Lauri Markkanen got to celebrate the victory in the first NBA all-star game of his career. Markkanen played Giannis Antetokounmpo captaining the team against LeBron James’ team. Team Giannis was stronger than Team LeBron with 184–175 points.
Markkanen, who was in the starting five, was in shock at the very beginning of the match. The Finn stung with his tasty donks. Markkanen scored seven points right at the start of the game and after the first five minutes was the best scorer of the entire game.
In the second half, the Finn was no longer allowed to touch the ball much. However, Markkanen scored an excellent 13 points and was Team Giannis’s fourth best scorer. Team Giannis took a clear lead in the third period Jayson Tatum’s and Donovan Mitchell with throws.
Tatum, the guard representing the Boston Celtics, scored a total of 55 points in the match. It’s the NBA’s all-time all-star scoring total. Tatum also has ten rebounds and six assists.
Complications at the time of selection
The actual all-star teams were revealed just a moment before the match, when captains James and Antetokounmpo chose their teams. Markkanen ended up in Antetokounmpo’s team, when he was the last choice among the star five players.
An interesting moment was seen at the moment of selection, when the Serbian, who remained with Markkanen as the last starting five player Nikola Jokic was already marching toward LeBron James’ team before James called his name.
Jokic regretted his action after the match.
– I thought I was the last. I feel bad. Especially when we lost, Jokic told the press conference.
Markkanes was not bothered by the situation after the game. Markkanen acknowledged to Jokic that from his point of view things turned out for the best. However, the Finn was on the winning side in the match. Markkanen joked about the situation at his own press conference.
– It didn’t matter that much. I’m just happy that I was able to join, Markkanen said and continued laughing.
– (He) thought he was the last booking and got up. It made me look worse. I blame him for that.
Markkanes became the first Nordic player in the NBA all-star game. The NBA All-Star Game is a highly regarded event. The title of star player is highly valued in the NBA. Even as a starting five player, the Finn was among basketball’s absolute elite.
According to Markkanen, the highlight of the constellation weekend was the actual constellation game.
– Spend it on the field, and the family is there to watch. I also got to hang out with them. It was really cool to experience all this in my hometown, Markkanen described the highlights of the star-studded weekend to Urheilu.
According to Markkanen, the first basket in the star game was memorable, but as the top Finn, winning the star game was still in mind.
– This was a really cool experience. This was pretty much what I expected. However, I am really grateful. I can’t wait to get here again, Markkanen said.
Markkanes has a place to nail the winning shot
Team Giannis was so superior that almost everyone on the field got to try the winning throw at the end of the game. The match was decided by who gets 182 points first. Markkanes also had a place to decide the match. However, the Finn missed a three-pointer from the corner of the court. The ball rolled out of the hoop after a moment’s consideration.
– I was just thinking whether I should dunk or throw the three. Joel Embiid was under the basket. That’s why I thought for a long time. It would have been fun to solve the game, but we got the job done, Markkanen said and pointed to one of the NBA’s biggest stars.
Markkanen got to play the first all-star game of his career in his home arena in Salt Lake City. Utah Jazz’s biggest star already received big applause from the audience during the player introduction. Throughout the star-studded weekend, other NBA stars have been cheering on the Finn, who has taken a big leap in development this season. Before the all-star game, LeBron James also joined the group of fans.
– For Lauri, it was only about opportunities. The talent has always been there when he came out of Arizona. You saw the talent in Chicago and Cleveland. Now he’s a key piece in Utah. He has been able to show his skills even more as Utah plays more through him. He has always been a talented guy, said James, who became the NBA’s all-time hardest point guard at the beginning of the year.
For James himself, the All-Star game was sad. The team he captained lost, but James was also unable to finish the all-star game. James left the All-Star game at halftime when he injured his hand in the second period. Antetokounmpo was also not seen on the field after the first seconds due to a previous wrist injury.