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The Rundown: Giannis goes perfect as Team LeBron wins 2021 All-Star Game

Published March 8, 2021, 1:50 PM ● Jon Carlos Rodriguez and Yoyo Sarmenta
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Team LeBron outplayed Team Durant in the 2021 All-Star Game behind Giannis Antetokounmpo's perfect night and Steph Curry and Damian Lillard's superb shooting.

Here’s what happened in the 2021 NBA All-Star festivities:

What went down

Taco Bell Skills Challenge

Another big man reigned supreme in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge with Damontas Sabonis taking the crown. He breezed through the first two rounds and outdueled Nikola Vucevic in the finals. Big men have owned the Skills Challenge, winning four of the last six competitions. Sabonis joins fellow winners Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Bam Adebayo.

 

In case you were wondering what happened to Luka Doncic and Chris Paul, who had a bye in the competition, well, let’s just say Luka Magic was a little too chill with the warmups on, while CP3 blew a layup. 

MTN DEW 3-Point Contest 

Stephen Curry had strong Larry Bird in ‘88 vibes coming into the 3-point contest and was really short of asking, “Who’s coming in second?” during warmups. 

He did the trash talk in the first round instead, scoring a loud and dirty 31 points. 

There was no doubt Steph would come out firing that in the final round versus Utah’s Mike Conley, he missed the first four shots...just to make it interesting.

It came down to the very last money ball, with Steph’s 26 trailing Conley’s final round total of 27. Three seconds still on the clock, Steph launched yet another 3 which main objective was to break the hearts of yet another fanbase. Bang bang.

 

It was Curry’s second 3-point contest win of his career, joining an elite pure shooters only list of Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Mark Price, Jeff Hornacek, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Kapono.

“This one goes out to Klay Thompson,” Steph said post-shootout, continuing the hot streak.

AT&T Slam Dunk Contest

Portland’s Anfernee Simons kissed his way into becoming this year’s Slam Dunk champion, becoming the first Trail Blazer to win the award. 

Simons defeated the New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin in the final round when he rose up and gestured kissing the rim in a stunning display of hangtime. In this year’s finals, the two competitors performed one dunk each with the winner picked by the judges, and not based on the usual 6-10 individual rating. 

 

This year’s judges weren’t playing around though. The five-man crew of Dominique Wilkins, Dee Brown, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, and Spud Webb wanted the dunkers to bring their A-game and nothing else. That didn’t mean Simons, Toppin, and Indiana’s Cassius Stanley didn’t strut their stuff. 

In the first round, Stanley showcased his incredible hops with a self alley-oop then going between the legs for the jam. The judges only gave him a 44 and he unfortunately fizzled on his second round dunk. Still, Stanley deserves a massive shoutout for being the first player on a two-way contract to be in the dunk contest. The guy hasn’t even made a single dunk in an NBA game yet!

Another noteworthy moment in the contest was Toppin’s second round dunk where he jumped over teammate Julius Randle and his dad Obi Toppin, Sr. and delivered a windmill jam that got him a 46. 

All-Star Game

Team LeBron and Team Durant, as expected, both came out firing to start an All-Star Game played in different circumstances in terms of live audience attendance and schedule.

All the action was packed in one night, and the effect of that tweak truly showed in the shooting of Steph Curry.

After just scorching the same nets an hour ago at the 3-point contest, Curry was in heat check mode in the first quarter. He hit four 3s, including one where he turned his back to the rim after launching because he’s feeling saucy.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was also gunning for it from tipoff, scoring 11 points on perfect shooting in the first quarter.

The game was still close in the second quarter, but then Curry and Damian Lillard decided to hold their own shootout, resulting in a couple of halfcourt splashes, Steph a 3 away from the halftime record, and a 20-point lead by Team LeBron.

In the second half, Team LeBron continued its stranglehold on Team Durant. Even as Bradley Beal (26 points) and Kyrie Irving (24 points, 12 assists) tried to will their team back, Team LeBron had no trouble conjuring up a counter attack. 

The game started with a 3 and fittingly, it also ended with one courtesy of a half-court launch from none other than Lillard. He hit the game-winner and pointed at his wrist to again claim Dame Time, which was ironic because the clock was off and there was no time-telling device to keep track of the ending. Further proves that Dame Time is really less a measure of time but more a state of mind.

 

The 2021 edition of the ASG chose to feature Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Team LeBron was able to earn a total of $750,000 for its charity, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Team LeBron is now 4-0 in All-Star Game history. 

Big-time ballers

Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP with a line that jumps through the stat sheet. The two-time league MVP registered 35 points and went 16-for-16 from the field, including three shots from downtown! 

 

It would be amiss not to mention the 3-point barrage from Steph Curry and Damian Lillard. Dame Time dropped 32 points while Chef Curry fired 28 as the two human flamethrowers torched the net with identical 8-for-16 clips from 3-point land. 

What he said

“It's a great shot." — Paul George, after witnessing Damian Lillard hit a couple of halfcourt shots at the All-Star Game, reversing his earlier statement that Dame’s logo shot is a “bad shot.”

Did you see that?

The Steph Curry experience in a nutshell 

 

We need more Mike Conley and Chris Paul going up for a jump ball

 

What’s in a number?

100% - Giannis’ staggering line of 35 points on an immaculate 16-for-16 shooting clip was one for the record books. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Antetokounmpo’s shooting performance—100 percent FG with at least 10 attempts—was the best in All-Star game history, beating the previous record of Hal Greer’s 8-for-8 line in 1968.

128 - With Chris Paul’s 16 assists on Monday, he is now the All-Star Game assist title-holder with 128 dimes, surpassing Magic Johnson’s 127 via ESPN Stats and Info. 

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