Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis will be re-evaluated in two weeks as he continues to recover from tendinosis and a calf strain in his right leg.

Davis has not featured for NBA champions the Lakers since exiting against the Denver Nuggets on February 14.

The 28-year-old was examined by team doctors on Friday – before the Lakers resumed their title defence following the All-Star break, with Davis cleared to enter the next phase of his return to play process.

At least another fortnight on the sidelines would mean Davis missing a minimum of nine games, including Friday's matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

It has been tough for Davis and the Lakers coming off a shortened offseason after ending their 10-year title drought in 2019-20 inside the Orlando bubble amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Davis is averaging 22.5 points per game this season – his lowest since his second year in the league with the New Orleans Pelicans (20.8).

The eight-time All-Star's average of 8.4 rebounds in 2020-21 is the lowest since his rookie season (8.2) in 2012-13.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said he is "hoping for the best" after NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid suffered a left knee injury against the Washington Wizards.

Embiid – enjoying an MVP-calibre season – will undergo an MRI after appearing to hyperextend his knee in a scary fall following a dunk in the third quarter of Friday's 127-101 win over the lowly Wizards.

Back in the line-up after sitting out Sunday's All-Star Game and Thursday's victory against the Chicago Bulls due to coronavirus contact tracing, Embiid posted 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks prior to exiting in pain.

Embiid stayed down for a couple of minutes before eventually hobbling back to the locker room at Capital One Arena in Washington.

As the Eastern Conference-leading 76ers sweat on Embiid's fitness, given his importance to their championship aspirations, Rivers told reporters: "I thought there was a little contact when he went up to dunk the ball.

"Thought he fell with his balance off. I'm not going to speculate, tomorrow [Saturday] we'll know, we'll have all the information for you. Hoping for the best.

"I did talk to him, he was in the locker room. He's in pretty good spirits so let's just hope for the best."

Heading into the Washington matchup, Embiid was averaging a career-high 30.2 points per game – second only to Wizards star Bradley Beal (32.5) in the NBA.

Embiid is fourth in the league points, assists and rebounds per game (45.0), behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic (46.8), reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (46.0) of the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (46.0).

Prior to Friday's trip to Washington, the 26-year-old Embiid has also been averaging career highs in field-goal percentage (52.1) and three-point percentage (41.6).

"We don't do anything right now because we don't have any information, so we're just gonna wait," Rivers said. "I thought our guys took care of the game which is great, and then tomorrow we'll get some more information and then we'll go from there.

"Listen, it's a long season, so at the end of the day, hopefully, it's not something where we lose him, obviously. But our guys will be good, we'll be ready."

The 76ers (26-12) have won four consecutive games to top the east ahead of the star-studded Brooklyn Nets (25-13).

Stan Van Gundy admitted the New Orleans Pelicans "got what they deserved" after an "embarrassing" defensive effort condemned them to a heavy defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Playing for the first time since the All-Star break, the Pelicans went down 135-105 on Thursday to opponents who had only previously won seven games this season. 

Jaylen Nowell hit six three-pointers in a career-high tally of 28 points for Minnesota, while rookie Anthony Edwards had 27 as the Pelicans let slip an early 16-point lead to lose at home. 

Van Gundy did not hold back in the assessment of the performance when speaking to the media afterwards, though did accept he must take a share of the blame. 

"Worst offensive game we've played with having all of our guys - or most of our guys - in a long time," Van Gundy said.

"We turned it over 18 times and didn't shoot the ball and, quite honestly, were so bad defensively, that we can't have a bad offensive night, we can't even have an offensive night. 

"If we have a bad offensive night, we are going to get crushed - like we did tonight. We don't stop anybody. It affects our offense, because we don't get chances to get out and run in transition. 

"Look, I understand it's on me and what we're putting out there defensively is embarrassing, quite honestly."

The Timberwolves shot 47.5 per cent from three-point range, while the Pelicans made just six of their 32 attempts from deep.

Van Gundy called out his players for a lack of effort, declaring they "seemingly didn't care" as New Orleans slipped to 15-22 for the season, leaving them 13th in the Western Conference standings.

"We've all got to take ownership of it. A lot of it is me and a lot of it is our players, and they've got to take some ownership. We didn't compete, and that's the bottom line," he continued.

