The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will take place Sunday in Atlanta at State Farm Arena. Follow along for live updates:
What you need to know
- How to watch: Coverage is on on TNT and TBS. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the dunk contest will be at halftime.
- Format: Like last year’s exhibition, the first three quarters will start with a 0-0 score and a winner will be declared at the end of each quarter. The fourth quarter will be untimed and the teams will play to a target score to determine the winner.
- What to watch for: The NBA’s top stars, captained by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, will compete in the annual midseason showcase that some stars objected to due to the pandemic.
- Three-point contest: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was the winner.
- Skills contest: Indiana Pacers center Domantas Sabonis was the winner.
Stephen Curry claims second three-point contest title
The only returning champion in the three-point contest field went home with the hardware for the second time in his seventh appearance.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the 2015 contest champion, scored 31 points in the first round and 28 points in the final round to claim this year’s trophy.
Curry’s 28 points barely edged Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (27 points) in the final round, while Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (17 points) finished a distant third. Tatum wasn’t able to recapture the same rhythm he had in the first round, while Conley got hot at the top of the key and threw a scare into Curry.
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown were eliminated in the first round.
Curry missed his first four shots in the final round before draining both of his deep threes and closing strong to eke out the victory. He sealed his victory with a make on his final shot, a money ball from the right corner.
“[My mind] kind of went blank,” Curry said, when asked about the clinching moment in the mostly empty State Farm Arena. “Whatever crowd is in here, I could hear the temperature rise a little bit. It was an awesome competition. I’m glad I got it done.”
Nets steal some All-Star Game shine with reported Blake Griffin deal
No better time to make news than Sunday night during the All-Star Game, right? Right.
The Brooklyn Nets abide by no rules of the news cycle when it comes to adding all-stars to their roster. The organization, already bloated with high-caliber talent, reached a deal with six-time all-star Blake Griffin for the rest of the season on Sunday evening, according to an ESPN report.
Griffin, 31, isn’t the bruising, highflying monster at the rim that he used to be after a rash of injuries and averaged just 12.3 points 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists for Detroit before agreeing to a contract buyout over the weekend. But for a Nets franchise with designs on a championship this year, he should fit perfectly as a veteran role player who won’t have to adjust much based on the team’s established stars.
The former Clippers star also adds some size alongside his friend and former teammate DeAndre Jordan in the frontcourt. Chalk up another win for the Nets.
Steph Curry leads after first round of three-point contest
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who won the Three-Point Contest in 2015, returned to headline the six-man field comprised entirely of all-stars. Joining Curry: Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz (an injury replacement for Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns), Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls.
This year’s event includes five racks of five balls. Four racks included one “money ball” — worth double — while the fifth rack included all money balls. Additionally, each competitor attempted two shots from nearly 30 feet, worth three points. All contestants had 70 seconds to get as many points as possible. The top three scorers from the first round advance to the final.
Curry: 31. The Warriors guard needed two shots to warm up, but he was stuck on automatic the rest of the way to put up the first round’s top score by a wide margin. He advanced to the final round.
Tatum: 25. The Celtics forward drained one of his deep threes to boost his first-round score and advance.
Conley: 24. The Jazz guard was a late call-up and made the most of his opportunity, staying red hot throughout his round to put up the first round’s third-highest score and advance.
Lavine: 22. The Bulls guard opened with his money ball rack, hitting three of the five shots to start strong, but he missed both of the deep threes and was knocked out.
Donovan Mitchell: 22. The Jazz guard didn’t get much of a rhythm until a strong closing rack performance nearly kept him in the mix. He was bounced out.
Brown: 17. The Celtics guard went first and struggled out of the gate, starting slow and then bumping one of the racks while he shot to finish with the first round’s lowest score.
Skills Challenge Final Round: Domantas Sabonis beats Nikola Vucevic to win the title
For the fourth time in the past six years, a big man came out on top in the NBA Skills Challenge, an event whose fields used to be dominated by guards. This year, both finalists — Indiana Pacers center Domantas Sabonis and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic — are listed at 6-foot-11.
While Vucevic got out to a faster start, Sabonis came back to even up the race during the three-point portion. Both players missed multiple attempts to end the competition from the three-point line, but Sabonis finally claimed the title by swishing a three-pointer.
Sabonis is the first member of the Pacers to win the competition, which was first held in 2003. He finished second last year.
“I just wanted to come out here and have fun with it,” Sabonis said. “I’m really excited. It’s for the fans and my family.”
Skills Challenge Second Round: Luka Doncic and Chris Paul get bounced
Skills Challenge Second Round
After eliminating Julius Randle in the first round, Domantas Sabonis completed his second time through the course without a mistake, upsetting Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic to advance to the final round. Doncic missed three straight passes on the course, setting up Sabonis for a runaway victory.
In the other half of the bracket, Nikola Vucevic knocked out Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, who missed a layup and multiple attempts at the three-pointer.
That set up an all-big man showdown in the final round between Sabonis, whose father Arvydas was a Lithuanian legend, and Vucevic, who has competed for Montenegro’s national team.
Robert Covington gets a win before the skills challenge even begins
One new factor in this year’s Atlanta-based All-Star Game is that Sunday’s festivities will help highlight and raise money for historically Black colleges and universities. Ahead of the skills challenge, Portland’s Robert Covington — the only active NBA player who attended an HBCU — did exactly that.
The 30-year-old forward didn’t compete in the pregame showcase in his Trail Blazers jersey but rather sported one from his alma mater, Tennessee State. He then awarded two $25,000 scholarships to a pair of Tennessee State athletes, prompting the TNT crew behind the desk to name Covington the automatic winner before the challenge was even underway.
