Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum put on a historic performance at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena on Sunday night, setting the new scoring record with 55 points at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. The final score was 184-175 as Team Giannis secured a narrow victory over Team LeBron across three quarters.
In addition to breaking the record, Tatum also put up 10 rebounds and six assists for Team Giannis while his teammate for the night Donovan Mitchell secured a double-double of his own with 40 points and 10 assists. Leading Team LeBron was fellow Celtics guard Jaylen Brown who recorded 35 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving with 32 points apiece.
“It means the world,” said Tatum after accepting the All-Star MVP award. “You think of all the legends and great players that have played this game. In all honesty, records are made to be broken. I’ll hold it as long as I can but I’m certain somebody will come along in a couple years and try to break it.”
This year’s games also witnessed LeBron James sharing the All-Star selection record with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 19. Both he and Giannis Antetokounmpo however, were subbed off early in the game as LeBron suffered what looked to be a minor hand injury after hitting his hand on the rim.
While the All-Star game saw multiple exciting highlights such as Damian Lillard‘s half-court shot and head-to-head battles between a masked-up Jaylen Brown and Tatum, many also condemned this year’s matchup for being even more casual than usual.
Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown pic.twitter.com/qBlyda9Jwe
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 20, 2023
Jayson Tatum lifts the Kobe Bryant Trophy for the #KiaAllStarMVP ?#NBAAllStar x #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/WSjac62fqs
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2023
“I’m not too far removed from being a kid in St. Louis with a ball and a dream.”
Listen to this sound from Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/qPRqlRhJ1h
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2023
Elsewhere, here’s every dunk from the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
