Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s squad fell to Team LeBron for the second straight year at Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
In what turned out to be a wildly competitive contest, Team Giannis were dealt a heartbreaking 157-155 defeat by Team LeBron at Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game in the Windy City.
We were far from the competitive, knock down drag out brawl that consumed us all later when the game got underway in the first quarter. And it was Antetokounmpo and co. who fell into an early hole after Team LeBron took the first quarter with a 53-41 edge.
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Antetokounmpo promptly took it upon himself to set the tone for his squad’s second quarter comeback as he dunked everything in sight while getting plenty of help from the starters and reserves he drafted a little more than a week ago.
That resulted in Team Giannis taking control of the contest by not only winning the second quarter 51-30, but leading Team LeBron 92-83 in aggregate going into halftime.
The competitive fire both teams possessed increasingly showed on the court once play picked back up in the second half. That was especially true for a wild ending where, following a triple from Nikola Jokic as well as a free throw from Russell Westbrook, Rudy Gobert neutralized those scores with an alley-oop slam to tie it up at 41 at the end of the fourth quarter.
With Team Giannis holding the higher score at 133, the Elam Ending went into effect and kicked off an incredible back and forth fourth quarter as both teams clawed and scratched their way to 157 points. That didn’t always lead to crisp execution for either team, but the level of intensity and gamesmanship ratcheted up exponentially throughout the uninterrupted fourth quarter.
In the end, though, it was Team LeBron that was able to overcome their 9-point deficit going into the period as Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis capped off the victory hitting a free throw, in what was an anti-climatic ending. And it was two-time NBA champion and L.A. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard who took home the first Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP award.
So without further ado, let’s break down what stood out in Team Giannis’ defeat to Team LeBron from Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game.