All-Star Game

Taylor Snow

Even when they’re not on the same team, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are still the best duo in the NBA.

The Jays shined the brightest of all participants in Sunday night’s All-Star Game, combining for 90 points, 24 rebounds, and 11 assists while facing off on opposite sides of the court in Salt Lake City.

The All-Star teams were chosen playground style, just as they have been in the past few years. But this time, the captains made their selections just minutes before tip-off.

East Captain Giannis Antetokounmpo (coached by Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics' staff) made what would wind up being the smartest decision of the night, selecting Jayson Tatum with his first overall pick out of the starter pool. West Captain LeBron James had the steal of the night, choosing Jaylen Brown with his second pick among reserve players.

Both of those selections paid off, as the Celtics wings would turn in the best individual performances for their respective teams.

In fact, Tatum produced arguably the best effort in All-Star Game history, pouring in an All-Star record 55 points, corralling a team-high 10 rebounds, and dishing out six assists in 35 minutes to help lead Team Giannis to a 184-175 victory.

Brown, in his first game back from a facial fracture, masked up and turned up for a team-high 35 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, along with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench.

Heading into Sunday night, no Celtics player had ever reached 30 points in an All-Star Game. The Jays both surpassed that mark with ease.

When it came to naming the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP, there was no debate. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed Jayson Tatum the hardware, while 5-year-old Jayson Tatum Jr. (aka “Deuce”), stood by his father with pride.

“It means the world when you think of all the legends and great players that have played in this game,” Tatum said in his postgame interview with TNT’s Ernie Johnson after breaking the record. “And in all honesty, records are meant to be broken. So I’ll own it for as long as I can, but I’m certain somebody will come along in a couple of years and try to break it.”

However, there is one record that Tatum set Sunday night that likely won’t be broken anytime soon. He’s now the only player in NBA history with a 50-point game in a regular-season game, a playoff game, and an All-Star game. He also has the only 50-point effort play-in game history.

Tatum finished the contest shooting 22-31 from the field, including 10-of-18 from 3-point range. His 10 makes from beyond the arc were the second-most in All-Star Game history behind Steph Curry’s 16 from last year’s showcase.

Tatum’s lone free-throw make (there were only four attempts in the entire game) happened to be the record-breaking 53rd point, which pushed him past Anthony Davis’ mark of 52 points set in 2017. He broke Wilt Chamberlain’s Eastern Conference record of 42 points before the third quarter ended.

Brown finished second behind Tatum in field-goal makes with a 16-of-27 effort from the field, including 13-of-15 from inside the 3-point arc. Not bad for a guy in his first game back after suffering a friendly-fire facial fracture on Feb. 8.

Donning a black mask, Brown soared through the air like a superhero, slamming one dunk after another and hitting several smooth mid-range shots.

Toward the end of the third quarter, Brown instigated what would turn out to be the best back-and-forth battle of the night when he challenged Tatum to a one-on-one duel.

With a little more than a minute left on the clock, Brown went at his Celtics teammate and knocked down a fadeaway jumper over Tatum’s outstretched hand. JT tried to return the favor on his next trip up-court, but Brown stripped his dribble, sending the ball out of bounds.

Brown then went to work on Tatum once again, this time sinking a deep, step-back triple before taunting his Celtics teammate with a ‘too-small’ gesture. Tatum wasn’t having any of that, so he knocked down a step-back triple of his own during Team Giannis’ next possession.

Brown had the ball for the final shot for one last go at Tatum. The other eight players knew to get out of the way, so they stepped over toward the sideline to watch the show. JB went into his bag of dribbling tricks, hitting JT with crossovers and hesitation moves on his way to the basket. However, Brown got a little too carried away, because he wound up dribbling out the clock to a clapping Tatum’s delight.

“We were just trying to be competitive a little bit,” Tatum said of his battle with Brown. “Trying to stay safe, but have some fun with it. Show JB he can’t score on me.”

JB may not have scored on JT on that last possession, but the two of them were scoring on everyone else all night long. They turned two of the best all-around efforts in All-Star Game history while showing once again why they are the best duo in the league.

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JT Sets All-Star Scoring Record, Masked JB Logs 35-14-5

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum got to warm up their shooting hands prior to Sunday night’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, as they went hand-to-hand with some of the NBA’s best snipers in the coveted MTN DEW 3-Point Contest.

The Celtics wing tandem represented one-third of the event’s competition, which also included Utah’s Mike Conley, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell.

