NBA.com, Official site of the National Basketball Association

Link to NBA.com Homepage

NBA Global

WNBA

NBA Dleague

Main content

- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...
Live
- Game Info
- TV Companion

FRIDAY EVENTS
- Full Schedule of Events
- ------------------------------------
- Sprint Celebrity Game
- BBVA Rising Stars Challenge
SATURDAY EVENTS
- Full Schedule of Events
- ------------------------------------
- D-League All-Star Game
- Haier Shooting Stars
- Taco Bell Skills Challenge
- Foot Locker 3-Pt Contest
- Sprite Slam Dunk
SUNDAY EVENTS
- Full Schedule of Events
- ------------------------------------
- Sprint Pregame Concert
- 2012 NBA All-Star Game

Sunday, February 26, 2012

7:00 PM ET - Amway Center, Orlando, FL

TEAM SITES

WST |
EST

152

149

FINAL

WST
EST

39	49	36	28	152

28	41	43	37	149

2012 All-Star Game: West vs. East

Wade to LeBron

Head Above the Rim

Wade Lobs to LeBron

Postgame: Dwyane Wade

LeBron Reacts to Kobe

game story
game story
box score
box score
play-by-play
play-by-play
tv & radio
tv & radio

Preview | Recap

West All-Stars-East All-Stars Preview

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 25 2012 11:15AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Orlando waited 20 years to host All-Star weekend again, and Dwight Howard wants nothing to spoil the party.

So forget that trade request, Magic fans. Ignore the rapidly approaching deadline for deals.

"All the other stuff can wait," Howard said Friday. "I just want people to have fun and enjoy themselves. This is All-Star weekend. This is a time of celebration for guys who've had great first halves and guys who have never even seen this."

Jeremy Lin has been the NBA's biggest story this month, but the focus shifted back to Howard, where it began this season, with the NBA's midseason event in the city he insists he loves but wants to leave.

That meant a wall of reporters and cameras surrounding him, asking the same questions Carmelo Anthony was peppered with last year during All-Star Friday, just before his trade request from Denver was granted.

"Thank you, Dwight!" Anthony yelled when he spotted the swarm. "It's your turn!"

Howard has asked for a trade, but he's still here and there's no telling for how much longer. The Magic could deal their center before the March 15 trade deadline, or hold onto him all season and risk losing him while getting nothing back in July.

Howard's table was between Anthony and LeBron James, two of the league's best-known stars. Yet neither had anywhere near the attention of Howard, and Anthony was glad to yield the spotlight after his status overshadowed last year's festivities in Los Angeles.

"I'm glad it's not me anymore," Anthony said.

James went through the free agency circus the season before, and acknowledged that it wore on him.

"Yeah, absolutely," James said. "I know exactly what he's going through. It's a tough situation but he's going to handle it. He's a man. He's going to handle it. He's going to do what's best for him."

Lin wasn't forgotten, even after James and the Heat on Thursday forced him into the worst game since he became the Knicks' starter earlier this month. Many All-Stars were asked about Lin, who was playing only in Friday's Rising Stars Challenge featuring rookies and second-year players yet was given his own evening press conference to accommodate the large media interest.

Howard said every time he watches TV, he sees something about Lin, the NBA's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. He was asked if there was anything that could stop the undrafted guard from Harvard.

"Uh, he hasn't gone up against the Great Wall of Orlando yet," Howard said.

This wall may be moveable.

The Magic have given Howard's agent permission to discuss deals with the Nets, Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, and there was plenty of speculation he could be dealt even before the season began, just as Chris Paul was.

That would have created an awkward All-Star reunion.

Howard literally towers over this city, his face pictured on billboards overlooking the interstate and on a giant Adidas ad high atop the outside of the Amway Center. This region caters to visitors, but didn't have to consider how it would have welcomed Howard.

"I'm here, so it doesn't matter what would've or should've happened," he said. "But you know I'm here and we want to have a great time. I'm looking forward to all the events and showing everybody my city."

With its new arena in just its second season, Orlando is hosting the All-Star game for the first time since 1992, one of the NBA's most memorable. Magic Johnson won MVP honors only a few months following his retirement after contracting the HIV virus.

Even Shaquille O'Neal, who has been critical of Howard in the past, says he hopes the MVP this time goes to Howard. O'Neal started his career with the Magic before bolting as a free agent, and he said recently it would be a "travesty" if Howard leaves.

If fans fear Howard following Shaq's path, he said they never tell him.

"Whatever you decide to do, we're behind you 100 percent," they say, according to Howard.

"They've been great," Howard added. "Despite what people may say or think, the fans here have always been great to me. I really appreciate it. They've showed me nothing but love from Day 1 and I've done the same thing. This city means a lot to me."

Howard said he was looking forward to playing this weekend with James, Anthony and Dwyane Wade, who join league MVP Derrick Rose in the powerful Eastern Conference starting lineup.