"We didn't compete. We didn't help each other. We didn't play together on either end of the floor. It's a really embarrassing evening for us tonight.

 "They seemed inspired to play – we seemingly didn't care and got what we deserved. I'm not putting it all on the players, I'm a big part of that too. It's all of us."

New Orleans are back in action on Friday, hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Kyrie Irving has his eyes on the prize after starring for the Brooklyn Nets in a Thursday's 121-109 victory over his former team the Boston Celtics.

Irving put up 40 points in the Nets' first game back since the NBA All-Star break, reminding the Celtics what they have been missing out on since he left in 2019.

His efforts laid the foundations for a 12th win in 13 games for the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin as former MVP James Harden posted 22 points and 10 rebounds.

While Irving clearly enjoyed his night's work, he is looking ahead to the playoffs after snapping the Celtics' four-game winning run.

"I'm just waiting for the main stage," he said. "Playing in front of millions of people and it actually mattering in terms of win or lose or go home.

"I'm looking forward to that, but games like this in the middle of the season against guys that you know well, that's always a blessing."

Irving hugged his old team-mates at the end of the contest, apparently making a mockery of the notion he has a frosty relationship with his erstwhile colleagues.

"Big surprise to a lot of people," he joked. "All that s*** talking about me and all the relationships I have with every former team-mate of mine."

Harden was full of praise for Irving, suggesting it was the 28-year-old's mental toughness that elevated him above the crowd.

"He's a different breed," Harden said. "He has that killer mentality in a sense of, no matter who we play or where we're playing, he is going to go out there and try to destroy the opponent, and that's something that you'd want on your team at all times.

"That mentality is what sets him apart from a lot of guys in this league."

Kyrie Irving posted 40 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets past former team the Boston Celtics 121-109.

In the team's first game back since the NBA All-Star break, Irving – who left the Celtics in 2019 – starred as the Nets recorded their 12th win in 13 outings.

Former MVP James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, in the absence of star team-mate Kevin Durant (hamstring) and recruit Blake Griffin.

The Celtics were fuelled by Jayson Tatum's 31 points, but still had their four-game winning streak snapped.

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo guided the Milwaukee Bucks to a comprehensive 134-101 victory over the New York Knicks.

Antetokounmpo – named All-Star Game MVP after starring for Team LeBron in Atlanta on Sunday – continued where he left off for the Bucks.

He had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes for his fifth triple-double of the season.

Bucks team-mate Bryn Forbes (21 points) nailed the most threes without missing in Bucks history after going seven of seven from beyond the arc.

Young stars as Hawks soar

Trae Young put up 37 points as the Atlanta Hawks topped the Toronto Raptors 121-120. Atlanta trailed by 15-plus points in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games but came back to win both. According to Stats Perform, they are the only team in the past 15 years to overcome a 15-plus point fourth-quarter deficit to win back-to-back games. Norman Powell's 33 points and double-doubles from Kyle Lowry (17 points and 12 assists) and Aron Baynes (11 points and 15 rebounds) were not enough for the Raptors.

The Miami Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 111-103 behind Jimmy Butler's 27 points and 11 assists. All-Star Nikola Vucevic's double-double of 24 points and 17 rebounds was not enough for the Magic.

No Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons? No worries for the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Tobias Harris scored 24 points to lift the 76ers to a third consecutive win – a 127-105 success against the Chicago Bulls.

Devin Booker's 35 points inspired the Phoenix Suns to a 127-121 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers, who had 30 points from All-Star Damian Lillard.

All of the Sacramento Kings' starters were in double figures for points) as they took down the Houston Rockets 125-105 – De'Aaron Fox (30), Richaun Holmes (20 and 11 rebounds), Harrison Barnes (20 and 11 rebounds), Buddy Hield (20) and Marvin Bagley III (11).

Ball struggles

The Charlotte Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102, but it was a rough night for rookie LaMelo Ball. In 29 minutes, Ball made just three of 11 from the field and nailed only one of five three-point attempts for seven points.

After his All-Star appearance, Knicks forward Julius Randle finished three-of-12 shooting for seven points.

Stephen Curry won the All-Star Three-Point Contest, but he was far from convincing in the Golden State Warriors' 130-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made just one of eight three-pointers, finishing with 14 points on six-of-16 shooting.

Snell with the buzzer-beating three

With the Hawks trailing 120-118, Tony Snell called game after sinking a three as time expired.