Brown faced the tall task of leading off the competition and did quite well from a percentage standpoint, making 14 of his 27 attempts for a respectable 51.9 percent clip. However, he only made one of his nine money ball attempts (worth two points apiece) and went 1-for-2 from the MTN DEW Zone (located deep between each wing and the top of the arc, worth three points apiece). That left him with a total of 17 points, which was not enough to carry him into the final round.

But the experience in itself was enough for Brown, who stated before the competition that he was “extremely grateful to be here,” competing in his hometown area.

Next up was Tatum, who wound up faring much better than his wing-mate. Tatum started off hot, making eight of his first 10 shots, which set the tone for a 19-of-27 (70.1 percent) performance. Four of his makes came off of money balls, including three directly from the money ball rack. Like Brown, he also sunk 1-of-2 from the MTN DEW Zone for an extra three points.

Prior to the shootout, Tatum was able to get a little practice in and that seemed to help him get a feel for the competition.

“I got some practice, worked on it a couple of times just to kind of get the technique down,” he said. “It is a difference grabbing the balls off the rack. The balls are different, the money balls, so I had to practice for that.”

In his case, the practice paid off. Tatum’s 25-point first-round total was enough to carry him into the final round, where he would face off against Conley and Curry.

However, the vets would end up getting the best of the 23-year-old.

Tatum’s shooting hand cooled off in the final round as he connected on 13-of-27 from deep, including 2-of-9 on money balls and 1-of-2 from the MTN DEW Zone for a total of 17 points. Conley followed that up with a 27-point effort, which Curry one-upped with a 28-point gem, which included a walk-off 3-pointer on his final money ball shot.

Even though Brown and Tatum didn’t bring home any hardware, it was a great opportunity for them to compete among some of the league’s elite sharpshooters while also getting to warm up their shooting hands for the main event later that night.

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Recapping Brown, Tatum’s Performances in the 3-Point Contest

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will share the court Sunday night in a much different fashion than Celtics fans are used to seeing. For the first time in their respective careers, the Fire and Ice combo will temporarily split apart for a Fire vs. Ice battle at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta.

The Jays were officially separated during Thursday night’s playground-style selection process, which was carried out by captains Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Tatum was the first of the two to come off the board as Durant chose him out of the starters pool before James selected Brown out of the reserves group.

While it would have been nice to share their first joint All-Star experience on the same sideline, Brown and Tatum are also excited for the unique opportunity to compete head-to-head, as suggested by their playful back-and-forth banter leading up to the exhibition.

“With me and JT, everything is definitely a competition,” Brown said with a smile shortly after learning of their separation. “I’m looking forward to competing and sharing the floor. Just tell him don’t guard me, that’s all I’m gonna say.”

Tatum is no stranger to guarding Brown one-on-one, as they often compete in heated battles after practice. Therefore, if such an opportunity arises where they do match up toe-to-toe, the two-time All-Star certainly won’t back down from the first-timer.

“If it does happen, I know all of his moves,” Tatum jokingly warned Sunday morning. “I know what he’s gonna do, so I ain’t gonna let him score.”

So maybe Brown will have to reach deeper into his bag of tricks if such a matchup occurs?

“Nah. Nothing extra needed,” he answered with a chuckle Sunday afternoon. “Get the puppies moving and it’s a wrap. I'm looking forward to it. Me and JT obviously play one-on-one. He thinks he knows my moves, but I tell him all the time that I ain't got to do too much.”

Brown and Tatum's playful pre-game exchange served as a great indication of the bond that they have formed over the years, onto which Tatum shed light.

“When I came into (the league), we were just two young guys trying to prove themselves,” he recalled. “Obviously he had been here a year before me. But when I first got here, the first two years, we had the same shooting coach, (former assistant Micah) Shrewsberry, so we always kind of shot together. And we were just always in the gym, always working, always trying to get better, just trying to push each other. A lot of one-on-one games a lot of shooting drills. Just came kinda natural.”

Celtics fans never got to see those one-on-one games and shooting drills as they were held behind closed doors at the Celtics’ practice facility. But those doors will finally open up Sunday night for the whole world to see.

And not only will the world get to see one of those one-on-one matchups, but it will also get to witness a head-to-head shooting drill as both Brown and Tatum will be competing against each other in the pre-game 3-Point Contest.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Brown. “It should be fun.”

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Brown, Tatum Excited for ASG Fire vs. Ice Battle

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Kemba on Kobe: ‘We Definitely Felt His Presence’

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Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving did something Sunday night that would've been considered unusual by recent All-Star Game standards: As the final seconds of the first half ticked away at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the five-time All-Star applied an aggressive, full-court press on Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who was attempting to score one final bucket for Team Stephen before halftime.

