NBA All-Star Game, skills, 3-point, dunk contest results: Team LeBron wins the game, Giannis wins MVP (2024)

Latest All-Star Game Live Updates

Dunk Contest: Anfernee Simons of the Trail Blazers wins.
3-point Contest: Steph Curry of the Warriors wins.
Skills Competition: Domantas Sabonis of the Pacers wins.

For Updates: Refresh or click here throughout the game.

More on the game: Joe Vardon’s 40 First Thoughts following the All-Star Game.

Live updates from Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, live from Atlanta:

Final. Team LeBron 170, Team Durant 150.

It’s quite fitting that arguably the league’s most-clutch player, Damian Lillard, took over in the fourth quarter sealing the win for Team LeBron. And, of course, Lillard, who’s one of the best deep-range shooters in the league, makes a 40-footer to end this year’s All-Star Game. Team LeBron raised $1,250,000 for the Thurgood Marshall Fund.

Antetokounmpo was named the Kobe Bryant MVP of the game, finishing 16 of 16 from the field with 35 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.

More to come on the All-Star Game at The Athletic.

Fourth Quarter – Elam Ending.

What made last year’s All-Star Game so exciting to watch in the fourth quarter with the Elam Ending in place was it was a close game. This year, there’s just zero drama even with the Elam Ending, so I’m just sitting here waiting for Team LeBron to hit its target score of 170 to just wrap this up already.

End of third quarter.

Team LeBron won its third straight quarter, taking us to the fourth, which will be played with the Elam Ending for the second consecutive year. Our Seth Partnow recently spoke to its creator about what we learned last year and how far it could spread.

LeBron deserves an award for the best All-Star Game general manager. This is a rout for his team. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the cause James’ team is representing, became the biggest LeBron fans in the world tonight, as it has gained an additional $450,000 because LeBron’s team has won all three quarters.

Third quarter. 5:00 remaining.

The Giannis Antetokounmpo watch is officially on. He is 16 for 16 from the field, including a ridiculous 3-point attempt that was banked in to keep the streak alive.

It’s about that time to start thinking about who’s going to win the MVP for the game. There are only two legitimate candidates halfway through the third quarter, and that’s Antetokounmpo and Curry. Antetokounmpo still hasn’t missed a shot and has 35 points. Curry has 25 points and is 7-of-12 from 3.

Slam Dunk Contest is over.

Anfernee Simons beats Obi Toppin in the final. He told our Jason Quick that he planned to jam at the dunk contest and he did not disappoint.

Halftime. During the slam dunk contest.

If you were wondering if Team Durant’s head coach Doc Rivers was going to grill his team being down 20 at halftime, the answer is no. He’s sitting courtside watching the slam dunk contest. There will be no halftime adjustments.

Halftime.

Let me just say, I’m a fan of LeBron James and Stephen Curry being on the same team for the All-Star game. After all their battles over the years, seeing both set up each other for shots, high five one another on the bench during timeouts and watch James throw his arms up each time Curry takes a 3 is enjoyable.

What a frenetic end of the second quarter for Team LeBron. You had Chris Paul and Steph Curry receive back-to-back alley-oops, Curry and Damian Lillard pull up from half court and Antetokounmpo continue his dominance in the paint. Team LeBron is up 20 (100-80) over Team Durant at halftime, but no lead is safe in an All-Star Game.

Now it’s time for the Slam Dunk Contest.

Second Quarter: 6:08 remaining.

It’s interesting that even though almost all of these 3-point attempts are uncontested, both teams are clanking the rim left and right. Team Durant is shooting under 30 percent from 3, while Team LeBron is shooting under 35 percent. The sloppiness we’ve seen so far is fitting from what we’ve seen in the regular season.

Second Quarter. 8:00 remaining.

