On Thursday, the NBA, as part of a pregame special prior to TNT’s telecast of the Clippers-Timberwolves game, announced Paul and Griffin will start the 2013 All-Star Game in Houston. The game will air Feb. 17 on TNT at 6 p.m. PST.

Paul received 929,155 votes, finishing second among Western Conference guards behind Kobe Bryant, while Griffin was third among front-court players with 863,832 votes. Their election to the 62nd All-Star Game marks just the third time in franchise history that two Clippers have made the team in the same season.

“They deserve it, obviously,” Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Blake is having a fantastic year. You’ve seen a lot of growth in his game. He’s been one of our leaders and Chris as well. They’re both having fantastic years.

“They’re both well-deserving of it and they’ll represent us very well as usual.”