West overwhelms East in All-Star game

Nicky Talent

Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and their Western Conference crew lit up the Strip in romping past the East 153-132 in the first All-Star game outside an NBA city on Sunday.

Bryant had 31 points and six of the West's record 52 assists and was the game MVP. Amare Stoudemire added 29 points for the West, which quickly built a big lead and held it this time, a year after blowing a 21-point cushion in a loss in Houston.



LeBron James and Kobe Bryant combined for 59 points in the All-Star game. (Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

Late All-Star addition Anthony scored 20 points and Shawn Marion of Phoenix, who played at the Thomas & Mack Center while attending University of Nevada Las Vegas, added 18.

"I think we had a little flair, a little Vegas in there," Marion said. "Hopefully the fans enjoyed it a lot."

LeBron James scored 28 points for the East, and Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds. The East barely shot 40 percent through three quarters in a game that isn't known for its defensive intensity, before a late flurry.

"We got here at 2 o'clock," the East's Shaquille O'Neal said. "There's a lot of stretching and standing around. We were all kind of stiff, so the game was a little lopsided. But that's OK, they came here to see a show and they got a show."

Dwyane Wade had only 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, but he had reason to be tired after hosting events on Thursday and Friday. Those were two of the many functions that kept the players out until all hours of the night.

Still, the game was secondary to the show in this most unusual of All-Star games - and it was quite a show.

An event that some locals called the biggest thing to hit Las Vegas featured showgirls, acrobats, magicians and Elvis impersonators - all the glitz and glamour that this city offers in excess.

With tickets unavailable to the public, brokers were asking more than $20,000 (?15,000) for a top seat. Celebrities Jay-Z, Beyonce, Diddy, Prince, Eva Longoria and Adam Sandler were among those who scored spots in the front row, and Christina Aguilera and Toni Braxton performed at halftime.

The event started with a celebrity red carpet, where Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, flanked as usual by his showgirls and backed by entertainer Wayne Newton, vowed again to get the NBA here full-time with a new arena to play in.

Magicians Siegfried and Roy then welcomed the fans to Las Vegas, before introducing the showgirls who escorted Newton out to the stage for a performance of "Viva Las Vegas." After the East All-Stars were introduced, Newton took the stage again for another performance before the West players were announced.

After another Las Vegas entertainer, Danny Gans, sang the national anthem, it was finally time for some basketball - after about a 45-minute pregame.

Perhaps that took its toll on the players. There were missed dunks and passes thrown out of bounds by both teams, but the East was by far the worst. They missed seven of their first nine shots, including a blown dunk attempt by O'Neal.

James later almost injured himself when he tried to throw himself a pass off the backboard and tumbled over another player, and Jermaine O'Neal appeared to tip in a basket for the West.

Killswitch

The game wasn't that good. I stopped watching after the half way mark in the 3rd. First All-Star game I've ever walked away from. The day that the All-Star game turns into the Rookie sophomore game is sad. I give the all-star weekend an overall grade of C. Would've been a D+ had not for Barkley v. Bavetta and Jason Kapono.