6:51 AM ET NBA All-Star Sunday is nearly here, and the schedule is jam-packed. Due to COVID-19, an entire weekend of festivities has been condensed into one star-studded night. It all starts with the skills and 3-point contests at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by tipoff of the 70th NBA All-Star Game at 8 p.m. ET.

Mar 4, 2021 PHOENIX — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and forward Draymond Green sat out Thursday’s first-half finale against the Phoenix Suns. Curry, who is scheduled to participate in Sunday’s All-Star Game, rested Thursday on the second night of a back-to-back. It was the second game he missed this season. Green missed Thursday’s

6:54 AM ET NBA commissioner Adam Silver said fans should think of the upcoming All-Star Weekend in Atlanta as a “television-only event,” and once again discouraged fans from traveling to the game, which is being played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The message within the NBA community is that we’re going to be

6:43 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been cleared for contact practice as he continues to recover from a left foot fracture, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey announced Thursday. The Blazers also issued an update on Jusuf Nurkic, saying the center is making progress in his recovery from a right wrist

8:00 PM ET The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will be played Sunday in Atlanta. But because of COVID-19, a weekend’s worth of events will be compressed into a single night — the skills challenge and 3-point contest will take place pregame, while the dunk contest will act as the halftime show. All-Star voting began on

1:43 PM ET For the first time in league history, the NBA will have a referee crew composed entirely of graduates of historically Black colleges and universities officiating Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. With the NBA supporting and celebrating HBCUs as a theme of this weekend’s All-Star Game, Tom Washington will be the crew chief

12:43 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson was not happy with his performance in Wednesday’s 128-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Williamson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists and once again shot over 50% from the field. He even attempted a season-high 16 free throws. The

Mar 2, 2021 Eric WoodyardESPN Those behind this weekend’s All-Star Game in Atlanta view the event as something bigger than just basketball. To that end, as part of this year’s festivities, the NBA will provide more than $3 million in support to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF),

2:25 AM ET Nikola Jokic continues to build an MVP case by doing things that no center has done since Wilt Chamberlain. On Tuesday, Jokic collected the 50th triple-double of his career with 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets rout the Bucks 128-97 at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum. Jokic’s latest

3:13 AM ET LeBron James will miss his first game of the season when the Los Angeles Lakers play a road game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday in their final outing before the NBA All-Star break, the Lakers said. James did not accompany the team on its flight to Sacramento following a 114-104 home