SALT LAKE CITY — Team LeBron finally lost an NBA All-Star Game.
Since the NBA began using the top voters from each conference as captains and picking playground-style teams in 2018, LeBron James’ teams have won their first five games.
Team Giannis bested Team LeBron on Sunday to leave Salt Lake City with a 184-175 win. Team Giannis is now 1-2 against Team LeBron.
With a goal of 182 — because Team Giannis had a 158-141 lead after three quarters and the target score, according to the NBA, is “the leading team’s total after the first three quarters plus 24 points” — Portland’s Damian Lillard shut down from Game 3 -Pointer.
It was a 3-point celebration for Team Giannis, who made 29, including 10 from Boston’s Jayson Tatum, eight from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, and eight from Lillard.
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Who Won the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Award?
Tatum won the award and posted an all-star record 55 points, including 27 in the third quarter. Tatum was 22-to-31 from the field and 10-to-18 on 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal.
It was the first time that Tatum, a big fan of Kobe Bryant, won the award.
The Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Award trophy honors Bryant’s jersey numbers, MVPs, All-Star MVPs, championships, and Finals MVPs.
Team Giannis forward Jayson Tatum celebrates a three-point shot against Team LeBron.
Best Highlights
James threw the ball out of the glass around Donovan Mitchell with his left hand, caught the ball with his left hand and threw down a two-handed dunk beginning of the first quarter.
The winner of the three-point contest and long-distance specialist Damian Lillard of Portland pulled from the half field and… hiss.
Why didn’t LeBron James play in the second half?
James, who only played in one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ four games before the All-Star break due to a sore left ankle, missed the second half of Sunday’s game with a bruised right hand. He finished with 13 points and four assists, extending his All-Star career point record to 426.
Why did Giannis Antetokounmpo only play 20 seconds?
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sprained his right wrist in Thursday’s win against Chicago. Despite saying he’s fine, he didn’t compete in the Skills Challenge on Saturday, and after starting the All-Star game and dunking 15 seconds into the game, he immediately fouled Luka Doncic and exited the game at 11 :40 in the first game quarter. He didn’t come back.
Other Notable Performances by the NBA All-Stars
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.
Which nonprofit organizations benefited from the All-Star Game?
Team LeBron chose Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah as their local charity, and Team Giannis chose Raise the Future. Each team started the game by donating $150,000 to their charity, and the winner of each quarter donated an additional $100,000 to their charity, and if a quarter ended in a tie, each charity received $50,000.
Raise the Future gets $550,000 and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah gets $200,000.
Where’s the NBA All-Star Game next year?
The NBA All-Star Game 2024 will take place in Indianapolis on February 18 and will be hosted by the Indiana Pacers. Last in Indianapolis: 1985 in the Hoosier Dome. The West won and Ralph Sampson became MVP with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA All-Star Game 2023: Jayson Tatum sets record for Team Giannis win
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