‘Pretty surreal’: Lauri Markkanen enjoys first appearance as All-Star Game returns to Utah

The NBA All-Star Game made its long-awaited return to Salt Lake City on Sunday night, and Utah had a hometown representative.

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen had fun in his first All-Star Game, and it was even better that his inaugural appearance came in his home arena.

“Pretty surreal. I was excited to get out there ... I was just happy to get out there and play with those guys,” Markkanen said.

Teammates with Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard on Team Giannis, Markkanen and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team defeated LeBron James’ team 184-175 in front of a sellout crowd at Vivint Arena.

Markkanen scored 13 points on 6 of 13 shooting and contributed seven rebounds.

He drew the first big cheers of the evening, throwing down an alley-oop from Mitchell — the player he was traded for — for his first points of the game.

“It’s one of those things, just those moments. It’s just funny how those things work,” Mitchell said.

“I’ve known Lauri for a while. It’s great to see him out here thriving, and it was great to have that moment, for sure.”

Markkanen splashed his only 3 of the night a play later.

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The best sequence of the night for the Finland native came in the middle of second quarter, when he finished an alley-oop from Pascal Siakam, then threw down a reverse clutch jam for his 11th point of the night.

After that series, touches were limited for Markkanen, shooting the ball just six times the rest of the game, making one — a hammer dunk to get Team Giannis six points away from the target score in the fourth quarter.

Needing one point to win the game due to the target score ending, Markkanen was set up for a hometown hero moment, but his corner 3 missed.

“I was thinking if I should go dunk it or shoot a 3. Joel was trying to get me in the paint and go dunk it. That’s why it took so long so shoot that 3. It would have been cool to knock that one down, but we got the job done, too,” Markkanen said

Another local product, Lillard, got the rebound and nailed a 3 to win the game.

Markkanen was selected last among the starters in his first All-Star Game. The reserves were picked first, then the starters, and it came down to two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Markkanen.

Jokic appereared to take matters into his own hands, walking over to join Team LeBron, leaving Markkanen as the final selection, but after the game, Jokic clarified that he thought he was the last person remaining, so he walked over to join LeBron’s squad.

“I mean, I’m just glad to be a part of this whole experience. I didn’t really care,” Markkanen said about being picked last.

Then he joked with Jokic, who was also in the interview room.

“He thought he was the last pick, so that’s why he stood up so early and made me look even worse. I blame it on him,” Markkanen said.

All in all, it was a successful first All-Star Game for Markkanen.

“It’s just a great experience to be a part of, and I can’t wait to be here again,” he said.

“Pretty surreal. I was excited to get out there ... I was just happy to get out there and play with those guys.” — Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen

Jayson Tatum set an All-Star Game scoring record, pouring in 55 points while playing 35 minutes.

The most entertaining part of the night was a one-on-one battle between Boston Celtics teammates Tatum and Jaylen Brown that featured actual defense and went on for multiple possessions.

Mitchell gunned for MVP honors, scoring 40 points on his old floor, and Lillard made several long-range 3s and the game-winner, scoring 26.

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone — who coached Team LeBron — called the contest the “worst basketball game ever played.”

Yep, the All-Star Game is a lot different than the last time it was here in Salt Lake in 1993.

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A competitive game with lockdown defense, it was not. But take it for what it was, an entertaining basketball spectacle featuring plenty of long-distance 3s and dunks from the world’s best players, delighting the Utah crowd.

The All-Star Game was missing a few stars — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant were voted All-Star starters, but missed the All-Star Game due to injuries.

Antetokounmpo, who was a major part of All-Star Weekend — appearing at nearly every event — was injured in the game just before the All-Star break, and played just 20 seconds, getting in a dunk before exiting.

James didn’t return to the game after halftime after he got his finger caught in the rim during the game on a chase-down block.

“I tried to get one little chase-down block, and got my finger caught in the rim. But I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I don’t think it’s too much to worry about. For precautionary reasons, I just had to take the rest of the night off,” James said.

In the minutes he did play, James electrified the crowd, showing off from deep range and hammering dunks.

James, the league’s new all-time leading scorer, was honored at halftime in a ceremony that featured Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone — the NBA’s No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the all-time scoring list.

Malone was joined by Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton courtside on Sunday.

For one weekend, Utah was the center of the NBA world, playing host to the league’s best — and tens of thousands of visitors around the world.

Let’s do it again in another 30 years — or sooner.