Thursday's results

Brooklyn Nets 121-109 Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks 121-120 Toronto Raptors
Miami Heat 111-103 Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers 127-105 Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks 134-101 New York Knicks
Minnesota Timberwolves 135-105 New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder 116-108 Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Hornets 105-102 Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Clippers 130-104 Golden State Warriors
Phoenix Suns 127-121 Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings 125-105 Houston Rockets

Pacers at Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers (24-13) will return to action following the All-Star break, hosting the Indiana Pacers (16-19) on Friday. LeBron James' Lakers have lost back-to-back games.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said he is rested and ready to lead the team's title defence in the second half of the NBA season.

James and defending champions the Lakers will return to action against the Indiana Pacers on Friday following the All-Star break.

Lakers veteran James was in Atlanta for the All-Star Game, playing 13 minutes as Team LeBron beat Team Durant 170-150.

But after sitting out the final game before the break – a 123-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3 – James is feeling refreshed in the Lakers' pursuit of back-to-back championships.

"It's go time," James told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to get prepared and making that turnaround, that last lap going into the postseason.

"… I'm not into looking ahead saying, 'OK, let's take this off, take that off'. Nah, it's go time for me."

The Lakers (24-13) head into the Pacers clash on the back of consecutive defeats, leaving James and his team-mates third in the Western Conference behind NBA leaders the Utah Jazz (27-9) and Phoenix Suns (24-11).

In his 18th season, James has been averaging 25.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the Lakers.

James added: "I kind of use the first half of the season as being in gear one, two and three, and then in the second half being in more like four, five, six, and then when the playoffs start you're in seven.

"And that's kind of the way I've always kind of adjusted over the last few years of my career, really just ramping up more, more and more as the months go on as the games go on going into the playoffs."

The Lakers will welcome the Pacers to Staples Center in Los Angeles without star Anthony Davis.

Davis remains sidelined with tendinosis and a calf strain in his right leg, having not played since February 14.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said Davis will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Friday.

There were 124 years of All-Star experience at last weekend's showcase game between Team LeBron and Team Durant in Atlanta. 

The Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine was responsible for one of those years. 

And of all the exceptional players at last weekend's event, the first-time All-Star from the Bulls is one of the more intriguing. 

While several All-Stars are future Hall of Famers – the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Phoenix Suns' Chris Paul just to name a few – and others are young and established stars – the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell, Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons – LaVine is a veteran who is suddenly developing into a superstar. 

In fact, over the past five weeks, no one is scoring more than LaVine, who is averaging a league-best 32.3 points since February 6, while making exactly half of his 104 three-point attempts. 

He's been so spectacular he's played himself into max contract talk, although other discussions have had his name in various trade rumours if the rebuilding Bulls do not plan to sign him to an extension before his contract expires in 2022. 

Now in his fourth season in Chicago after spending his first three with the Minnesota Timberwolves, LaVine has the Bulls in position to participate in the Play-In Tournament and possibly earn their first postseason berth since 2016-17. 

He has the Bulls on the cusp of the playoffs behind a breakout season in which he is averaging career highs in every major category – 28.7 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 5.1 assists per game and 3.5 made three-pointers per game, while shooting 52.5 per cent on all field goals and 43.5 per cent on threes. 

If those numbers look impressive, that is because they have only been reached once before in a single season in NBA history. 

LaVine joins Stephen Curry from 2015-16 as the only players ever to average 25-plus points, five-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and three-plus made three-pointers per game, while shooting 50 per cent on field goals and 40 per cent on threes. Curry won his second MVP that season while leading the Warriors to a record 73 wins. 

While Curry was already an established star at that point after winning league MVP honours and an NBA title the season prior, LaVine is unexpectedly proving that he also belongs among the upper echelon of players in the league. 

He has transformed himself into one of the league's most dangerous scorers, capable of knocking down a three-pointer, pulling up and hitting a mid-range jumper or beating his man off the dribble and finishing at the rim. 

Coming out of the All-Star break, his 167 dunks and layups are seventh-most in the NBA – and the most by any guard. And while the six-foot-six LaVine was also among the league leaders in dunks and layups last season (11th with 287), he is finishing at higher rate. 

He is converting 64.2 per cent of his dunk and layup attempts this season after making 57.4 per cent of his attempts last season, and that increase in field goal percentage of 6.8 is the eighth largest by any player six-foot-six or shorter. 