“This is me using my platform,” Covington said. “I love Tennessee State, I just want to say congratulations and I’m excited to see what you guys do with everything.”
Skills Challenge tips off NBA All-Star Sunday
The Skills Challenge field features five all-stars and Portland Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington, a Tennessee State University graduate and the only current NBA player to attend an HBCU. Covington competed in the event wearing his old college jersey, as part of the NBA’s plan to honor HBCUs throughout the night.
Joining Covington: Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns, Julius Randle of the Knicks, Domantas Sabonis of the Pacers and Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic. Doncic and Paul were given byes in the first round, leaving a pair of first-round matchups: Sabonis versus Randle and Vucevic versus Covington.
This year’s format featured a weaving obstacle course, a pass through a circular target, a layup and a three-pointer.
Sabonis beat Randle, executing the pass, layup and three-pointer all on his first try. Randle missed his first pass and was playing from behind the rest of the way.
Vucevic edged out Covington, sinking his first three-pointer after completing the rest of the course flawlessly.
James Harden begins All-Star festivities in a see-through trench coat
This year’s All-Star Game doesn’t have the usual weekend’s worth of fun and frivolity given that, you know, it’s taking place amid a pandemic, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have outfits! Bless James Harden for picking a translucent trench coat and lime-green kicks for an appearance on TNT ahead of the game. If you ever find yourself donning a boring white T-shirt and gray pants, now you know how to zest things up.
Adam Silver ‘optimistic’ about NBA schedule, return of fans thanks to vaccine progress
As the NBA approaches the first anniversary of its March 11 shutdown, Commissioner Adam Silver expressed confidence that the worst of his league’s pandemic-related challenges, which included a four-month stoppage in play and billions in lost revenue, is in the past.
During his annual midseason news conference — conducted virtually Saturday from Atlanta, where the NBA is hosting a scaled-down All-Star Weekend — Silver repeatedly struck an optimistic tone, pointing to progress with the coronavirus vaccine and the league’s ability to function this season despite the significant health and safety challenges.
“The long-term health of the league is very solid,” Silver said. “Between last year and this year, we’re looking at considerable [financial] losses. I think when we all step back, we feel very fortunate to be working under these circumstances. My sense is the players feel the same way.”
Perspective: If NBA players didn’t want this All-Star Game, they had an easy solution: Refuse to play
Most of us are old enough to remember when a group of NBA players refused to play a basketball game to protest a cause they would help amplify, one both particular to and bigger than them. It happened way back in August, in Orlando, in the league’s hermetically sealed Disney World bubble.
“We are calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable,” read the statement. “For this to occur, it is imperative for the Wisconsin state legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform.”
The players were widely applauded for exercising collective might on such a critical issue. It was an option available to them before and always — including now.
If so many of their lot — highlighted by stars LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant — are opposed to chancing more travel in the pandemic to play the All-Star Game next month in Atlanta, there is a simple solution: Don’t.
Bradley Beal goes from snubbed to starting in the All-Star Game
Bradley Beal was named an all-star starter for the first time in his career, becoming the first Wizards player to earn a starting nod since John Wall in 2015. Beal will be making his third career all-star appearance on Sunday in Atlanta — he was named as a reserve in 2018 and 2019 as one of seven players from each conference as voted by coaches before being left out completely in 2020.
“To go from being snubbed to starting this year, it’s a huge honor. I thank the fans. I thank my peers, the media, everybody who had a say in me voting, voting for me,” Beal said after he was announced as a starter on Feb. 18. “It’s a huge honor. I don’t take it for granted. It’s definitely motivation for me to continue to be a mentor, to be a better player. There’s so many guys who are more than deserving of being where I am, so please believe I don’t take it for granted.”
Kamala Harris, Michael B. Jordan start the night with a ‘conversation’
Sunday’s NBA all-star telecast will kick off with what the league is describing as a “conversation” between Vice President Harris and actor Michael B. Jordan.
There were no details on the 8 p.m. Eastern time telecast on TNT, but Harris is a graduate of a Howard University, one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the game is generating $3 million for HBCUs. Jordan credited HBCUs for helping “shape me into the man I am today” during the launch of his Hoop Dreams Classic in Newark, his hometown.
“I’m making sure that no one forgets that I’m not forgetting,” he told NJ.com in 2018. “Sometimes, when you get people that come out of certain places and go on a certain trajectory, they feel like they leave their roots behind. I never want that to be the case.”
The All-Star Game court in Atlanta was designed by artists who attended HBCU schools and Clark Atlanta University’s Philharmonic Society Choir will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Gladys Knight, who graduated from the HBCU school Shaw University will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Referees Tom Washington, Tony Brown and Courtney Kirkland all graduated from HBCUs.
Lineups for dunk contest, three-point contest and skills challenge
Three first-time selections will compete in the slam dunk contest: New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin, Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons and Indiana Pacers guard Cassius Stanley.
The three-point contest features nothing but all-stars: Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz (replacing Devin Booker), Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. This year’s event will include multiple shot attempts from six feet beyond the arc.
In the skills challenge, in which players dribble, pass and shoot in a timed, obstacle-course-like environment, there will be six competitors, including five all-stars: Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns, Julius Randle of the Knicks, Domantas Sabonis of the Pacers and Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic. Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington rounds out the group.
Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons will miss NBA All-Star Game due to contact tracing
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers were game-day scratches from the NBA All-Star Game because both had contact with a barber who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The NBA made the announcement shortly after noon. The barber, who is in the Philadelphia area, tested positive after an initial test was inconclusive.
Simmons was to play for Team LeBron, Embiid on Team Durant.
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