Then, something even more unusual happened: Irving was joined by Paul George to form a trap. Together, the pair forced Harden to cough up the rock, leading to a steal-and-slam for George, which cut Team LeBron's deficit in half heading into the break.

Defense in the All-Star Game. It's been a while since those two concepts have been integrated, but Sunday night's showcase featured plenty of effort on both ends throughout. As a result, the NBA enjoyed its most exciting and competitive All-Star Game in recent memory.

In a newly formatted showcase featuring star-studded teams that were hand-picked by designated captains, Team LeBron ousted Team Stephen, 148-145, in nail-biting fashion.

The game had an unbelievably different feel compared to that of recent All-Star Games. Over the past four years, the East and the West combined to average 345.5 total points per game, including a whopping 374 combined points during last season's contest.

The high scores were due to a lack of defense, but Sunday's game featured a refreshing balance of effort on both ends, which is exactly what Irving and the rest of the stars were hoping for.

"The pains of what the All-Star Game has kind of turned into, I think we all took it kind of personal," Irving stated after contributing 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds toward Team LeBron's win. "The individuals wanted to come out this time and be competitive."

Al Horford, who suited up against Irving on Team Stephen, agreed with his Celtics teammate.

"Guys were making it a point that they weren't going to let it be a punk fest," said Horford, who tallied six points, five rebounds and two assists off the bench. "Last year and the year before there was a lot of heat on how bad the game was, but I think this game was good. The guys were really trying to make things right."

The 23 participating All-Stars made things right, and there was plenty of evidence to back it up.

For the first time in five years, both teams were held to fewer than 150 points. During the four years in between, the winning team averaged 178.5 points per game, while the losing team averaged 167.0 PPG.

Total field goal makes dropped from 162 last year to 117 this year, and on 36 fewer attempts. Combined field goal percentage plummeted from 57.9 percent to 48.0 percent, while 3-point percentage dropped from 35.2 percent to 29.3 percent.

Sunday's game also featured four times as many blocked shots compared to last season's game, as well as three and a half times as many free throw attempts, further proving that there was an increased desire to contest shots.

But why such a drastic change in approach from one game to the next?

For one, Irving believes that the new format factored into it.

"The fact that you got a chance to see intra-conference rivals, East and West, it was pretty awesome because you get the unique opportunity to know people that you don't necessarily get to play against four times a year," said Irving.  "There's a personal challenge of wanting to show guys what you can do that you don't get to see on a regular basis."

There was also a result-based charity incentive that was added, which would send $350,000 to a charity of the winning captain's choice, as well as $150,000 to a charity of the losing captain's choice.

In case you were wondering why James (29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) was playing out of his mind down the stretch of his team's comeback effort, it's mostly because he was fighting for the larger sum of money. The MVP's winning effort will benefit his chosen charity, After-School All-Stars Los Angeles, which provides out-of-school programs for more than 8,000 students in L.A. Meanwhile, Team Steph's earnings will go to Curry's chosen charity, Brotherhood Crusade, which works with underserved youth in South Los Angeles.

"I think the NBA hit it right on the head and did a great job of trying to get the most out of us," said Irving, who assisted on James' game-winning bucket with 34 seconds left. "This was pretty fun and I think that we showcased that tonight with the incredible competitive spirit."

"And," added Irving, "the hope is that it's only going to get better."

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Irving, Horford Elated by All-Star Game's Increased Competitiveness

There were 75 eye-popping dunks during Sunday night’s All-Star Game in New Orleans.

Five-foot-nine Isaiah Thomas nearly had the loudest slam of them all.

At the 2:09 mark of the first quarter, just two and a half minutes after entering the game, Boston’s “Little Guy” sprinted up-court with no one in his path between him and the basket.

Rather than lay it in, like everyone in Smoothie King Center surely expected him to, Thomas, instead, bounced a high pass off the hardwood to himself and rose up toward the rafters to throw it down.

IT got high enough, slamming his hands down over the rim; the only problem was that the ball slipped off his fingertips and fell to the court.

Regardless of the missed attempt, Thomas shocked his Eastern Conference teammates with his vertical leap. LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan and others immediately rose off the bench, wide-eyed with surprise.

“He touched the rim. That’s all that matters,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said after the game with an impressed laugh.

After the ball dropped to the court, IT gathered his own miss, trailed out to the left corner and redeemed the botched dunk by sinking a wide-open 3-pointer. However, Thomas couldn’t help but lament over the missed opportunity following the East’s 192-182 loss to the West.

