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Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
"To be chosen by the fans, for that many years, year in and year out, it's a great honor," Tim Duncan told the San Antonio Express-News after learning he was selected for the 2008 All-Star game.
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By Lauren Brill
The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news. In this week's edition find out which international athletes will start in the 2008 All-Star game, who ran circles around the Celtics and who had a near perfect game.
Yao and Duncan: All-Star Starters
You voted and now the starters for the 2008 All-Star game are official. Tim Duncan and Yao Ming will both start for the West as they represent NBA's international community. This year marks The Big Fundamental's 10th All-Star appearance and ninth consecutive start. Grateful for the recognition, he told the San Antonio Express-News, "To be chosen by the fans, for that many years, year in and year out, it's a great honor." This year also marks Yao Ming's sixth consecutive start. He has been voted onto the West's team each year since he entered the league in 2002 and trails only Hakeem Olajuwon (who had 12 All-Star appearances and eight starts) for most starts in franchise history. Joining Yao and Duncan on the West's squad will be Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. Those that made the cut in the East include American-born athletes, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd.
 Video:
Inside the Mind of Duncan
Video:
Inside the Mind of Yao
Photo: Duncan: 2008 All-Star Starter
Photo: Yao: 2008 All-Star Starter
1. Yao and Duncan: All-Star Starters You voted and now the starters for the 2008 All-Star game are official. Tim Duncan and Yao Ming will both start for the West as they represent NBA's international community. This year marks The Big Fundamental's 10th All-Star appearance and ninth consecutive start. Grateful for the recognition, he told the San Antonio Express-News, "To be chosen by the fans, for that many years, year in and year out, it's a great honor." This year also marks Yao Ming's sixth consecutive start. He has been voted onto the West's team each year since he entered the league in 2002 and trails only Hakeem Olajuwon (who had 12 All-Star appearances and eight starts) for most starts in franchise history. Joining Yao and Duncan on the West's squad will be Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. Those that made the cut in the East include American-born athletes, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd.
Video:
Inside the Mind of Duncan
Video:
Inside the Mind of Yao
Photo: Dunan: 2008 All-Star Starter
Photo: Yao: 2008 All-Star Starter
2.Calderon Challenges Boston  There is no better time for a player to be clicking on all cylinders than when facing the team with the best record in the league, a.k.a the Boston Celtics. On Wednesday night, Spanish import Jose Calderon played with an extra spring in his step when the Raptors matched up against the Celtics. Registering a season-best 24 points to go along with 13 dimes, Calderon truly became the difference maker when he converted a three-point play with 10.5 seconds left in regulation. Handing the Celtics their seventh loss of the season, the clutch Raptor left his opponents baffled as to where they went wrong. "Calderon got to his spots off pick-and-rolls [and] I think it will take us to watch film to realize or understand what different we could of done out there on the floor," the Celtics’ Ray Allen told HOOPSWORLD.
Photo: Calderon Smokes a Celtic
Photo: Calderon Celebrates a Three-Pointer
Photo: Calderon Reacts to Win Over Celtics
3. Party Downtown for the Magic It was a party from downtown for the Magic in Memphis. With Turkish import Hedo Turkoglu draining 6-of-8 treys against Memphis, the 6-10 forward helped his Orlando team reach a team-record as the boys in bright blue totaled 18 makes from beyond the arc en route to their 112-85 victory over the Grizzlies. Leading the Magic, Turkoglu scored 26 points accompanied by five dimes and four rebounds. With everyone wondering the secret to his success, the hot-handed forward explained to the AP, "It was just one of those nights where we were able to make shots. The basket seemed really big, and whatever we were throwing was going in."
4. Ilgauskas Nets Near-Perfect Game While baseball players at the mound attempt to pitch a perfect game, Zydrunas Ilgauskas nearly accomplished the basketball equivalent Wednesday night in Cleveland. Hitting all 10 of his 10 shots from the field and going 4-for-5 on his freebies, the Lithuanian center almost had a flawless performance. Big Z logged a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocks and the 7-3 Cav did all that without playing a minute in the fourth quarter. The center got to sit back and relax while his team went on to stuff the stat sheet in their 121-85 victory over the Washington Wizards. "Got to give the guys credit. They came out and played with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose. Even when we got up big, we didn't relax," an elated Mike Brown, told the Plain Dealer.
