Almost every time Kobe plays at the Staples Center, its going to be entertaining. But when you mix in a little bit of LeBron, Durant, and Amare, its guaranteed to be must see TV.
The Black Mamba fought of a surging LeBron for MVP honors on his home court, leading the West to a 148-143 victory over the Eastern Conference All-Stars. The game looked all but over after the 3rd quarter, but the Miami Heat's LeBron James took over for the East in the 4th, successfully getting his team back into the game. It was LeBron's leadership that willed the East back into it, leading the way with dunks like this. You could see it in the eyes of the players as the score got closer, neither team wanted to lose. The East battled back and cut the lead to 2 with under a minute to play; but the West fended off the East's charge with some clutch shooting.
Kobe finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds in 29 minutes, shooting 14-26 from the floor. Kobe is now tied with Bob Pettit for most All-Star Game MVP's with four, and moved into 4th place all time in All-Star Game scoring. Not to be outdone by Kobe, LeBron messed around and got a triple-double scoring 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 10-18 from the field. LeBron became only the second player in history to have a triple double at an All-Star game, the other being Michael Jordan.
Kevin Durant and Amare Stoudemire had really nice games as well as KD finished with 34 and Amare 29 points for their respective teams. As for the other L.A. All-Stars, Pau Gasol had 17 points and 7 boards while Blake Griffin had 8 points and 5 rebounds. In rivalry news, Kobe outscored the Celtics' big four 37-28. The complete box score can be viewed here.