Blake Griffin

LOS ANGELES - The collective sigh of relief could be felt throughout Staples Center last night when All-Star Weekend came to a conclusion. One of the premier, upcoming superstars, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, was asked to compete in Friday night's rookie-sophomore game, Saturday's dunk contest (which he won) and yesterday's main event. Griffin is not only the toast of LA, but is the talk of the whole league. Having him on the floor so much the last 3 days couldn't have been an ideal situation for Clippers fans or higher-ups.

Now it's Blake Griffin's turn. In the last two weeks, the star power that has ventured into the Wells Fargo Center to face the 76ers has been staggering. Next up are Griffin, point guard Chris Paul, and the Los Angeles Clippers. They visit the Sixers for Friday's matchup between teams that entered Thursday seeded third in their respective conferences. The star power began with wins over Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic on Jan. 30 and reigning MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 1. Last Friday, LeBron James and fellow all-star Dwyane Wade led Miami to a 99-79 victory before the Sixers' biggest home crowd of the season, 20,694.

HOUSTON - Per his coach's demands, 76ers guard Jrue Holiday was to absorb each and every moment of his initial All-Star weekend. As much fun as Holiday was supposed to have, Doug Collins also wanted it to be a learning lesson for the 22-year-old. Holiday was told to take in the atmosphere, talk to the stars who surrounded him in the locker room and watch how the greatest players in the world prepare to play the game. And all weekend, Holiday appeared to be the wide-eyed student, commiserating with all of his favorite teachers.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Actor John Krasinski; actor Blake Griffin; Ian Edwards. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Actress Aubrey Plaza; Thurston Moore performs. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Actress Allison Janney; comic Jay Mohr; OK Go performs. Jimmy Kimmel Live (Midnight, 6ABC) - Betty White; Robert Rodriguez; Josh Ritter performs.

The NBA's career scoring leader in the All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant has never been just about offense. "I'm known for my defense," Bryant said. "I can defend. I'm pretty smart with my defense. " Pretty good, too. Ask LeBron James. Bryant blocked James' jumper, turning it into a dunk by Kevin Durant that helped the Western Conference put away the East 143-138 on Sunday. Bryant may not leap like Blake Griffin, but he can still get up when he needs to, especially when the defenseless part of the All-Star Game is over and it's time to stop somebody - even the league's best player.

KOBE BRYANT has been voted to his NBA-record 15th consecutive All-Star start, leading four Los Angeles players into next month's game. Lakers teammate Dwight Howard and the Clippers' Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will join Bryant in the Western Conference lineup for the Feb. 17 game in Houston. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the MVP of last year's game, rounds out the five. Kevin Garnett held off Chris Bosh in fan balloting, giving the East two Boston Celtics and two Miami Heat players.

AS FAR AS making practice squads, Jrue Holiday Monday made perhaps the best one in all of sports. The starting point guard for the 76ers was added to the 2012 USA Men's Select Team that will train July 6-11 against this year's USA National Team during a training camp in Las Vegas. Fellow Sixer Andre Iguodala is part of the National Team, vying for a spot on the roster that will compete in the London Olympics later this month. Said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo of Holiday: "In naming Jrue to our Select Team, we've added an athletic guard who can get to the rim and someone who is also a good three-point shooter.

Danny Green scored 25 points as the San Antonio Spurs spoiled Dirk Nowitzki's season debut with a 129-91 rout of the visiting Dallas Mavericks Sunday. After missing the Mavs' first 27 regular-season games, Nowitzki entered with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first quarter to a mix of cheers and boos. Nowitzki, who underwent surgery on his right knee Oct. 19, quickly picked up a rebound for Dallas and finished with eight points and six rebounds. Elsewhere: Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to rally the host New York Knicks to a 94-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

NEW YORK - From Kobe Bryant to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin to Andrew Bynum, the NBA All-Star Game is shaping up as an LA story. Two Lakers (Bryant and Bynum) and two Clippers (Paul and Griffin) were voted as starters yesterday for the game, the first time in 15 years that two pairs of teammates have been voted to start for one conference. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant prevented a Los Angeles sweep of the Western Conference starting lineup by earning a forward spot for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando.

