Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Seven Dimes Helps Team Giannis Route Team LeBron, 184-175

After being selected fifth by Team Giannis from the pool of reserves, Thunder star guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, represented Oklahoma City well in his first ever All-Star appearance, scoring nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and handing out seven assists in just ten minutes of action to help Team Giannis defeat Team LeBron, 184-175.

Both LeBron James and Giannis Antetekounmpo exchanged buckets after tip-off to get their respective teams going in the first frame. After that, a buffet of lobs and self alley-oops were thrown down to the Salt Lake City crowd’s pleasure to give Team Giannis a slight edge, 21-20, with six minutes remaining in the quarter.

The last six minutes featured Boston’s Jayson Tatum showcasing his talents for Team Giannis, taking over the offense, throwing down several dunks, and draining a 27-foot 3-pointer while his fellow Celtics’ teammate, Jaylen Brown, poured in eight points down the stretch to help Team LeBron knot things up, 46-46, headed into the next frame.

Gilgeous-Alexander subbed in to start the second quarter for Team Giannis and was blocked on his first shot - a layup attempt - before draining a 3-pointer for his first points as an All-Star. Moments later, Oklahoma City’s prized point guard would find five assists in the quarter before taking a seat to help Team Giannis to a 71-67 lead in the first half of the frame.

Serving dimes to the stars 😌 pic.twitter.com/3HigZc1f2n
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 20, 2023

After hitting a record-breaking 31 triples in the NBA’s 3-Point Contest, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton got it going with a pair of assists, a couple of at-rim finishes, and a step-back triple to help Team LeBron stay within striking distance.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell would quickly answer back, getting to the rim, and free throw line, several times as well as draining a pair of threes before Portland’s Damian Lillard, this year’s winner of the 3-Point Contest, added his own pair of deep triples to give Team Giannis a 99-92 lead heading into halftime.

After it was announced during halftime that James wouldn't return to the game for Team LeBron after smacking his hand against the rim on an attempted block, the third frame was upon us.

Dallas' Kyrie Irving and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid did their best to carry the offense during James' absence, but Mitchell and Tatum were too much to handle, opening up the frame red-hot, draining a combined eight 3-pointers to lead Team Giannis to a 127-113 advantage with about seven minutes to go.

Team Giannis continued with their barrage of 3-pointers as all of Lillard, Tatum, and Mitchell couldn't seem to miss. Meanwhile, Embiid drained three of his own triples, but it would be in vain as Team LeBron had no chance of overcoming the opposition's firepower and would give up a 59-point quarter to put them at a 141-158 disadvantage.

After checking in late in the previous quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander would find four more points and a pair of assists in his two minutes of playing time before heading into the fourth.

With the target score set at 182 and Team LeBron at a 17-point disadvantage, Haliburton would go to work to kick the final frame off, pouring in several long-range triples in an attempt to close the gap, but the duo of Tatum and Mitchell would keep Team Giannis ahead 174-158 with just eight points needed to seal a victory.

And Team Giannis would, indeed, find their first ever win after a deep triple by Damian Lillard would thwart a comeback from Team LeBron, 184-175.

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