The NBA has announced major changes to the All-Star Game format, including a tribute for the late Kobe Bryant.

Quarters will consist of a mini-game to benefit charity before an untimed fourth quarter with a target score will decide which team walks away with the win. Scores will be reset back to 0-0 at the start of the second and third quarters, then restored once the fourth quarter begins, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Bryant and his notorious No. 24 jersey will get a nod, as the team that wins the All-Star Game will be the first to reach a target score, one that will be determined by the total points the leading team scored in the first three quarters combined — plus 24.

Here's the full explanation for the changes:

The NBA said there will be many tributes to Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who also died in Sunday's helicopter crash in Calabasas, along with the seven others who lost their lives. The target score mini-game is just one of them:

“We spent a lot of time considering the right target number to use for the fourth quarter,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president for league operations. “Through the events of this week it became clear to us that the only appropriate number for this season’s All-Star game is 24.”

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This new mini-game plays right into the NBA's quest to make the game more competitive, given that recent efforts with the All-Star Draft haven't changed that completely. Teams have built 15- and 20-point leads only to make a slight comeback in the fourth quarter. The 2018 NBA All-Star Game was decided by three points, but last year's All-Star Game was a 14-point win for Team LeBron:

“We’ve been very focused on making it more competitive, making it more exciting and making it fun,” Spruell said. “And we’ve had a great collaboration with the union. For this year’s game, we really focused on what new things we could do to make it a really competitive game where each quarter mattered in this case.”

The mini-games will give fans a chance to focus on something besides the total score, which should bode well for the live audience as well as the television ratings.