SALT LAKE CITY — Jayson Tatum put on a record-setting show and made Giannis Antetokounmpo look like a genius.
Tatum scored an NBA All-Star Game-record 55 points on his way to being named MVP, and Team Giannis ended LeBron James’ hold on captain supremacy by beating Team LeBron 184-175 on Sunday night in the league’s annual showcase exhibition.
Tatum had 27 points in the third quarter, another All-Star record for any period. The 24-year-old Boston Celtics forward was the first selection by Antetokounmpo in the starters’ portion of the draft held just before the game, and in the end, that pick proved to be the right one.
And the MVP award Tatum was given is named for late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, one of his heroes.
“It means the world,” Tatum said. “You think of all the legends and great players that have played this game, and in all honesty, records are made to be broken. I’ll hold it for as long as I can, but I’m certain someone will come along in a couple years and try to break it.”
Tatum broke Anthony Davis’ record of 52 points. He was 22-of-31 from the floor, plus had 10 rebounds and six assists.
It was Lakers star James’ first loss in six times as captain. Antetokounmpo improved to 1-2 in his All-Star captaincies, and he became the first captain to hoist a new trophy presented to the winners.
“Winner, winner, chicken dinner,” the Milwaukee Bucks standout said.
Later, with a more serious tone, Antetokounmpo said he had a reason for choosing Tatum.
“I knew he would take it serious. It was a no-brainer,” he said.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell added 40 for Team Giannis, which got 26 points from the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard — including the winner to push his team past the target score. Lillard was coming off a personal victory in the 3-point shootout at All-Star Saturday.
The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and had 14 rebounds for Team LeBron, while Kyrie Irving — voted an All-Star before he was recently traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks — had 32 points and 15 assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid finished with 32 points.
Brown and Tatum were reveling in a back-and-forth duel during a stretch of the second half.
“It was a normal day for us,” Tatum said. “Just millions of people watching.”
Lillard made eight 3s on Sunday, including a pull-up shot from the half-court area in the third quarter.
“That was the worst basketball game I’ve ever seen,” Team LeBron coach Michael Malone said, the Denver Nuggets coach clearly poking fun at the defense-optional event.
Winning coach Joe Mazzulla of Team Giannis said he had a very simple strategy.
“Stay out of the way, enjoy it, have fun, allow the guys to just be themselves,” the Celtics coach said. “I think it’s important, especially in this league, that guys are just able to be themselves.”
The league had a ceremony before the second half to pay tribute to the three leading scorers in NBA history: No. 3 Karl Malone, No. 2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James, who passed Abdul-Jabbar earlier this month.
Malone and Abdul-Jabbar were brought to the stage, and then Dwyane Wade — James’ former teammate in Miami and now a co-owner of the Utah Jazz — introduced James to bring him onto the platform.
“We’ve all been witnesses,” Wade said. “No matter the challenge, no matter the noise, he was relentless.”
With the number 38,388 displayed behind him, James raised his hand to thank the fans for their ovation, then hugged Abdul-Jabbar and Malone. He didn’t return to the game, his night ending with a right hand contusion.
James finished with 13 points. He said a chasedown block in the first half led to him getting a finger caught in the rim.
“Precautionary reasons,” he said.
James played a half. The game’s other captain didn’t play a half-minute.
Antetokoumpo drafted his team before the game, went through warmups (such as they were) and started the game as planned.
But his right wrist was wrapped, and that was an ominous sign. The injury kept him out of All-Star Saturday’s skills challenge, and it limited him to 20 seconds Sunday night. He got an uncontested dunk to open the game, then took a foul and headed to the bench.
“Whatever I have, I’m going to give,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s who I am. That’s never going to change.”
As in past years, the teams played for charity, with Team LeBron raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah and Team Giannis for Raise the Future, which connects youth waiting in foster care with stable adults. Each team started with $150,000, with the first three quarters worth another $100,000 apiece and the winners getting another $150,000.
The teams were tied at 46 in the first quarter, and Team Giannis took the second quarter 53-46. Team Giannis also won the third quarter 59-49, and the cumulative score to that point — 158-141, Team Giannis — meant 182 would be the score to reach in the untimed fourth quarter with a target-score ending.
Team Giannis won $550,000 for its charity, and Team LeBron won $200,000. And Tatum, just as he vowed he would at his first All-Star Game in 2020 — when the award was named for Bryant — won the trophy that he’s wanted for a while.
“Icing on the cake,” Tatum said.