NBA reports no positive tests at All-Star Game

The NBA’s mini-bubble in Atlanta for the All-Star Game apparently worked.

No players, coaches or game officials tested positive for COVID-19 while in Atlanta, the NBA said Monday after the final tests were processed and results were returned to the league and the teams involved.

That includes Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, a pair of All-Stars who had to miss the game and left Atlanta early after being flagged through contact tracing. A barber both saw before going to Atlanta tested positive, and that meant Embiid and Simmons were potentially exposed to the virus. By league policy this season they couldn’t play Sunday night.

“All players, coaches, and game officials were tested for COVID three times after arriving in Atlanta, including a final test immediately prior to last night’s All-Star Game,” the league said in a statement Monday. “Each of those tests returned a negative result, confirming no one on the court for last night’s events was infected.”

Embiid and Simmons have continued to return negative tests as well. It’s still unclear if they will be eligible to play when Philadelphia opens its secondhalf schedule in Chicago on Thursday.

Some players questioned why the game needed to be played during the pandemic, and those questions persisted Sunday after it was revealed Embiid and

Simmons could not participate. But the league and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insisted throughout the planning for the game that players would be safe in Atlanta. GRIFFIN, NETS DEAL MADE

OFFICIAL » The Brooklyn Nets signed free agent forward Blake Griffin on Monday.

Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released. The Athletic reported he will earn $1.2 million for the rest of the season.

“We’re fortunate to be able to add a player of Blake’s caliber to our roster at this point in the season,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a news release. “Blake is a versatile frontcourt player with a long track record of success in our league, and we’re excited about the impact he’ll make for us both on and off the court in Brooklyn.”

Griffin,a former Clipper, agreed to a buyout deal with the Detroit Pistons on Friday and cleared waivers on Sunday.

The six-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall draft pick averaged 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 20 games with Detroit this season. HAWKS’ REDDISH HAS PROCEDURE ON RIGHT ACHILLES » Atlanta Hawks forward Cam Reddish had a nonsurgical procedure on Monday after missing six games with soreness in his right Achilles.

Reddish was placed in a walking boot following the procedure at Emory Sports Medicine Clinic. His status will be updated in about one week.