Jeff Green scored 18 points, and the Boston Celtics stayed alive in the NBA playoffs, cutting the New York Knicks' lead to three games to two with a 92-86 victory Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics will host Game 6 on Friday night, needing two victories to become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Elsewhere: David West scored 24 points and Paul George had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Atlanta Hawks, 106-83, in Indianapolis and take a 3-2 playoff series lead.

DOC RIVERS' phone rang sometime around 6 a.m. Friday, a concerned Boston Celtics owner calling to check on his coach and team. The Celtics were already safely in New York, but forgive Steve Pagliuca for forgetting. This is a sad, confusing and chaotic time in Boston, and nobody is thinking about basketball first. But the Celtics have a game to play Saturday, the opener of their playoff series against the Knicks, and if they can provide a boost to their struggling city with some postseason success, that gives them even more motivation in their rare role as an underdog.

MIAMI - So how will Doug Collins' third season as 76ers coach be evaluated when it mercifully draws its last breath 10 days from now in Indiana? Will Sixers owner Joshua Harris, a huge fan of Collins who extended the coach's contract through next season, see the team's backward step into the lottery after two playoff years as the by-product of poor coaching? Probably not. The loquacious Collins has become a lightning rod for criticism as this season has gone south. Andrew Bynum never played a minute for the Sixers, but Collins has absorbed the vitriol of the fans, some of it deserved but most of it not. But Harris isn't going to fire Collins, and here's why: Since starting last season 20-9, the Sixers were 46-66 in the regular season before Saturday's game at Miami.

THE MIAMI HEAT'S 27-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night by the Chicago Bulls, 101-97, when a furious comeback by Le-Bron James and his teammates fell short. The Heat finished six shy of the 33-game record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Luol Deng scored 28 points, Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Bulls brought the Heat's pursuit of NBA history to a screeching halt. Miami's superstar did all he could to keep the run going, scoring 32 points and even collecting a flagrant foul during a physical final few minutes.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Clippers were in no mood to let the recently pass-happy and offensively efficient 76ers come to the Staples Center and continue their solid brand of basketball of late. The Clippers got shellacked in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night in Sacramento, outscored by 38-18, and in the process not only lost their composure but fell in the Western Conference playoff standings to the fourth seed. So the Clippers did what good teams do, they took their frustration out on the next opponent and beat the Sixers, 101-72.

IT'S NOT A LeBron James winning streak. It's a Miami Heat winning streak. If there was any confusion on that point, the reigning NBA champions might have cleared that up Sunday night. Mario Chalmers scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 24 and the Heat won their 18th straight game, easily topping the visiting Indiana Pacers, 105-91 - even with James scoring only a season-low 13, yet clearly helping control play with seven assists and six rebounds. "That's the thing about our team," Chalmers said.

The NBA's career scoring leader in the All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant has never been just about offense. "I'm known for my defense," Bryant said. "I can defend. I'm pretty smart with my defense. " Pretty good, too. Ask LeBron James. Bryant blocked James' jumper, turning it into a dunk by Kevin Durant that helped the Western Conference put away the East 143-138 on Sunday. Bryant may not leap like Blake Griffin, but he can still get up when he needs to, especially when the defenseless part of the All-Star Game is over and it's time to stop somebody - even the league's best player.

HOUSTON - Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Kobe Bryant turned this West victory into an L.A. story. Paul had 20 points and 15 assists, and won MVP honors, while Bryant blocked LeBron James' comeback attempt as the Western Conference beat the East, 143-138, on Sunday night for its third consecutive All-Star Game win. Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and Griffin finished with 19, joining his Clippers teammate, Paul, in creating Lob City deep in...

HOUSTON - Per his coach's demands, 76ers guard Jrue Holiday was to absorb each and every moment of his initial All-Star weekend. As much fun as Holiday was supposed to have, Doug Collins also wanted it to be a learning lesson for the 22-year-old. Holiday was told to take in the atmosphere, talk to the stars who surrounded him in the locker room and watch how the greatest players in the world prepare to play the game. And all weekend, Holiday appeared to be the wide-eyed student, commiserating with all of his favorite teachers.

Make no mistake about it, "Showtime" basketball is still being played in Los Angeles, it's just not being played by the team that made it famous. The Los Angeles Clippers are the most exciting team in the NBA, something the 76ers and 17,550 fans at the Wells Fargo Center found out in a 107-90 Clippers victory that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. "To me, that was the most impressive performance that I've seen from a team against us this year," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.