How Michael Jordan, Doc Rivers brought defense to 1988 NBA All-Star game

For the second straight year, the NBA will use the "Elam Ending" for its All-Star game, which is Sunday night in Atlanta.

In its first incarnation, the format, named after its creator Nick Elam, produced a wildly competitive finish to the 2020 All-Star game that was staged at the United Center. It calls for the game clock to be shut off at the first dead ball under four minutes and a target score to be established.

But Eastern Conference All-Star coach Doc Rivers, who is presiding over Team Durant and Zach LaVine, remembers the days when gimmicks weren't needed to produce competitiveness. In his lone All-Star appearance, Rivers, now the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, played in the 1988 All-Star game at Chicago Stadium when the Eastern Conference prevailed 138-133 over the Western Conference.

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"That was a very, very competitive game," Rivers recalled Sunday. "It had a lot of stuff going on in the game with Michael (Jordan) and Isiah (Thomas) and Magic (Johnson) and all that stuff."

That's not only a nod to the back-and-forth nature of the contest but also a reference to the urban legend that Thomas conspired with other All-Stars to "freeze out" Jordan three years earlier at his first All-Star game appearance as a rookie.

"It made it an absolutely great game," Rivers said. "I remember Michael at halftime coming to me and saying, 'Pick up full court.' It was great for me because I was a defensive player, which usually in the All-Star game doesn't work. But in that game, there was defense being played. It allowed me to play a lot of minutes."

Rivers, then with the Atlanta Hawks, notched 9 points and 6 assists in 16 minutes, taking a game-high 11 free throws. En route to MVP honors, Jordan led all scorers with 40 points.