“I got a chance,” said Thomas, who is the shortest player in NBA history to make multiple All-Star appearances. “I got an open fast break for the first time in a while and I just tried to put some flavor on it. And I ended up missing it.”

Fortunately, Thomas didn’t miss the basket much after that. The Celtic guard, in his second All-Star appearance, led all East reserves with 20 points during just 19 minutes of action off the bench.

Thomas’ 20-point effort more than doubled last year’s scoring effort when he tallied nine points during his All-Star debut.

IT was satisfied with his improved play during the highlight-heavy exhibition. The greatest reward for him, however, was getting to enjoy the experience with the Celtics coaching staff, which earned the right to coach this year’s All-Star game based on Boston’s regular season success thus far.

“It was special,” said Thomas. “It shows the direction this organization is going in. It was a special moment for those guys because they work just as hard as I do, maybe even more. I’m just glad they got to experience it.”

There may have not been much coaching involved for Stevens and his crew, since the All-Stars typically take control of the show themselves. As Stevens noted ahead of the game, he was merely a fan “with a good seat.”

However, the experience of just being among so many stars was what made the night so valuable for Stevens and his staff.

“The best thing about being a part of this is just being around all the high achievers,” said Stevens. “You feel that in the locker room; you hear the discussions. Obviously the game is not played at 100 percent full throttle, but just being around those guys and listening to their conversations, seeing what they’re like, seeing even how they prepared for tonight’s game, I think that that’s good.

“So it was great for our whole staff to share it, not only with each other, but with Isaiah as well.”

It was nice for Thomas, Stevens and the coaching staff to be able to get away from the regular season grind for the weekend, as they enjoyed a unique, All-Star experience together.

But now it’s back to business for the Celtics. Stevens, just moments after the final horn sounded, was already thinking ahead to Friday's game in Toronto.

“We got a couple of days and then the real world starts again,” said Stevens, whose Celtics are second in the East with a 37-20 record. “And that’s a little bit tougher.”

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IT, Stevens Take in Unique All-Star Experience

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Photos: 2017 All-Star Game

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Isaiah Thomas had been anticipating this weekend for his entire life, and now he can say his first All-Star Game experience is officially in the books.

The Celtics guard tallied nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal during 19 minutes of play Sunday night, as his Eastern Conference squad fell to West, 196-173.

Thomas shot 4-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-5 from beyond the arc in the historically high-scoring contest.

“I wish I could’ve hit a couple more shots,” Thomas later reflected, “but it was fun out there.”

The fun began when No. 4 first checked in (fittingly) at the 4:44 mark of the first quarter.  He admitted that he was a bit nervous when he initially entered the game, and it showed early on.

Thomas front-rimmed a 3-ball on his first touch of the contest, then shortly thereafter went in for a layup, but lost the handle and glanced it off the base of the rim.

The guard quickly shook those nerves off, however, as he cracked the scoring column at the 2:13 mark of the first frame when he drove past Chris Paul from the left elbow for an easy lay-in. That was his only bucket of the first half, though the little guy tallied all three of his team’s offensive rebounds during the opening quarter.

Thomas was subbed out at the start of the second quarter and did not see action again until the 2:24 mark of the third. It only took him nine seconds to make his presence known, as he quickly picked off an errant pass by Paul, jogged upcourt to the 3-point line and canned a trey.

Thomas’ shining moment came on his final basket, which came late in the fourth quarter.

After Thomas had wedged a 3-point attempt between the rim and the backboard, he and reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry were called out to center court for a jump ball. The Celtics guard opted not to leap for the toss, and instead sprinted straight past Curry, who had tipped the ball backward in Kobe Bryant’s direction in the backcourt. But Thomas, in a full sprint at that point, aggressively slithered past the Black Mamba, snagged the loose ball, and took it to the basket for a swooping, acrobatic, left-handed layup.

It was the highlight moment of the night for Thomas, who grew up idolizing Bryant and was humbled to be a part of his final All-Star experience.

“He’s the greatest player of my generation,” said Thomas. “Somebody that I’ve looked up to, and we probably won’t see another Kobe Bryant ever again, so it’s such an honor to be able to share a court with him.”

Thomas went on to add that the All-Star Game experience in its entirety was “everything I dreamed of,” despite not making the offensive impact he would have hoped for.

“It was good just to be out on the court with those other guys and experience Kobe’s last All-Star Game,” said Thomas. “For me and my family to go through this weekend was great. Hopefully I can have more weekends like this.”

As long as Thomas continues to lead the C's at an elite level in the future, he should have no problem achieving that goal.

All‑Star Game