THURSDAY’S GAME

Wizards at Cavaliers, 8 p.m., TNT, FS Ohio patting myself on the back.”

Team LeBron was without Cavs center Kevin Love (broken hand bone), Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins (torn Achilles’ tendon), Washington guard John Wall (knee surgery), and Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (torn ACL).

Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler dressed but did not play for Team Stephen. Unlike with the four injured players for Team LeBron, there was no injury replacement for Butler.

Team Stephen lead 78-76 at halftime and 42-31 after one quarter. For compar- ison’s sake, the Cavs have both scored and allowed 43 points in a quarter this season. They coughed up 76 points in a half once and scored 75 in two quarters. See — not that far off. James and Thompson scored 15 points apiece in the first half for their respective sides. Harden of the Rockets had a miserable two quar- ters, shooting 2-of-10 (1-of-9 on 3s) with three turnovers.

The 68th All-Star Game is in Charlotte next season. Hornets owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan took the proverbial torch (it was a basketball) from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss at halfcourt during a late timeout in the fourth quar- ter — to a standing ovation.

Leading into All-Star week- end, Fox News personality Laura Ingraham suggested James and Durant should “shut up and dribble” in response to their criticisms of President Donald J. Trump in an Uninterrupted video — which led to a back and forth between all parties (save for Trump, he skipped this one) through Saturday.