Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry delivered a vintage performance in front of his home crowd, leading Shaq’s OGs to victory in the first NBA All-Star mini tournament on Sunday night and earning MVP honors.

It was fitting end to the All-Star weekend in San Francisco as the Warriors greatest star put on a show.

Curry ignited Team Shaq, a veteran-heavy squad, featuring Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum, to a commanding 42-25 win over Chuck’s Global Stars, which was headlined by international standouts Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.

With LeBron James pulling out of the game due to lingering injuries, Curry opened the championship game by scoring a running three-pointer, drawing cheers from the Chase Center fans. That shot sparked an 11-0 run to set the tone early.

However, Team Chuck remained determined to get back in it, cutting the deficit to eight points on a dunk by Victor Wembanyama to make it 23-15 in a game where the first team to score 40 points wins.

Any little momentum that Team Chuck had built was taken away after Curry drilled one of his signature deep three-pointers, pulling up from the half-court line to make the 39-foot bucket.

In shades of his performance at the Paris Olympics gold medal match, the four-time NBA champion later dropped back-to-back three-pointers to give Team Shaq a 39-21 advantage, before Tatum sealed the victory with a dunk.

Tatum finished with 15 points in the win, while Curry added 12 points and was awarded the All-Star Game MVP award for a second time in his career.

LeBron James misses All-Star Game due to lingering injuries

After 20 straight years of seeing LeBron James participate in the All-Star Game, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer sat out of Sunday’s contest, citing lingering discomfort in his left foot and ankle.

Despite being named a starter for a record 21st straight time, the Los Angeles Lakers star had previously missed a ceremonial practice and media availability on Saturday.

“I was hoping that it would be a lot better this morning, but it’s still not where I want it to be,” James said about the discomfort.

Jamed added: “We have 30 games left and I’m just trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild West, and I just thought it was important to take care of myself with what’s going on.”

The Lakers will return to play on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, one day earlier than the rest of the NBA, to make up for a game that was postponed due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

NBA stars call new All-Star Game format a step in the right direction

This year’s All-Star Game format featured a newly instilled three-game mini tournament, contested by four teams with the first to score 40 points claiming the victory.

The four teams were formed by TNT’s Inside the NBA studio analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Candace Parker.

Warriors star Stephen Curry said he thought the change to the All-Star Game format “was a step in the right direction.”

“I think it was a good step in the right direction to reinvigorate the game in some way,” Curry said. “And then you tinker with it again next year and see what changes you can make. I don’t want to compare it to any other era, because the world has changed, life is different, the way people consume basketball is different. So it’s not going to look like it used to, but it can still be fun for everybody. I had fun. Our team had fun.”

Regarding the long breaks in between and during each game, which drew criticism from some of the players, Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving praised the NBA’s attempt to spice up the game.

Irving acknowledged Ad revenue but said the league did “the best that they could” while still keeping the games competitive.

“You just got to give everybody grace, like I’ve been saying the past few weeks,” Irving told CNN’s Andy Scholes. “I enjoyed myself.”

During the championship game, an extended break of about 20 minutes was called in order to honor the TNT broadcast crew, who were covering the All-Star Weekend one final time.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous Alexander said he preferred to play without breaks but also acknowledged the new format was a step in the right direction.

“I would rather play without breaks, but I had fun nonetheless,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I feel like it was a little more towards the competitive side tonight, which is a good feeling. A step in the right direction. I guess it’s up to the guys that handle all that stuff to figure out what’s next and how to keep making it more and more interesting and hopefully we get there one day. But I’m glad it’s not my job to figure that stuff out.”

As part of the new format, Candace Parker’s Rising Stars - a team of first- and second-year players - earned a spot in Sunday’s midseason classic after winning a mini-tournament on Friday.

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant said he was a fan of featuring the league’s up-and-coming stars.

“I’m glad Ryan (Dunn) was able to come out here and play on Sunday night. It’s something for him to aspire to be in. (All-Star) Sunday night’s a special time,” Durant said. “Those rookies that were on the floor tonight, they’re looking to us as All-Stars to get some inspiration. I’m sure we’ll see a few of those guys playing on Sunday nights.”