NBA All Star Game: from luxuries and LeBron James’ new record to Jayson Tatum’s dream night

LeBron James momentarily put aside the Los Angeles Lakers irregular gift and became this Sunday star of the NBA All Star Gamenot only for the sheer amount of lavish action he delivered to Salt Lake City fans, but also for equaling a record held by none other than Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a legend within the most powerful basketball league in the world.

The star of the Los Angeles franchise was the captain of one of the teams that showed up at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, home of the Utah Jazz, but he couldn’t avoid the first loss, 184-175, against a team that had Giannis Antetokounmpo as a reference main, although with a few seconds of the Greek on the field due to a wrist injury.

Both players took care, in advance, of making a sort of selection of the basketball players to compose the teams. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry were unable to perform due to recovering from a sprained medial collateral ligament in their left knee and partial tears to the superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane in their left leg, respectively.

The election determined that joining LeBron would be Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic (starters), Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Tyrese Haliburton, Julius Randle, De’Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson (substitutes) .

Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, selected Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen (starters), Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam, Bam Adebayo and Domantas Sabonis (reserves).

The concrete thing is that James He has set the course for his team and the game since its inception, and basically until he was benched for good with a hand injury, even in the second half. In one of his first big appearances, the player with the most votes for this All Star Game received the ball from Irving and avoided Donovan Mitchell’s sweet spot in simple and spectacular fashion.

The 38-year-old seasoned basketball player, who won four NBA rings with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, made a voluntary throw to the backboard, went for a pass and drove the ball deep into the basket with a dexterity that, as usual, never ceases to amaze.

LeBron, who in the preview of that action had captured the flashes in Utah with an alley oop after a pass by Jokic, also showed that he has an intact aim by shooting from very long distance, an asset used by most of the protagonists throughout the season evening.

Jayton Tatum: record and MVP

Jayson Tatum, with action similar to James’s, also had his space to shine in the rival team, as did Ja Morant, who buried the ball behind his back in action worthy of the dunk tournament, such as the one that he won in the tournament the day before the incredible Mac McCalung.

Tatum also led the night with 55 points, a performance that allowed him to tie the record for most drives in an All Star Game, which Anthony Davis had held since 2017, when he scored 52. At the same time, this task earned him the recognition of MVP (the most valuable player) of the evening.

Jaylen Brown, with 35 points, and Joel Embiid and Kyrie Irving, with 32 points each, were the LeBron team’s top scorers.

LeBron James’ new record

After breaking just a few days ago the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by combining his goals in regular season games and playoff games, LeBron James has equaled another personal best held solely by the figure emblematic of his current team.

Is that this Sunday he played his nineteenth All Star Game in the NBA and left figures of the stature of Kobe Bryant (18), Tim Duncan (15) and Shaquille O’Neal (15). He even further distanced himself from another legend like Michael Jordan and an important player of the 90s like Karl Malone.

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