Jayson Tatum sets All-Star scoring record
SALT LAKE CITY – Team LeBron finally lost an NBA All-Star Game.
Since the NBA started using the top vote-getters from each conference to serve as captains and pick teams playground style in 2018, LeBron James’ teams won the first five games.
Team Giannis got the best of Team LeBron, leaving Salt Lake City with a 184-175 victory.
Team Giannis is now 1-2 against Team LeBron.
Using the target of 182 – because Team Giannis had a 158141 lead after three quarters and the target score is “the leading team’s total score after the first three quarters plus 24 points,” according to the NBA – Portland’s Damian Lillard closed out the game with a 3-pointer.
It was a 3-point fest for Team Giannis, making 29, including 10 by Boston’s Jayson Tatum, eight by Cleveland’s Donovan
Mitchell and eight by Lillard.
Who won the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP award?
Tatum won the award, scoring an All-Star record 55 points, including 27 in the third quarter. Tatum was 22-for-31 from the field and 10-for-18 on 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds, six assists, one block and one steal.
It was first time Tatum, a huge Kobe Bryant fan, won the award. “It’s extremely special for me,” he said. “My first AllStar Game was in Chicago in 2020 when they renamed the MVP after him. I remember telling myself that day that I’ve got to get one of those before I get done. To be able to wear my signature shoe and break the record and take home this award of somebody that I idolized, it’s a hell of a day.”
Best highlights
h James threw the ball off the glass with his left hand around Donovan Mitchell, caught the ball with his left hand and threw down a two-handed dunk early in the first quarter.
h Three-point contest winner and long-range specialist Damian Lillard of Portland pulled up from half court and … swish. “It’s a lifetime of work,” Lillard said. “I’ve been shooting deep since I was a kid. Even before I was a great shooter I could shoot the ball far with my form.”
Why didn’t LeBron play in the second half?
James, who played in just one of the Lakers’ four games before the All-Star break because of a sore left ankle, did not play in the second half Feb. 19 because of a bruised right hand. He finished with 13 points and four assists and extended his All-Star career points record to 426.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained a sprained right wrist in a Feb. 16 victory against Chicago. While he says he’s fine, after starting the All-Star Game and dunking 15 seconds into the game, he immediately fouled Luka Doncic and exited the game with 11:40 left.
Other notable performances
Mitchell scored 40 points and had 10 assists, and Lillard had 26 points for Team Giannis. Boston’s Jaylen Brown led Team LeBron with 35 points and 14 rebounds, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Dallas’ Kyrie Irving each added 32 points. Irving also had 15 assists.
McClung re-energizes dunk contest
Mac McClung, the 24-yearold dunking sensation who is on a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, gave the slamdunk contest a much-needed boost with his aerial moves. Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine did similar in 2016.
But it also took a guy battling to stick on a roster who has appeared in just two NBA games and none this season. Can McClung jump-start the event so it regains its status as a mustsee Saturday night event during All-Star Weekend, and will he return for next year’s event?
Some of the NBA’s biggest stars and best dunkers do not participate, and Memphis’ Ja Morant and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards are on record saying they won’t participate in the dunk contest.
“There are currently provisions in the CBA that address participation in All-Star Saturday Night. They don’t require players to dunk. And I’ve understood that,” Commissioner Adam Silver said. “Interestingly enough, the dunk contest, despite the criticism I hear, has continued to be the most popular event on Saturday night.”