The 72nd NBA All-Star Game had a record-setting performance and a streak-snapping result. For the first time since the NBA switched to the All-Star Draft format back in 2018, LeBron James' team has fallen. Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron in a high-scoring shootout, 184-175. The 72nd NBA All-Star Game had a record-setting performance and a streak-snapping result. For the first time since the NBA switched to the All-Star Draft format back in 2018, LeBron James' team has fallen. Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron in a high-scoring shootout, 184-175.Jayson Tatum set an All-Star Game record, going off for 55 points to lead Team Giannis to victory. His record-breaking night awarded him with the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP award, representing his idol on the All-Star Game stage. As the curtain closed on yet another NBA All-Star Weekend, the best way to describe it was … dominance. From Damian Lillard in the Starry 3-Point Contest, and Mac McClung dripping with near perfection in the AT&T Slam Dunk, the finishing touch was provided just as emphatically in the 2023 All-Star Game by a player who could not be stopped.
By anyone. Even his Celtic teammate.
That’s the kind of quality night it was for Jayson Tatum, who dropped jumpers at a record rate — finishing with 55 points, three better than the previous All-Star mark by Anthony Davis — and garnished it all with a splashy and playful showdown against Jaylen Brown that won the crowd at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. It was enough to easily win the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player award, which made Tatum emotional; Bryant was a massive presence in his life and development as a player.
And so it was a performance that was juiced by a pair of friendships for Tatum — one of them a former mentor, the other a current teammate. Joined at the hip ever since both were drafted by Boston, yet separated at the All-Star Draft by team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two Celtics stars found themselves in a third-quarter stare-down and, after being encouraged by the crowd and their teammates, took turns going one-on-one. Let’s just be diplomatic and say the Celtics got the best of that duel, and it highlighted the victory by Team Giannis in a 184-175, Tatum-fueled result over Team LeBron. So here’s how Celtic vs. Celtic went, essentially: With the game lapsing into a blur of uncontested dunks and shots, as is typical with All-Star Games, the contest needed a wakeup late in the third quarter. And it came in a rush, when Tatum challenged Brown and their square-off turned into a welcome subplot.
At first, though, before it turned wonderful, it was blunderful, with Tatum dribbling off his leg out of bounds. That was a letdown, but temporary: Brown hit a 3-pointer over Tatum and then did the “too small” gesture. It was on. Players from both teams shouted encouragement, cleared out and let it happen. Tatum returned with a 3-pointer against Brown before the third-quarter buzzer interfered and called truce. In the larger picture, Tatum did a number on others, too: He scored 27 in that entertaining third quarter; he shot 22-for-31; he prevented Team LeBron from making it suspenseful. It also helped that Donovan Mitchell provided 40 points for Team Giannis and, until that third quarter, made the chase for the MVP trophy an interesting one. Mitchell had a portion of the crowd support after spending his first five NBA seasons with the Jazz, who drafted him No. 13 in 2017.
“That was normal for us,” said Tatum, citing their time training together at hundreds of practices. “Another day at the office.” “We’ve had countless 1-on-1 games in practice, us going against each other, pushing each other, making each other better,” Tatum said. “We’ve always brought out the best in each other.”
