Jayson Tatum put on a show with record pace and made Giannis Antetokounmpo look like a genius.
Tatum set an NBA All-Star Game record with 55 points, and Team Giannis ended LeBron James’ supremacy as captain by defeating Team LeBron 184-176 in the annual NBA extravaganza on Sunday night. .
Tatum had 27 points in the third quarter, another All-Star Game mark in any period. He was Antetokounmpo’s first pick in the starting portion of the All-Star draft, and in the end, that pick turned out to be the right one.
And the Most Valuable Player award Tatum received was named after Kobe Bryant, one of his heroes.
“It means a world,” Tatum said. “You think of all the legends and great players who have played this game and honestly, records are made to be broken. I’ll keep it as long as I can, but I’m sure in a couple of years someone will come along and try to break it.”
Tatum broke Anthony Davis’ record of 52 points in the All-Star Game. He made 22 of 31 shots from the field, as well as adding 10 rebounds and six assists.
It was James’ first loss in six times as captain. Antetokounmpo improved his numbers to 1-2 as an All-Star captain.
Antetokounmpo later said that he had reason to choose Tatum.
“I knew he would take it seriously. It was clear,” she commented.
Donovan Mitchell added 40 points for Team Giannis, who earned 26 points from Damian Lillard, including winning points to exceed target scoring.
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and had 14 rebounds for Team LeBron, while Kyrie Irving had 32 points and 15 assists and Joel Embiid finished with 32 points.
Lillard, the winner of Saturday night’s 3-point contest, hit eight 3-pointers, including one from half court in the third quarter.
The league arranged a ceremony at halftime to pay tribute to the three scoring leaders in NBA history: No. 3 Karl Malone, No. 2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James, now the scoring leader after he passed Abdul-Jabbar. Jabbar at the beginning of the month.