LeBron James exits early as Team Giannis wins NBA All-Star Game

SALT LAKE CITY — The All-Star Game was shaping up to be a lot like most games LeBron James plays: At halftime, he was leading his team in minutes.

But unlike the 23 games he has left in the regular season, the one he played on Sunday didn’t really have any stakes.

So while James was ruled out of the second half of the NBA’s premier exhibition with a right hand bruise, it might be rightly taken with a grain of salt as more precautionary than substantial. James finished the game with 13 points and four assists, but he hit the bench long before the 184-175 loss, with Team LeBron falling to Team Giannis.

The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum set a new All-Star Game scoring record with 55 points, besting the record set by Anthony Davis. Tatum was 22 for 31 from the floor (10 for 18 from 3-point range) and had 10 rebounds and six assists.

Minutes after the news leaked out that James would not play after halftime, James walked on a stage to be honored by longtime friend Dwyane Wade for breaking the NBA’s career scoring record, alongside his now top two runners-up, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. James shook the hands of all three men – with no apparent sign of discomfort.

James caught his right pinky finger on the hoop in the second quarter on an attempted chase-down block, an injury not believed to be serious. But James was not planning on playing big minutes anyway – saying pregame he wouldn’t “go crazy” in his 19th All-Star appearance with an ailing left foot injury – and the moment seemed as apt a reason as any to remove James from any risk of further incident.

“I tried to get one little chase-down block, and got my finger caught in the rim,” James said after the game. “But I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I don’t think it’s too much to worry about.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo played barely at all himself, dunking on the first possession of the game, then committing a take foul 20 seconds in to get subbed out. The Milwaukee Bucks star had suffered a wrist injury in his last game before the All-Star break.

Unfortunately for James, the defeat blemished his perfect record when drafting his own team. His first two picks among the starters were his best: Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid had 32 points and Dallas’ Kyrie Irving had 32 points and 15 assists. Boston’s Jaylen Brown had a team-high 35 points and 14 rebounds. Clipper Paul George had eight points on 4-for-13 shooting (0 for 9 from behind the arc).

The other big gun besides Tatum for Team Antetokounmpo was Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers guard who scored 40 points in a return to Utah, where he was a star with the Jazz.

There were hijinks during the drafting process – televised live shortly before tip-off for the first time – that were more entertaining than any of the basketball. Antetokounmpo gaffed in the reserve-picking round, mistakenly trying to select Ja Morant, who was in the pool of starters. James chided the Bucks star for picking Portland’s Damian Lillard first among reserves when his teammate Jrue Holiday was still on the board.

James could hardly hide his enthusiasm in the starter round when he picked his former teammate Irving – James recently admitted he was “disappointed” when the Lakers didn’t trade for him – after his first overall pick Embiid. Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the two-time defending MVP who could win a third this season, essentially picked himself by walking over to James when it was down to him and Utah forward Lauri Markkanen.

Jokic, who finished with four points and was at one point caught off-guard by an outlet pass that sailed past him, kept a light heart about going late in the draft: “No, I would not draft myself either. I’m not meant for this game.”

James said he preferred the pre-taped televised draft format before All-Star weekend, but didn’t argue with experimentation.

“It’s always good to try some things and see how we can get better with things,” he said. “Especially with our game. It’s always great to have an opportunity to try new formats, new ways to spice up the game, spice up the viewership and things of that nature.”

Tatum had 27 of his points during the third quarter, another All-Star Game record for any period. He was the first pick by Antetokounmpo in the starters’ portion of the All-Star draft, and in the end, that pick proved to be the right one.

And the MVP award Tatum was given is named for Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, one of his heroes.

“It means the world,” Tatum said. “You think of all the legends and great players that have played this game, and in all honesty, records are made to be broken. I’ll hold it for as long as I can, but I’m certain someone will come along in a couple years and try to break it.”

Antetokounmpo said he had a reason for choosing Tatum.

“I knew he would take it serious. It was a no-brainer,” he said.

Lillard had 26 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer to push his team past the target score. The winner of the 3-point shooting contest on All-Star Saturday Night, Lillard was 8 for 20 from behind the arc and pulled up from half-court to make one in the third quarter.

As in past years, the teams played for charity, with Team LeBron raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah and Team Giannis for Raise the Future, which connects youth waiting in foster care with stable adults. Each team started with $150,000, with the first three quarters worth another $100,000 apiece and the All-Star Game winner getting another $150,000. Team Giannis won $550,000 for its charity, and Team LeBron won $200,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.