Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum dropped a staggering 55 points as Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron 184-175 in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah.
Tatum walked away with the Kobe Bryant MVP award after shooting 22-for-31 — including a 10-for-18 shooting line from 3-point range.
Gianni’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell, amassed 40 points while shooting 15-to-25, including an 8-to-17 line from beyond the arc.
The game was nothing but relentless goal-scoring, with both teams averaging over 40 points per quarter.
But the game’s lack of defense drew criticism from both social media and players post-contest – with Celtics guard Jaylen Brown quipping, “This isn’t basketball.”
Team Giannis won the 2023 NBA All-Star Game thanks to a great game by Jayson Tatum
Opposing team captain LeBron James left the game in the second quarter after slamming his hand on the rim after going up for a block.
“I got my finger caught in the rim but I’m fine,” James said after the game – adding that he was sidelined the rest of the night “as a precaution”.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard gambled away the crucial 3-point win to push Team Giannis past their 182 target. Lillard also made eight 3-pointers, scoring 26 points in the process.
The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown led Team LeBron with 35 points and 14 rebounds as a reserve. Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks had 32 points and 15 assists and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers also had 32 points for Team LeBron.
Tatum split two free throws to score the No. 53 point and make it 177-162. He surpassed Anthony Davis’ 2017 record of 52 points.
Tatum was 22 of 31 shooting and also contributed 10 rebounds and six assists. His 10 three-pointers are second in All-Star history behind the 16 that Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors scored in last season’s game.
James, who scored 13 points in over 14 minutes as Team LeBron captain, shares the All-Star selection record of 19 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He fell 5-1 as All-Star captain.
Antetokounmpo scored the opening points of the game with a dunk 15 seconds into the contest but was then eliminated for the night.
Tatum scored 55 points — an NBA All-Star Game record — and won the MVP award
LeBron James injured his hand in the second quarter – he sat down as a “precautionary measure”.
In his absence, draftees Kyrie Irving (2) and Joel Embiid (21) each picked up 32 points in that game
The Team Giannis captain sprained his right wrist before the break in Milwaukee on Thursday night in the final game of the regular season. He is now 1-2 as captain.
According to ESPN sources Antetokounmpo will travel to New York to undergo further evaluations on this wrist.
Tatum (27 points), Mitchell (14) and Lillard (14) combined for 55 of Team Giannis’ 59 points in the third quarter as the squad forged a 158-141 lead
Tatum was 10-of-14 from the field in the quarter, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range.
Another highlight of the third quarter was Lillard stopping just short of the halffield line and scoring the long-range shot to make it 142-125 4-10 at halftime.
Celtics teammates Tatum (L) and Brown (R) had one of the few defensive moments of the night
Team Giannis led 99-92 at halftime, Tatum scored 17 points and Mitchell added 16. Irving had 18 on 8-of-9 shots to speed Team LeBron.
Both teams combined for 168 second-half points and 191 first-half points, blowing the 324 over/under line out of the water.
It was that drastic 35-point difference from the line that rattled some fans and media on Twitter.
One of the few defensive moments of the night came when Brown and Tatum – the two dueling Celtics stars – executed an iso play that resulted in Tatum being stopped.
“I think it’s time to retire, ‘the Elam end saved the all-star game’ considering it was a 6-point game and the game point and it was exactly zero rise in defense there was,” wrote Knicks Beat writer Fred Katz.
“I get it, really, but when you love basketball it’s so hard to see,” wrote Sporting Tribune founder Arash Markazi.
“All-Star Games is a glorified open gym, but the fact that nobody really tried in the fourth quarter was a bit annoying,” wrote Complex Sports’ Kameron Hay.
Social media was quick to criticize the lack of defensive effort in this year’s competition