While many of the leaders among dunks and layups are big men – New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson, Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jazz centre Rudy Gobert – who live in the paint, the dynamic LaVine is just as much of a threat to knock down a three-pointer. 

His 120 made three-pointers rank fifth in the league and he is the league's only player with more than 120 dunks and layups and 90 threes. 

It is one thing to have made a lot of threes but another to actually be an efficient shooter – the Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield has made 20 more three-pointers than LaVine but has hoisted up 94 more attempts – and LaVine has refined his shooting touch and is deadly from beyond the arc. 

He is hitting 43.8 per cent of his three-point attempts from the wing and his 53.8 per cent shooting from the corner ranks sixth in the league among the 103 players with at least 30 attempts.   

Overall, LaVine is shooting 43.5 per cent on three-pointers, an increase of 0.55 per cent from the perimeter from last season – the eighth-largest improvement in the NBA among players with at least 150 three-point attempts this season and last. 

The mid-range shot is somewhat of a lost art in the current game with the added weight given to a shot from a few feet further back beyond the arc, but it still has a place and if a shooter can connect from mid-range with regularity he becomes all the more threatening to score. 

LaVine has found his touch from mid-range, making 44.6 per cent of those shots this season after hitting at a 31.9 per cent clip last season. That increase of 12.7 per cent is the sixth-largest in the NBA among 73 shooters who have attempted at least 50 mid-range shots this season and last. 

Shooters shoot, and LaVine is thriving. His effective field goal percentage of 61.5 ranks second in the NBA among all guards. 

His all-round offensive game is one of the most complete in the league, and opposing defences are tasked with game planning against him, giving him similar treatment as they would give Curry or James, as he is a threat to score from anywhere on the court. 

Curry and James, however, have won multiple MVPs and titles. LaVine is certainly putting up MVP-type numbers, but the Bulls are not in the championship conversation. 

At the moment, at least. 

Chicago are only two games back of the Boston Celtics for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and are viewed as a team on the rise under first-year Bulls coach Billy Donovan. Instead of trading LaVine as was being speculated weeks ago, it is possible Chicago will be buyers at the March 25 trade deadline in their pursuit of a playoff berth. 

And if LaVine continues to excel and Chicago continue to improve over the next few seasons, MVP awards and NBA titles might not be out of the question for LaVine and the Bulls. 

Luka Doncic was happy to indulge in the feel-good factor after his stunning display in the Dallas Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Doncic put up his his eighth triple-double of the NBA season as the Mavericks were victorious for the fourth match running, downing the Spurs 115-104.

In a contest pitting seventh versus eighth in the West, the Slovenian posted 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his 33rd career triple-double.

The 22-year-old is now level with Bob Cousy in 11th on the all-time triple-doubles list.

He had defender Dejounte Murray tied up in knots at times and enjoyed getting the better of a quality opponent.

"It's a great feeling but I think he was doing an amazing job on me," said Doncic. 

"I think he's a really good defender but when you do a move, you feel good about it."

With Kristaps Porzingis regaining full fitness after knee surgery and top-scoring on 28 points, Doncic feels the best is yet to come from his Latvian team-mate.

"We are all progressing as a team," he said. 

"KP has been way better, he's getting the confidence after his injury. I think he's still going to build on his confidence and is going to be way better."

Those were sentiments echoed by the man himself, with Porzingis feeling good about his recovery.

"I feel like I'm getting there. I still have to keep working," he said.

"After surgery, the leg is not feeling the same, so you have to keep working on that strength and make sure it's strong and stable and you feel confident.

"It's non-stop work, but I'm feeling better with each game and looking forward to the second part of the season."

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has revealed the club and veteran LaMarcus Aldridge have mutually agreed to part ways.

The 35-year-old power forward/center will explore his trade options before the March 25 deadline.

"We've mutually agreed for him to work out some opportunities for him, and that'll be elsewhere," Popovich told reporters before Wednesday's 115-104 loss to Dallas.

"He's been a great team-mate. There was no problem there. We just think this is a win-win for LaMarcus and the club.

"When an opportunity arises, that'll be up to management, his agent, that sort of thing. We'll all move forward.

"He's done everything we've asked, and at this point we'd just like to do something that will work for him as much for our club because he deserves that."

