Boston Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each had a hand in helping the Eastern Conference conquer the West in Sunday night's 211-186 All-Star Game win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The star tandem that's led the way for an NBA-best 43-12 start to Boston's 2023-24 campaign, Tatum and Brown made their fifth and third All-Star appearances, respectively. Unlike last season, when LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo split the Celtics' representatives in the All-Star draft, Tatum and Brown converged for an on-brand performance under the bright lights in Indianapolis.
Tatum and Brown combined to score 56 points, collect 11 rebounds and dished out six assists. Brown's 36-point showing was worthy of All-Star MVP consideration, but the award went to the Milwaukee Bucks' Damian Lillard, who led the East with 39 points. But again, Brown helping pick up the energy in a defensively effortless exhibition run warranted a co-MVP talk. Brown's and Lillard's backcourt offense was the backbone of a historic presentation from the East, who scored the most points by an All-Star team.
Brown's fifth 3-pointer drained broke an NBA record (previously 35) for the total made by a team in All-Star Game history. The 27-year-old finished shooting 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, which fell five threes short of Lillard's 11 total made.
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Tatum, who was starstruck after meeting Larry Bird during pregame warmups, scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with a block, falling short as the defending All-Star Game MVP. Karl Anthony-Towns, however, came close to matching Tatum's record-setting scoring total (55 points) by notching a sneaky 50 points for the West off the bench.
While the East-West clash allows players to celebrate their respective accolades in being recognized as the best the NBA has to offer, Taum once again couldn't avoid the inevitable regular season MVP chit-chat.
"I don't think Jayson Tatum will win his first MVP until he wins his first championship," Golden State Warriors center Draymond Green said, per TNT. "He's being punished for having so much success (with) his team early. He's lost in the Finals, he's lost in the ECF, so they don't respect him as they should. And I think it's unfair because he's been having an MVP-type year."
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Either way, there's something greater lying ahead for the Celtics.
Boston's coming off a disappointing playoff finish last year, and the front office pushed every right button to help rebuild the roster. The proof -- so far -- has been in the pudding with very few opponents proving capable of hanging with the Celtics, who've lost just once to a sub-.500 team.
Tatum and Brown will pick up right where they left off Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls.
Featured image via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