Because they were drafted on different teams, Jaylen Brown going one-on-one against Jayson Tatum has been one of the coolest moments so far. Brown drove by Tatum but got called for a foul. Brown missed both free throws and Tatum threw down an alley-oop on the other end which drew a big smile on both Celtics teammates’ faces.

End of First Quarter.

Team LeBron won the first quarter 40-39, winning $150,000 for the Thurgood Marshall Fund.

First Quarter. 2:17 remaining.

I’m unsure of the point of Doc Rivers and Quin Snyder, the two head coaches in the game, bringing their clipboards to Atlanta for the All-Star Game. During both timeouts so far, neither of them have drawn up a play because … what is there to draw up in a game such as this one?

First Quarter. Midway through.

We’re midway through the first quarter here in Atlanta, and the game is going about how you’d expect it to. There are wide open 3s, many dunks and the league’s best showing off with no defense being played. The highlights so far come from Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo banking in a 3, shrugging his shoulders and then driving down the court with nothing but in-between-the-legs dribbles before finishing with a layup.

Team LeBron is up 23-20 over Team Durant.

Pre-game.

Hello from State Farm Arena where the All-Star Game is being held this year. It’s a surreal feeling being one of the few media members inside the building. Usually, media row would be packed for such an event, but I’m the only reporter in my section. Fans are scattered about on one side of the lower bowl with the rest socially distanced in the upper deck. I’ll be providing occasional updates here for the night’s festivities.

How To Watch the NBA All-Star Game

Channel: TNT
Time: 8 p.m. ET

This year’s Skills Competition will be happening before the game at 6:30 p.m. ET, the 3-point Contest after that and Dunk Contest will take part during halftime of the All-Star Game.

• Zach Harper: Just for fun, a flowchart to help you watch the All-Star action

All-Star Game News

Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid out: 76ers All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have been ruled out of Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game, the league announced. Their absence is due to contact tracing from exposure to a likely COVID-19 positive individual before they arrived in Atlanta, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The exposure occurred with Embiid and Simmons’ personal barber, who had a positive test result and is awaiting another test. Both traveled by themselves on private planes and had no exposure to other players or people down in the Atlanta bubble. Zion Williamson was selected to start in his place.

Conley added: Utah guard Mike Conley will replace Suns guard Devin Booker on Team Durant in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Atlanta. He will be a first-time All-Star at age 33 and will be an injury replacement for Booker, who will miss the game with a sprained left knee. Booker was an injury replacement for Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who is out with a calf sprain.

Notable All-Star reserve snubs: Atlanta’s Trae Young, Phoenix’s Devin Booker (added to replace Davis, then replaced by Conley), Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris, San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan. The West squad will receive a replacement player should Anthony Davis miss the All-Star Game.

Teams announced: Antetokounmpo was the first pick of the NBA All-Star Game draft held March 4 on TNT. The rest of the teams are listed below. (Reminder: Durant, who is injured, will not play in the game).

‘Elam Ending’ returns: The NBA announced that it will once again use the ‘Elam Ending’ format in this year’s All-Star Game. The league announced full details for the March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta, with all events taking place over one night. The game will follow the same format as last year, with teams competing to win each quarter before playing to a final target score during an untimed fourth quarter. For the second consecutive year, the league will honor Kobe Bryant by setting the final target score at 24 points above the leading team’s score after three quarters.

The starters for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game were announced on national television on Feb. 18. LeBron James and Kevin Durant, as the leading vote-getters, were this year’s NBA All-Star Game draft team captains.

All-Star Game Starters

Let us explain: Our writers with media votes defend their picks

All-Star Game, 3-point contest, skills competition, slam dunk predictions and odds

• Eric Wong: Team LeBron victory, Toppin’s slam dunk chances, more

About that ‘Elam Ending’

• Seth Partnow: What have we learned about the All-Star Game format, and how far could it spread?
• Seth Partnow: A conversation with Elam Endingcreator, Nick Elam, about strategy and gameplay

Read more about the 2021 NBA All-Stars