Should Big Z be an All-Star Reserve?
5. TD Leads Spurs to Victory A poised leader throughout his entire career, Wednesday night was no different for the three-time NBA Finals MVP. With his team trailing by nine at the end of a dismal first half against the Lakers, Tim Duncan helped his team recover to claim a 103-91 win. Registering 28 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, the team captain contributed six points to the team's 14-0 run in the opening of the third quarter. Aggressive and determined, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich let the truth be known about the Big Fundamental's performance when he explained to the Daily Record, "(Duncan’s) hustle on the boards was fantastic and he led the way for us."
 6. Nash Receives Honor Twice He is so nice he did it twice. Steve Nash received NBA TV’s Assist of the Night honor not once but twice this week. But really, is that a big shocker to anyone? Leading the league in assists at 12.1 dimes per game, Captain Canada is one of the league's premier passers. He received the recognition first for a behind-the-back feed to Raja Bell against the New Jersey Nets and the second for a dish to Amare Stoudemire in the fourth quarter of the Suns' matchup with the Bucks. While the Suns won both games, Nash's performance against Milwaukee was particularly impressive as he registered a season-high 37 points to a go along with 10 dishes. After the 114-105 victory over the Bucks, Bell told the East Valley Tribune, “You kind of take (Nash’s play) for granted because you see it so much. But on a night like tonight, you watch him and really appreciate how much he means to our team. He just took us home.”
Video:
Nash's Fancy Feed Against Nets
Video:
Captain Canada's Dish to Stoudemire
7. Manu Makes Great Play Like the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going, Manu Ginobili, in the midst of a night where he’d rack up a career-best eight steals, piled on multiple shimmies and shakes to create one incredible play that was deservingly recognized as the Haier Play of the Day. Down by nine at halftime, the Spurs picked up the pace in the third quarter of their 103-91 win over the Lakers and reached the pinnacle of their third-period performance when their sixth man intercepted a pass that was meant for Luke Walton and then capitalized on the opponent's error with a through-the-legs, then behind-the-back give-and-go with Frenchman Tony Parker. Honestly, can it get much better than that?
Video:
Manu's Incredible Play
8. Diaw: Haier Play of the DayPhoenix's Boris Diaw made the most of an in-bounds pass from Shawn Marion, as he went up for a jam with less than three seconds left in the first half of the Suns' matchup with the Nets. For the slam, the Frenchman received the Haier Play of the Day honor. As for the remainder of the game, Diaw registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds en route to the Suns' 116-92 home win over the Jersey boys. According to writer Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, it was Diaw who gave the Nets little hope as he scored eights points in his first 12 minutes on the floor to help put Phoenix ahead by 17. So what did the Nets say about the disappointing road loss? "We just didn't show up," Arizona-native and Nets forward, Richard Jefferson told the Arizona Republic.
Video:
Diaw's Haier Play of the Day
9. Biedrins Rules the Paint Prior to the Warriors-Bucks matchup, Golden State Coach Don Nelson thought his team would be handicapped by the absence of Matt Barnes (out because he was accidentally excluded from the active list prior to the game). With center Andris Biedrins ruling the paint, the veteran coach's worries proved to be unnecessary. The Latvia-native amassed 20 points and 10 rebounds, helping his squad to a 119-99 victory. Also, Serbia-native Kosta Perovic made his NBA debut, logging four points and four rebounds in seven minutes. "I didn't think we'd have much energy and then finding out I don't have Matt Barnes, I am going 'whoa,' some of these guys are going to have to play," explained Nellie to the AP. Fortunately for the Golden State coach, both his starters and his bench players rose to the occasion and they played like true warriors.
10. Deng Hosts Lost Boys Event Escaping the Sudan at nine-years old, Luol Deng has made it evident throughout his NBA career that he is passionate about helping other Sudan natives. Deng recently hosted a celebration of the third anniversary of the peace agreement that ended conflict in Sudan at Truman College in Chicago. The event also served as a celebration of the Lost Boys’ birthday. (‘Lost Boys' is the term for orphans who fled the country to escape war.) Because many of them do not know their actual date of birth, immigration paperwork marked January 1st as the special day for all the Lost Boys. Attempting to help the Lost Boys of Sudan, Deng is often involved in charity work that aims to support and inspire Sudanese children.
Video:
NBA TV News: Deng Supports Lost Boys of Sudan
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