Back to the Los Angeles Lakers Newsfeed

NBA All-Star 2023: Thank the Elam Ending for the thrilling fourth-quarter finish in Salt Lake City

AMONG THE SELLOUT crowd packed into Chicago's United Center for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, Nick Elam and Jon Mugar couldn't believe what they were witnessing.

The league had decided to make a radical change for the league's midseason showcase, and the excitement was palpable as the fourth quarter played out.

"It was legendary," Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said earlier this week.

Instead of playing until the clock hit zeros in the fourth quarter, the two teams of NBA stars would instead play to a final target score -- a play on the Elam Ending, which had grown in popularity over the prior few years after being used in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).