NEW YORK – Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 20, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The Celtics (37-11, .771) clinched the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 6 with 95-90 win tonight over the Sacramento Kings tonight at ARCO Arena.

In his seventh season as head coach of the Celtics, Rivers earned Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for October/November after guiding the Celtics to a 13‐4 mark including 7‐1 at home. Boston is an Eastern Conference-best 22-3 at home. The defending Eastern Conference champions are shooting a league-high .501 from the floor on the season.

Rivers guided the Celtics to their 17th NBA championship in 2008 behind an NBA‐best 66‐16 regular season record. Rivers earned the NBA Coach of the Year Award that season, becoming the fourth Celtics head coach to win the award, joining Tom Heinsohn (1972‐73), Bill Fitch (1979‐80) and Red Auerbach (1964‐65) for whom the trophy is named. He currently ranks third on the Celtics all-time wins list with 317.

Rivers coached the East team to a 134-128 victory during the 2008 All-Star Game in New Orleans.

Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs earned the right to coach the Western Conference last week and will man the sidelines of his second NBA All-Star Game.

The 2011 NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.