NBA All-Star Game 2021 LIVE: NBA All-Star Game and skills competition to take place on one night for the first time. The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that NBA All-Star 2021 will be held on Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Hawks, where the league’s annual global celebration of the game will take place on one night for the first time, with on-court action beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
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What is the competitive format for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game?
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will have the same competition format as the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
The two All-Star teams will compete to win each quarter for their respective beneficiaries. The fourth quarter will be untimed and the teams will play to a Final Target Score, meaning that the game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out.
How does the competitive format work?
Each of the first three quarters will begin with a score of 0-0 and will last 12 minutes. The winner of each 12-minute quarter (first, second and third) will be the team that scores the most points within that quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the game clock will be turned off and a Final Target Score will be set. Once the Final Target Score is set, the teams will play an untimed fourth quarter and the first team to reach (or surpass) the Final Target Score will win the NBA All-Star Game.
How is the Final Target Score determined?
The Final Target Score will be determined by taking the leading team’s total cumulative score through three quarters and adding 24 points.
What is an example of the Final Target Score?
Below is a review of how the Final Target Score worked when it was used in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
Team Giannis scored 41, 51, and 41 points in the first three quarters for a total cumulative score of 133 points. Team LeBron scored 53, 30, and 41 points in the first three quarters for a total cumulative score of 124 points. Through three quarters, the score was: Team Giannis 133, Team LeBron 124.
As a result, the Final Target Score was set at 157 points (leading team’s cumulative score of 133 + 24). At the start of the fourth quarter, here were the scenarios for how each team could win the NBA All-Star Game:
- Team Giannis needed to score 24 points in the fourth quarter before Team LeBron scored 33 points.
- Team LeBron needed to score 33 points in the fourth quarter before Team Giannis scored 24 points.
Team LeBron reached the Final Target Score first and defeated Team Giannis 157-155. Team LeBron outscored Team Giannis 33-22 in the fourth quarter.
NBA fans can watch the NBA All-Star Game LIVE here.
NBA TV coverage: NBA All-Star Game
NBA games will be broadcasted nationally across ESPN and TNT.
NBA Live stream: NBA All-Star Game Live Stream
Every game will be available live via NBA TV, while the nationally broadcast game will also be available via ESPN digital platforms.
