NBA All-Star Saturday Night festivities get underway with the Skills Challenge, which is in its second year of a new, team-based format.
This year, the three teams taking the floor in Salt Lake City are Team Antetokounmpos, Team Jazz and Team Rooks.
In last year's iteration of the Skills Challenge, the Cavaliers got the win on their home floor. Can Team Jazz do the same thing this year? Or will one of the other teams leave Utah with the title?
The Sporting News will track live scores, results and highlights from the first event of All-Star Saturday Night.
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(All times Eastern.)
Team Players Challenge Points Half-court shot time Team Antetokounmpos Alex and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday* Team Jazz Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton 100 Team Rooks Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Jabari Smith Jr.8:28 p.m. — Team Rooks takes Round 1 with a time of 1:14 and earns 100 challenge points.
Team Passing is next.
8:25 p.m. — Team Rooks have set a new time to beat, outdoing Team Antetokounmpos by nine seconds.
Team Jazz will now look to outdo them.
8:23 p.m. — Up first: Team Antetokounmpos (and Jrue Holiday), who comes in with a time of 1:23 in the Team Relay, pending review of a possible infraction.
Team Rooks is up next.
8:15 p.m. — Jrue Holiday will serve as an honorary Antetokounmpo and the injury replacement for his Bucks teammate, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is nursing a sprained wrist.
8:12 p.m. — Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors have made their way to the stage to get the night's events going. All-Star Saturday Night is underway and the Skills Challenge is set to begin soon.
The NBA All-Star Skills Challenge is the first event of All-Star Saturday Night from Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The Skills Challenge, which will begin shortly after 8 p.m. ET, precedes the 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest.
For the second year, the Skills Challenge will feature three teams of three players that take part in a four-round competition. The two teams with the most points through the first three rounds will advance to the finals.
Here is a breakdown of each round:
Round 1 — Team RelayAll players from each team participate in a timed relay in which they must complete a course. Each player has 30 seconds to shoot from five different spots that range from 10 to 30 feet from the rim, and players cannot repeat the same shot consecutively.
Shots from each spot have different values, ranging from one through five points. Individual player scores will be added to determine the team score.
The team with the highest score will win Round 1 and earn 100 Challenge Points.
Round 2 — Team PassingTeams will compete one at a time, with each team getting 30 seconds to amass points. All players participate together in a passing competition that sees them complete passes into three oversized moving targets, which vary in size and distance from the players.
Each team is required to make at least one pass attempt at each target, and individual players cannot make consecutive passes at the same target. Completed passes into each target are worth two, four or six points.
The team with the highest score will win Round 2 and earn 100 Challenge Points.
Round 3 — Team RelayAll players from each team will participate in a timed relay in which each player must complete the course, consisting of these five skills in order:
Throw an outlet pass into a moving target from the baseline Dribble down the court through three moving pylons Make a short shot in the lane Make a 3-pointer from the corner against an automated defender Dribble to the opposite goal and make a basketThe team with the fastest time will win Round 3 and earn 200 Challenge Points.
Round 4 — Half-court shotThe two teams with the highest scores from Rounds 1 through 3 will advance to the Final Round. These teams will compete one at a time, and all players on each team will attempt to make a half-court shot.
Team 1 will set the time to beat with a made shot or an expiration of the clock (maximum 90 seconds).
The team that is the fastest to make a half-court shot will win the Skills Challenge. In the event of a tie, the teams will repeat the Final Round.
Here is the schedule of events for NBA All-Star Weekend, which takes place from Feb. 17-19:
