splash in the league's annual showcase. He threw down 11 dunks, including a high-flying alley-oop off a bounce pass from Warriors guard Stephen Curry that immediately went viral, on the way to a game-high 38 points along with 11 rebounds and five assists.
The 24-year-old affirmed his spot as one of the NBA's greatest stars just six years after entering the league. Matched up against James, a 15-time all-star, Antetokounmpo provided a worthy foil as a captain and showman.
“It's crazy," Antetokounmpo said during all-star weekend. "Before I came into the league, I was looking up to him. Right now, I was in the locker room, and I was sharing a meal with Team Giannis. Like I'm leading the AllStar team. You know, picking teams with LeBron James. If you told me that six years ago, I would never, never, never thought I would be in this position right now.”
Antetokounmpo was undoubtedly the singular star of the night, though
his Bucks teammate, Khris Middleton, provided fireworks in his own right. After Antetokounmpo opened the game with a pair of dunks, including an alley-oop off the backboard from Oklahoma City's Paul George, Middleton entered the game midway through the first quarter and the two Bucks allstars went on a tear.
Middleton hit Antetokounmpo for a layup then Antetokounmpo returned the favor by kicking back to Middleton for back-to-back three-pointers. Middleton then added another triple before finding Antetokounmpo for a bucket.
Those 13 points between Antetokounmpo and Middleton all came within a span of 93 seconds as Team Giannis raced out to a first-quarter lead as large as 17 points. By the end of that quarter, Antetokounmpo and Middleton had combined for 28 points, including Middleton, who finished last in the three-point contest on Saturday night, making his first four three-point attempts.
By the end of the night, Middleton had 20 points of 7 of 13 shooting, tied for the most of any player off the bench with Team LeBron and Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson.
In addition to the standout night for the two Bucks, the game featured Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, likely in his final All-Star Game, connecting on all three of his shots attempts with each coming from behind the arc. Miami Heat and former Marquette star Dwyane Wade, who has already said this will be his final season, rekindled his alleyoop magic with James and had seven points in his last dance.