Tatum’s 55 Caps Historic All-Star Weekend

02/20/2023 Tatum’s 55 Caps Historic All-Star Weekend

By: Jeff Yoder

Jayson Tatum Scores ASG-Record 55 Points as Team Giannis Defeats Team LeBron (184-175)

A weekend of fun and flare brought the NBA’s best to Salt Lake City for the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend, and teams across the league pushed pause on their playoff push for the festivities. Friday night’s Celebrity Game and Rising Stars Game got the party started before the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, and Dunk Contest on Saturday night. That’s where Mac McClung left NBA fans speechless with his dunk package. On Sunday night, the league’s captains — LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo — led the fun by drafting the teams before both left early with injuries, although neither injuries were severe. Once the ball was tipped, it quickly became the Jayson Tatum show as the Celtics star put on a record-breaking performance.

 

Inside Tatum’s 55-Point, Record-Breaking ASG

The All-Star Draft took place in the pre-game where LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo acted as captains for a pickup game of epic proportions. Giannis took Jayson Tatum with his first pick, and it turned out to be the right choice. Tatum went off for 55 points, including ten 3s (10-for-18) en route to an All-Star Game record and the Kobe Bryant ASG MVP Award. He had 27 points in the third quarter alone — the most ever in any quarter of the All-Star Game. He also became the second player ever to knock down ten triples (Steph Curry). Tatum’s 55-point mark broke Anthony Davis’s previous ASG record of 52 points, and he became the first Celtics player to ASG MVP since Larry Bird (1982). History on overload…

 

How the All-Star Game Was Won

Team Giannis entered the 4th quarter with a 17-point lead (158-141), before the new format and the 24-point target score set the winning number at 182 to end the game. After Team LeBron trimmed the lead to six (181-175), Damian Lillard knocked down the dagger (184-175) and walked it off.

 

2023 NBA All-Star Top Performers

J. Tatum (BOS): 55 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists

D. Mitchell (CLE): 40 points, 10 assists

J. Brown (BOS): 35 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists

J. Embiid (PHI): 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

K. Irving (DAL): 32 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds

D. Lillard (POR): 26 points, 4 assists

 

Fun Fact: Tatum is the first player in NBA history to record a 50-point game in the regular season, postseason and All-Star Game.

 

2023 NBA All-Star Game Highlights

Jayson Tatum’s 55-Point ASG Highlights

2023 NBA All-Star Game (Full Highlights)

 

Other 2023 NBA All-Star Event Highlights

Blazers’ Damian Lillard Beats Pacers Duo in 3-Point Shootout

76ers’ Mac McClung Puts On A Show in Dunk Contest

Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado Wins Rising Stars MVP

The Miz Nearly Wins NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Half-Court Game Winner

 

NBA regular season action returns Thursday.

 

Additional Storylines

B/R: Biggest Winners & Losers From 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend

Yahoo! Sports: Celtics Star Jayson Tatum’s 55 Points Earns MVP, Sets All-Star Game Record

SI: Vin Diesel Kicked Off the NBA All-Star Game With Weird Speech & Fans Were Rightfully Confused

 

Photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images