Seven-time All-Star Aldridge had missed eight of San Antonio's final 11 matches prior to the All-Star break with a combination of hip and quadriceps injuries.

This season, Aldridge has averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game.

Kevin Durant's return to play from a hamstring injury remains uncertain with Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash revealing he will undergo further scans.

Durant has not played for Brooklyn since the February 13 game against former team the Golden State Warriors due to the left hamstring injury.

Thursday's game with the Boston Celtics is set to be the 10th straight he has missed due to the injury.

Nash said Durant will undergo further scans which will dictate the next steps in his recovery.

"He hasn't played in a month," Nash said on Wednesday. "No matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.

"He's doing really well right now, and we all feel really positive about the direction he is going but we just need to be very cautious because he's a really important player for us."

Durant did not head to Atlanta for the All-Star break, instead remaining in Brooklyn to work with his physiotherapist.

The 32-year-old forward has participated in light on-court workouts but not high-speed running or drills with his team-mates.

Nash denied that the Achilles injury that Durant suffered in 2019 was related to his current problem.

"Through his history, through medical history and assessment, we don't feel like these two are related at all," Nash said.

Luka Doncic completed his eighth triple-double of the NBA season as the Dallas Mavericks won their fourth consecutive match 115-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

In the match-up between seventh and eighth in the West on Wednesday, the 22-year-old Slovenian finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his 33rd career triple-double.

Doncic is now tied with Bob Cousy in 11th on the all-time triple-doubles list.

Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis top scored with 28 points and 14 boards in a match which was tight until the Mavs pulled away in the last quarter, outscoring San Antonio 28-18.

Spurs had led by seven at half-time with DeMar DeRozan (30 points and 11 assists) their best but they faded to slip to an 18-15 record. Dallas improved to 19-16.

The Memphis Grizzlies stayed in the playoff hunt with a 127-112 win over the Washington Wizards, led by center Jonas Valanciunas with 29 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks.

Ja Morant (21 points, six rebounds and 10 assists) was impressive too, leaving the Wizards at 14-21, with Bradley Beal (21 points) and Russell Westbrook (20 points and 10 assists) unable to inspire them to victory.

West and East blockbusters

The Phoenix Suns (24-11) will meet Damian Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers (21-14) in a huge Western Conference clash, while in the East the Boston Celtics (19-17) make the trip to face James Harden's Brooklyn Nets (24-13), but Kevin Durant is still unavailable with a hamstring injury.

Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have both been ruled out of Thursday's game against the Chicago Bulls due to coronavirus contact tracing.

Embiid and Simmons did not play in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, the duo late withdrawals after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The pair will now miss the first game back following the All-Star break, though Simmons will also sit out Friday's clash with the Washington Wizards.

MVP candidate Embiid is eligible to return for Eastern Conference leaders the 76ers against the Wizards, while Simmons will be able to make his way back to the court at home to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

Embiid has been averaging 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the 76ers this season.

76ers team-mate Simmons, meanwhile, is averaging 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists.

The 76ers (24-12) are half a game clear of the star-studded Brooklyn Nets (24-13) atop the east.

LeBron James said he is "in awe" of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry after they put on a show for his side in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo was named MVP after shooting a perfect 16 from 16 to claim a game-high 35 points in a 170-150 victory for Team LeBron over Team Durant.

Greek star Antetokounmpo recorded the most baskets without a miss in All-Star Game history, while Curry finished with 28 points in the 70th edition of the showpiece match at State Farm Arena, Atlanta.

James, who scored just four points in his 12:46 minutes on court, relished the opportunity to line up with Antetokounmpo and Curry.

Asked if he enjoyed playing in the same team as the duo, he replied: "Absolutely, that's why I drafted them, guys I obviously compete against on a nightly basis, but guys I'm just in awe of, Giannis and Steph.

"It's my first time teaming up with Steph and it was an honour to be on the floor with him, a guy I've seen come up and be the player that he is today, but it was great to be out there with them and the rest of the guys."

That is four wins out of four for James as captain in the All-Star Game and the 36-year would be happy to keep it that way.

"I hope they allow me to retire from being an All-Star captain, retire with a perfect 4-and-0 record, I'll keep that forever, but we'll see what happens," said the Los Angeles Lakers great.