The West is an L.A. story, with Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum of the Lakers joining the Clippers' Paul and Blake Griffin. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant rounds out the first five.

The All-Star weekend would have been in jeopardy had the lockout lasted much longer. An agreement was reached during Thanksgiving weekend and the season opened on Christmas, allowing for a 66-game schedule.

The play has been sloppy and injuries have piled up as players navigate a schedule that forced them to play on three straight nights for the first time since 1999, following the last work stoppage. All the All-Stars said they were eager to be here, even though many probably would benefit from the rest.

And Wade said ugly play won't be a problem Sunday night.

"I think Sunday is going to be great," he said. "I think players are obviously with all these games, the body is feeling a little certain way right now. We're going to enjoying this break, but Sunday's going to be just competitive. It's going to be exciting for the fans to watch."

---

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Bryant, West hold on to win NBA All-Star game

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 27 2012 4:28AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Kobe Bryant got the scoring record, Kevin Durant the MVP, and the West got the win - barely.

Even after that duo piled up the points, the NBA All-Star game came down to a defensive play.

A bloodied Bryant scored 27 points, moving past Michael Jordan as the career scoring leader in the game, Durant had 36 in an MVP performance, and Blake Griffin's interception of LeBron James' pass secured the Western Conference's 152-149 win over the East on Sunday night.

Bryant shook off Dwyane Wade's hard smack to his nose and was still on the floor to say something to James after he threw away a pass in the closing records.

"You know, you have some of the best competitors out on the floor at the same time," James said. "Not only me and Kobe, but D-Wade and Durant and (Carmelo Anthony) and (Chris Paul), and all the rest of the guys. We all wanted to win, and it came down to the last minute or last seconds."

James and the East cut a 21-point deficit to one in the closing seconds, but weren't able to move in front. James had 36 points and fellow Heat star Wade finished with a triple-double.

"It was fun," Durant said. "That's the type of All-Star game you want to see."

Griffin scored 22 points for the West, which rang up 88 points in the first half, setting an All-Star record. But he won the game with his defense, picking off James' pass when the East had a chance to tie in the final seconds.

"When I tried to throw it late, that's what usually happens and it results in a turnover," James said. "Definitely wish I could have that one back."

Griffin then hit one free throw with 1.1 seconds left, and Wade was off on a 3-point attempt from the corner. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, joining Jordan and James as the only players with All-Star game triple-doubles.

Bryant was bloodied by a hard foul from Wade and stayed in the game, but left to be evaluated afterward and did not speak to the media.

Durant's win left Bryant tied for the All-Star record with his four MVP awards. But he got a bigger mark in his 13th All-Star game.

He broke Jordan's record of 262 points on a dunk with 4:57 left in the third quarter and now has 271 for his career. He passed Oscar Robertson (246 points) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (251) earlier in the game.

"That record he got tonight, with KD in the league, I don't know how long it's going to last," Wade said.

It nearly wasn't enough, as the East's comeback had the crowd filled with entertainers and athletes chanting for defense - never a part of the All-Star game vocabulary - in the final seconds.

James hit two long 3-pointers in the final period, and the East had a chance when Bryant, with the crowd loudly booing, missed a free throw with 18 seconds left and the West up 151-149.

But New Jersey's Deron Williams was short on a 3-pointer, and after the East came up with it, James fired a pass into a crowd that Griffin intercepted.

On a colorful night in Orlando, from pregame performer Nicki Minaj's pink and green hair to the neon sneakers many of the stars wore, Dwight Howard had nine points and 10 rebounds as the game's host.

The NBA's first All-Star game in Orlando in 20 years wasn't close after 2 1/2 quarters. But players always say it gets competitive in the final five minutes, and James was again up for the challenge.

He hiked his scoring average to 25.9 points over his eight All-Star games, and someday he'll probably take the record Bryant set Sunday.

But he couldn't quite catch Kobe in the game.

"Being a competitor, no matter All-Star game or not, you don't want to get blown out," James said. "Of course not, when you're going against your peers and you're going against great players and you're playing with great players. I just wanted to try to pick it up and see if we could make a run at it, and we did."

With the 2-year-old Amway Center considered by many the finest arena in the league, the NBA brought its midseason showcase back to Orlando for the first time since the memorable 1992 game, when Magic Johnson was MVP three months after retiring from the league because of the HIV virus.

This one was once in jeopardy of being lost when the lockout lasted into late November. Without a settlement then, All-Star weekend may have been wiped out, as it was in 1999 following a work stoppage.

The party was saved.

James and Howard, wearing bright orange shoes, danced onto the stage for pregame introductions, Howard breaking into an enormous grin when fans gave him a thunderous ovation as the last All-Star introduced. He insists that he and Magic fans still have a love affair despite his trade request, understanding he still loves the city even if not his team, and urged everyone to ignore the trade talk for a weekend and have fun.

"We did it big for our city," he said in brief pregame remarks to the crowd before the game.

