• 1. UNO
  2008 All-Star: The Results
• 2. TWO
  Sophomores Win Again
• 3. TROIS
  Manu Impresses LeBron
• 4. SI
  Pau Gasol's Home Debut
• 5. CINCO
  Yao Plays Like a Pro
• 6. SIX
  A Dynamic Spurs Duo
• 7. SETTE
  Calderon is Crucial in Win
• 8. ACHT
  Role Players Rule for the Cavs
• 9. JIU
  Peja Practicing on the Bulls
• 10. TEN
  Scola Proves his Power

2008 All-Star: The Results

Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan all joined forces representing the West in the 2008 All-Star game. Starters Tim Duncan and Yao Ming scored a combined 10 points with four and six respectively. Coming off the bench, Dirk provided a nice spark for the West with 13 points in 26 minutes. While Captain Canada did not register his usual double-double, he did log eight points and six dimes in the Big Easy. However the collective effort of the West's international players was not enough to grab the win, as the East, who were led by MVP LeBron James' 27-point performance, triumphed 134-128. After the exhibition matchup, Nowitzki explained to the AP, "It was a fun game down the stretch and he (LeBron James) really took the team on his back."

Video: All-Star Game: All Access
Photo: Yao Ming makes a move to the hoop
Photo: Duncan's dunks on a dunk champ.
Photo: Dirk shoots a jumper
Photo: Nowitzki's two-handed jam

1. 2008 All-Star: The Results

Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan all joined forces representing the West in the 2008 All-Star game. Starters Tim Duncan and Yao Ming scored a combined 10 points with four and six respectively. Coming off the bench, Dirk provided a nice spark for the West with 13 points in 26 minutes. While Captain Canada did not register his usual double-double, he did log eight points and six dimes in the Big Easy. However the collective effort of the West's international players was not enough to grab the win, as the East, who were led by MVP LeBron James' 27-point performance, triumphed 134-128. After the exhibition matchup, Nowitzki explained to the AP, "It was a fun game down the stretch and he (LeBron James) really took the team on his back."

Video: All-Star Game: All Access
Photo: Yao Ming makes a move to the hoop
Photo: Duncan's dunks on a dunk champ.
Photo: Dirk shoots a jumper
Photo: Nowitzki's two-handed jam

2. Sophomores Win Again

It was glimpse of the future. Foreshadowing the phenomenal performances yet to come, first-year and second-year NBA players competed in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam. Representing the international scene for the freshman squad were Al Horford, Yi Jianlian, Luis Scola, and Juan Carlos Navarro and for the sophomore team, Andrea Bargnani. Registering the second most points for the rookie team, behind only Kevin Durant who had 23, Dominican Republic native Horford logged 19 points and seven boards. Navarro poured in 14 points, Yi had eight and Scola had only four. For the sophomores, who captured their sixth straight Rookie Challenge 136-109, Bargnani contributed eight points. Refusing to let the loss spoil his weekend, the Bucks' Yi told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This is a huge activity and it's a great honor as a rookie to be here. This is a lot bigger scale (than the Chinese all-star game), and it's nice that they have a rookie game to go with it. I'm really excited to (be) a part of this weekend."

Photo: Yi participates in Rookie Challenge
Photo: Yi scores for first-years
Photo: Yi shoots from the field
Photo: Bargnani takes on Scola

3. Manu Impresses LeBron

Never ceasing to amaze the crowds, last Wednesday Manu Ginobili even had the great LeBron James in awe, as he witnessed the Argentina-native's season-high 46-point performance. Nailing 8-11 shots from downtown, James admitted to, HOOPSWORLD, "I guess that how the opposing teams feel like when I get going like that in the fourth quarter. (Ginobili) did a great job of breaking us down and knocking down threes." The 6-6 shooting guard guided the Spurs to a 112-105 victory. If that is not enough, Manu also nailed six treys and registered 15 boards in the Spurs 93-88 win over Toronto which puts his name in the same company as Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Rasheed Wallace as the only players to have at least 15 rebounds and six treys in a single matchup.

4. Pau Gasol's Home Debut

Pau Gasol made his Lakers home debut against Atlanta on Tuesday, February 19. Gasol and Kobe Bryant sat the entire fourth quarter after scoring 23 points apiece through three quarters as the Lakers built a 41-point lead. With the crowd on L.A.'s side, the Lakers triumphed 122-93 over the young Hawks. The Spanish import believes the first home contest exemplifies the success to come. The newly acquired center told the AP, "I had a chance to play my first home game as a Laker, and I wanted to give the fans a little taste of what it's going to be from now on with me and the team.''

Photo: Pau appears to be a good fit in L.A.

5. Yao Plays Like a Pro

After the seeing teammates Bonzi Wells and Mike James traded in a three-team trade, Houston still put forth a solid effort and collected their 10th straight win. Yao Ming contributed 21 points and nine boards to the 112-100 victory over Miami. He nailed 10-11 from the field, nicely complementing teammates Tracy McGrady (23 points and 10 dimes) and Luis Scola (11 points and 10 rebounds). Excited about his team's recent success, after the game the 7-6 center told the Houston Chronicle, "It feels great, a 10-game winning streak. When I walk out of this building tonight, I think I will feel very fresh.”

Photo: Yao takes on Miami
Photo: Scola and Yao dominate the paint

6. A Dynamic Spurs Duo

The Spurs dynamic duo of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili nailed a plethora of shots to edge the Timberwolves 100-99 on Thursday, Feb. 21. The Big Fundamental contributed nearly a fourth of the team's points with 24 along with the game-high 14 rebounds. While Duncan played well, the real star of the game was teammate Manu Ginobili. If last week's 46-point performance wasn’t enough to keep fans' appetite for scoring satiated, the Argentinean-native scored 44 points to put Spurs supporters on their feet even if they were watching from their living room. Not only did he score an impressive 22 points in the second period, the most points scored in single quarter by any Spur this season, but he also nailed the game-winning jumper with 6.2 seconds left in the matchup. Shooting 13-18 from the field, 7-9 from three-point land and 11-12 from the charity stripe, the 6-6 guard was an indomitable force in the Spurs' victory. In fact he was so good that Duncan sarcastically told the . San Antonio Express-News, "We tried to trade Manu, but nobody would take him, so we had to keep him."

Video: Manu drops 44
Video: Haier Play of the Day: Many Ginobili
Photo: Manu makes a move on defender
Photo: Duncan's dunks on a dunk champ
Photo: See who Duncan rejected in Minnesotar