All-Star weekend ended with a statement: The best player on the best team this season delivered a message in the All-Star Game, winning it almost single-handedly. With 55 points, Jayson Tatum set a new all-star scoring record for a single player, breaking Anthony Davis’ previous record of 52 points set in 2017.
Thanks to him, Yanis Antetomokpo’s team beat LeBron James’ team 175:184. It’s the first loss for LeBron’s team since the new format was introduced, after five consecutive All-Star wins.
LeBron, who became the all-star performance record with his 19th appearance, scored 13 points before getting injured near halftime, and saw Giannis’ team – who played himself only in the opening seconds due to an injury he was carrying – celebrate all the way to victory.
In the “forces” that Giannis and LeBron made before the game, Antetokounmpo chose Tatum with the first pick – and he probably knew why. Tatum exploded and was unstoppable, hitting 27 of his 55 in the third quarter, finishing 22-of-31 from the field and 10-of-18 from three along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Donovan Mitchell, playing in front of his former home crowd in Utah, added 40 and 10 assists.
Scored for Yannis’ team: Jayson Tatum 55, Donovan Mitchell 40, Damien Lilac 26, Lauri Markkanen 13, Pascal Siakam 12, Shea Gilges Alexander 9, DeMar DeRozan 8, Jah Morant and Domantas Sabonis 6 each, Bam Adebayo 4, Jaro Holiday 3, Giannis Antetokounmpo 2.
Scored for LeBron’s team: Jaylen Brown 35 and 14 rebounds, Kyrie Irving (15 assists) and Joel Embiid 32 each, Tyrese Halliburton 18, LeBron James 13, Anthony Edwards 12, Julius Randle 11, Paul George 8 , Jaren Jackson Jr. 6, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic 4 each.