"I try to pick the right team, guys who compete, and play to win, and I've been on the winning side of all four."

Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted he was not thinking about his perfect performance in the NBA All-Star Game after going 16-for-16 from the field to fuel Team LeBron past Team Durant.

Antetokounmpo was crowned All-Star MVP after posting a game-high 35 points in Sunday's 170-150 victory over Team Durant in Atlanta.

Milwaukee Bucks star and two-time reigning NBA MVP Antetokounmpo did not miss a shot, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in history to go 16-for-16 or better from the field in any game (regular season, playoffs or All-Star Game), per Stats Perform.

It was also the most makes without a miss over an entire All-Star game. The previous record was held by Hal Greer going eight-for-eight in 1968.

"It actually wasn't [on my mind]," Antetokounmpo said of the perfect performance. "I was just trying to just play.

"When you're around guys like [Damian Lillard] and [Stephen Curry] and Chris Paul, it's just easy. Nobody is worrying about me. I'm just playing one-on-one, nobody is double-teaming.

"If you feel good, then I feel good that it will be good. I just get up and have fun and just try to get as many shots as I can."

Team LeBron – without Joel Embiid as he joined Philadelphia 76ers team-mate and Team Durant's Ben Simmons in sitting out due to COVID-19 contact tracing – entered the fourth quarter requiring only 24 points to seal victory under the Elam Ending rule.

Each of the first three quarters started with the score at 0-0 and lasted the standard 12 minutes, with the game clock turned off for the final period and a final target score set.

Team LeBron's Damian Lillard sealed the victory with a three-pointer – the Portland Trail Blazers guard posting 32 points.

Afterwards, Antetokounmpo was named All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP – the award named in honour of the Los Angeles Lakers and NBA great, who died in a helicopter crash last year.

"Obviously, I'm extremely happy at just having the award with the name of Kobe Bryant in my house," Antetokounmpo said.

"It's a great feeling. I wanted to win the one last year really bad and I had a chance to win because I felt like I wanted to have the trophy in my house, but this year I wasn't even thinking about winning it, I was just thinking about having fun, and I had the opportunity to play well.

"My team played great and I was able to just win it and to have the trophy with the name of Kobe Bryant, it's amazing, and I know he would be happy. Yeah, I know he'd be happy."

Giannis Antetokounmpo added another MVP award to his growing collection as the Milwaukee Bucks superstar guided Team LeBron to a 170-150 victory over Team Durant in Sunday's All-Star Game.

The previous three All-Star contests had pitted LeBron James against Antetokounmpo in a mouth-watering Team LeBron versus Team Giannis matchup.

But James and Antetokounmpo joined forces for this year's 70th All-Star Game as the later fuelled Team LeBron to a comprehensive win in Atlanta.

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Antetokounmpo – drafted first by Los Angeles Lakers superstar James – led Team LeBron to a fourth consecutive All-Star triumph behind his game-high 35 points on 16-for-16 shooting.

Antetokounmpo joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to go 16-for-16 or better from the field in any game (regular season, playoffs or All-Star Game), per Stats Perform. Chamberlain accomplished the feat twice in the regular season in 1966-67 (18-for-18 and 16-for-16).

Antetokounmpo's performance earned All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP honours for the first time in his career.

Team LeBron – without Joel Embiid as he joined Philadelphia 76ers team-mate and Team Durant's Ben Simmons in sitting out due to COVID-19 contact tracing – entered the fourth quarter requiring only 24 points to seal victory under the Elam Ending rule.

Each of the first three quarters started with the score at 0-0 and lasted the standard 12 minutes, with the game clock turned off for the final period and a final target score set.

Team LeBron's Damian Lillard sealed the victory with a three-pointer – the Portland Trail Blazers guard posting 32 points.

Stephen Curry, who won the Three-Point Contest as All-Star proceedings were condensed into one day amid the coronavirus pandemic – had 28 points for Team LeBron, including eight three-pointers in 22 minutes.

Jaylen Brown was next best for Team LeBron, while James tallied four points, four assists, two rebounds and a block in 13 minutes of action and Chris Paul posted six points and 16 assists.

Bradley Beal (26), Kyrie Irving (24 and 12 assists), James Harden (21), Jayson Tatum (21), Donovan Mitchell (15), Zach Lavine (13) and Zion Williamson (10) all had double-digit points for Team Durant.