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Tim BontempsESPN
With a perfect 16-16 performance from the field, including the bench in multiple jump shots, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo won his first prize for the most valuable player in the NBA All-Star Game , as the LeBron team got a 170-150 victory over the team on Sunday night in Atlanta.
“You know, it’s usually closed [on Sundays]”Antetokounmpo said with a smile, when asked about the bank bridges,” but for me it was open extended hours. “
In a game that the LeBron team controlled from start to finish, they were Antetokounmpo (who finished with a maximum of 35 points), Stephen Curry (28 points and eight triples) and Damian Lillard (32 points and hit 3) -point) that led the way. The three fought for the MVP trophy until the end, with Antetokounmpo finally winning.
At 100%, Antetokounmpo recorded the best percentage of field goals in an All-Star game in history with a minimum of 10 attempts. The previous record for most unbeaten marks belonged to Hal Greer, who won eight by eight at the 1968 All-Star Game.
“It’s fun,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s fun. I was happy, my teammates had fun and just alongside great players, they’re easy to play.”
This All-Star Game, like the rest of this season, was inevitably disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to be in Indianapolis, he moved to Atlanta. Only a handful of fans were in the stands and there were strict quarantines for everyone involved.
This, however, did not prevent the virus from infiltrating the event, as contact tracking forced Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to be removed from the game by the league, and potentially away from the Sixers when the second half of the season begins Thursday.
The Embiid and Simmons-related situation was the exact example NBA commissioner Adam Silver mentioned Saturday when he discussed why, according to him, most NBA players will end up with the vaccine. Although Silver said the NBA will not force players to get the vaccine, if they get vaccinated they should no longer be quarantined (and therefore unable to play) if they come in contact with someone who gives positive to COVID. 19.
But when LeBron James was asked about Sunday afternoon vaccination during media availability before the game, he declined to say if he would get it.
“This is a conversation my family and I will have. We almost keep it in something private,” James said. “Obviously, I saw that Adam had his comments about vaccination. But things like that, when you decide to do something, it’s a conversation between you and your family and not for everyone. I’ll keep it that way.”
James, who said earlier last month that the NBA chose to hold an All-Star Game amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was a “slap” last month, lived up to the another quote I had about the game that day.
“I’ll be there if they select me,” James said. “But I’ll be there physically, but not mentally.”
James, who had not scored less than 13 points in any of his 16 previous All-Star appearances, only had 4 points on 2-on-7 shots, including a rebuttal to two open throws, in 13 minutes. . Their teams are now 4-0, however, as the league shifted to the current format of having the top two voters choose their teams in 2018.
Team LeBron, due to his victory, donated more than $ 1 million to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, while Team Durant donated $ 500,000 to the United Negro College Fund.
Atlanta native Jaylen Brown scored a triple with 1:33 left in the first quarter to finally give LeBron a win in the first quarter. The second was much less competitive, as a 27-8 run over the final 3:54 of the second allowed the LeBron team to take an overall 20-point lead at the break.
The LeBron team also won the third quarter by a single point and gained 21 points in the fourth quarter, which means that with the “Elam Ending”, the LeBron team simply had to score 24 points before the team for 45 points.
The only drama that would remain at that time would be whether Antetokounmpo, Curry, or, after a late charge, Lillard, would finally win the All-Star MVP trophy for the first time. But while Curry had a chance to end the game with a midfield triple and failed, on the next trip down, Lillard came off the midfield line and buried him.
Ultimately, though, it was the Greek Freak and their perfect night that won the day.