The Spurs and Celtics were deadlocked for more than three quarters.

In the end, the Celtics' superstars were more consistent, and the Spurs lost a close one, 93-99.

The loss wasn't by much, and Popovich was completely fine with it.

Tang Tian found his touch in this game, playing 27 minutes, shooting 5 for 10, including 4 three-pointers, and 2 free throws, for 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

After finishing the road back-to-back, the Spurs flew back to San Antonio the next morning. After continuous battles, they could finally go home.

And after returning home, they received good news. Ginobili's injury was recovering well. If there were no surprises, he would be able to return after the All-Star break.

On this day, the final results of the All-Star voting were officially released.

The Lakers, Heat, and Clippers became the biggest winners.

The Eastern Conference starters were: Rose, Wade, James, Anthony, and Howard.

The Western Conference starters: Paul, Kobe, Durant, Griffin, and Bynum.

After Yao Ming's retirement, Howard became the All-Star vote leader for the first time.

It was a bit of a pity that no one from the Spurs, who were ranked first in the West, was selected as a starter.

But this was also expected.

The Spurs played a lot of team basketball this season, and Parker, the most outstanding in terms of stats, only averaged 19.2 points and 8.2 assists per game.

Not only were the stats different, but his popularity couldn't compare with Paul, Kobe, or even Westbrook.

However, although Parker was not selected as an All-Star starter, he received an official invitation email from the league, inviting him to participate in this year's All-Star Skills Challenge.

At the same time, Tang Tian also received a text message. He was invited to participate in the All-Star Three-Point Contest.

His three-point shooting percentage of 49% so far, which was the highest in the league, ahead of Novak and Ray Allen, made this invitation perfectly normal.

Tang Tian accepted.

The All-Star Game was a stage to showcase ability and attract popularity, and after improving his shooting speed, he had the strength to participate in this competition.

He definitely couldn't miss this opportunity.

Parker also accepted, which meant that at least two Spurs players would be present at this year's All-Star Game.

Because it was a lockout season, several important time points in the league were postponed a lot.

The All-Star Game, which was usually held in mid-February, was also postponed to the end of February.

Time flew by to mid-February, and while the Spurs' performance continued to be stable, the team also ushered in good news.

Ginobili, who had been out for a month and a half, finally returned!

He returned in the game against the Mavericks, played 20 minutes, contributed 11 points and 4 assists, and helped the team win in the end.

His return also made the Spurs' bench depth thicker.

Ginobili, Tang Tian, Splitter, plus Leonard and Mills, who had been playing well recently, this lineup could even match the starting lineup of some weak teams.

However, Ginobili's return also brought some butterfly effects.

An NBA game only has 48 minutes, and the rotation is only 8-10 people, which means that at least 2-3 people have to share a position.

Ginobili needed playing time after his return, Green and Tang Tian were both stable, and they were both swingmen, so the only one who could be squeezed out was Jefferson.

Jefferson's playing time was further compressed, and he only played 16 minutes against the Mavericks.

This was obviously unacceptable. Jefferson wasn't just complaining on the sidelines anymore. He openly discussed the matter with Neal in the locker room.

This made the originally harmonious locker room atmosphere not so harmonious.

This approach ultimately angered Popovich. The old man was furious in the locker room, and was just short of naming Jefferson and telling him to shut up.

At this time, the league announced the All-Star reserve list, as well as the official rookie game roster.

Parker was selected for the All-Star reserve team, and Tang Tian was selected for the rookie game's first-year team.

It is worth mentioning that the four brothers who trained hard in the summer, Irving, Walker, Tang Tian, and Thompson, were all on the list.

After parting ways in the offseason, they were going to reunite on the stage of the rookie game.

However, because the rookie game had been reformed this year, it was no longer a confrontation between first- and second-year players, but had become "Barkley's" team and "O'Neal's" team.

The two would successively select first- and second-year players who were selected for the rookie game to form teams. This was also the first time in NBA history that a mixed team of first- and second-year players had appeared.

So, who will be teammates with whom among the four brothers is still unknown.

The four of them sent text messages to each other one after another. Their selection also proved that hard training in the offseason was a very useful thing.

The selection of these lists also sparked another wave of heated discussions among fans on Instagram.

"Josh Smith deserves a reserve spot, his performance this year is better than his teammates Joe Johnson and Deron Williams!"

"Pau Gasol is the biggest omission, an inside player who averages 16.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.2 blocks did not make it to the All-Star Game, that's bullshit!"

"Hey, bro, this is the brutal West, Aldridge, Kevin Love, Nowitzki, Marc Gasol, their performances this season are more deserving of an All-Star spot than Pau Gasol."

"This is the cruelty of the All-Star Game, it only has 12 people in total, when will the league expand the roster to 15 people?"

"And then there are 3 people sitting on the sidelines watching the whole game?"

"And 2 can't enter the active roster, manual funny."

"Have you guys noticed, the individual event list was also announced this time, 'Godfather' was selected for the three-point contest list."

"Shouldn't he be? His performance outside the three-point line this season is top-notch, his three-point shooting percentage is ranked first in the league!"

"This reminds me of Jason Kapono in the 06-07 season, his performance before the All-Star Game was also so狂热 (kuang re - fervent/zealous)."

"No, no, you guys misunderstood what I meant, 'Godfather' definitely deserves to be selected, the problem is that there is also a name called Kevin Durant on this list."

"Kevin Durant! Bro, you're really a talent! You successfully reminded me of the time Durant used a small account to怼 (dui - diss) 'Godfather'!"

"Not just once."

"Many times, I don't know if he will also appear here."

"You guys are too awesome, I'm so hooked by you guys that I want to go to the All-Star Game in person, I'm so looking forward to the contest between Durant and 'Godfather' in the three-point contest!"

"And I must remind you of one thing, Durant also participated in the three-point contest last year, and finally '狂砍 (kuang kan - wildly chopped)' 6 points, almost breaking Michael Jordan's three-point contest's lowest score record, ranking second to last."

"So he's continuing to participate in the three-point contest this year to prove himself?"

"And then he met 'Godfather'."

"And then he lost to 'Godfather', the man he's been 怼 (dui - dissing) with a small account."

"You guys... are all directing geniuses, even Hollywood directors can't write such a script!"

"..."