Bulls' Rose leads East guards in All-Star voting

Bulls.com/VoteBulls

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2012 – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls top the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Western Conference after the second returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint. Howard, who leads the NBA in rebounding (15.6 rpg), is the overall leader with 1,161,797 votes.

Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Bulls’ Joakim Noah (141,683). LeBron James of the Miami Heat leads Eastern Conference forwards with 972,580 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (779,945) of the New York Knicks. Rose leads Eastern Conference guards with 1,040,210 votes, followed by Miami’s Dwyane Wade (972,015).

Bryant’s 1,110,379 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul placing second (835,026). Durant’s 973,152 votes leads forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 619,913 votes. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 777,365 votes, followed by the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (214,883).

The 61st NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio, will be played at the Amway Center on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

Fans can vote daily for their favorite Bulls players at Bulls.com/VoteBulls and through their mobile phones by texting the player's last name (ROSE, NOAH, DENG, BOOZER or HAMILTON) to 6-9-6-2-2 ("MYNBA") or by visiting m.NBA.com on any wireless carrier. Message and data rates may apply.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting are as follows:

Eastern Conference

Guards

Forwards

Centers

Western Conference

Guards

Forwards

Centers