Then Andrew Bynum blocked his first shot attempt.

The speedy Russell Westbrook had the East looking as if it was standing still late in the first half, and it was 88-69 at the break.

Howard and Derrick Rose ditched their orange sneakers in the second half - James kept his - and the East quickly got back into it, trimming 12 points off its deficit in less than 6 minutes. They even started to defend - Wade whacked Bryant so hard on a drive that the Lakers star needed a break between free throws to wipe blood from his nose before sinking it to tie Jordan.

Williams scored 20 points for the East. Carmelo Anthony had 19, and Rose finished with 14.

Kevin Love, who won the 3-point contest on Saturday, scored 17 points for the West, which has won two in a row. Chris Paul had eight points and 12 assists.

NOTES: With Bryant, Bynum, Griffin and Paul, four West starters were from Los Angeles. Bynum played only 5 1/2 minutes after having a procedure on his knee Friday. ... Johnson came onto the court for a standing ovation following the first quarter after highlights of his 1992 performance were shown. He was part of another 20-year anniversary acknowledgement in the third quarter, joined by Olympic Dream Team teammates Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson.

WST EST

53.4% 55.8% 35.3% 43.8% 61.5% 75.0% FG % 3FG% FT %

	WST	EST
Total Rebounds	46	52
Offensive Rebounds	18	18
Turnovers	11	19
Fast Break Pts:	32	55
Biggest Lead:	21	0
Points in the Paint:	80	90

	WST	EST
p	Durant 36	James 36
rb	Griffin 8	2 players 10
a	Paul 12	Wade 10
s	2 players 3	3 players 2
b	Bynum 1	4 players 1

Adidas 2012 East All-Star Custom Replica Jersey

Adidas 2012 West All-Star Custom Replica Jersey

Download Game Book

West
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
K. Durant	F	37:23	14-25	3-8	5-7	-2	3	4	7	3	0	3	2	0	1	36
B. Griffin	F	31:26	9-12	1-2	3-6	-13	3	5	8	3	3	2	1	0	0	22
A. Bynum	C	05:31	0-3	0-1	0-0	+8	1	2	3	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
K. Bryant	G	34:48	9-17	2-5	7-8	-8	0	1	1	1	2	2	1	0	0	27
C. Paul	G	30:57	3-7	2-5	0-0	-5	0	5	5	12	1	1	2	0	0	8
D. Nowitzki		13:44	3-8	1-5	0-0	+9	2	2	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	7
R. Westbrook		27:31	10-17	1-4	0-2	+3	5	0	5	2	3	2	1	0	0	21
K. Love		18:24	7-12	2-4	1-3	+16	2	5	7	1	0	3	1	0	1	17
T. Parker		12:16	3-5	0-0	0-0	+11	1	1	2	4	0	0	1	0	1	6
M. Gasol		13:32	2-5	0-0	0-0	-8	1	2	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	4
L. Aldridge		09:48	2-5	0-0	0-0	+5	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	4
S. Nash		04:40	0-0	0-0	0-0	-1	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0
Totals		240	62-116	12-34	16-26		18	28	46	33	12	14	11	1	4	152
			53.4%	35.3%	61.5%		team rebs: 12			total to: 11

East
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
C. Anthony	F	30:20	7-15	0-3	5-7	+6	4	5	9	0	0	2	0	0	0	19
L. James	F	32:09	15-23	6-8	0-0	+4	0	6	6	7	2	0	4	0	0	36
D. Howard	C	31:10	4-9	0-4	1-2	-1	5	5	10	3	4	0	1	1	1	9
D. Wade	G	32:54	11-15	0-1	2-2	+1	3	7	10	10	4	2	4	0	0	24
D. Rose	G	18:17	6-8	2-2	0-0	+1	1	0	1	3	1	0	2	0	0	14
L. Deng		05:51	0-2	0-0	0-0	+1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. Hibbert		10:11	1-3	0-0	1-1	-11	1	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	3
R. Rondo		15:34	1-3	0-0	0-0	-5	0	2	2	8	1	0	4	0	0	2
P. Pierce		11:07	1-8	1-4	0-0	-11	1	1	2	0	1	0	2	1	0	3
C. Bosh		20:08	3-9	1-2	0-0	-6	1	1	2	1	2	2	1	1	0	7
A. Iguodala		14:11	6-7	0-1	0-0	-2	1	3	4	2	0	1	1	1	0	12
D. Williams		18:08	8-11	4-7	0-0	+8	1	2	3	4	2	1	0	0	0	20
Totals		240	63-113	14-32	9-12		18	34	52	40	17	8	19	4	1	149
			55.8%	43.8%	75.0%		team rebs: 7			total to: 19

inactive

West: --
East: --

technical fouls

West: --
East: --

scoring

Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 1

arena stats

Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #31 Scott Wall, #20 Leroy Richardson
Attendance: 17125
Duration: 2:38