Kobe Bryant Dazzles, But West Falls

DENVER, CO– Sunday night’s All-Star game from the Mile High city was one of the brightest nights of the year, as the impact players of the NBA showcased their skills in a competitive game.

Kobe Bryant recorded arguably the most impressive line of the game, scoring 16 points, dishing out a team-high 7 assists, pulling down 6 boards and racking up 3 steals. Kobe was invovled in a few spectacular plays, receiving an alley-oop from Steve Nash in the 2nd quarter, following that up by going behind the back and dishing over his shoulder to Shawn Marion for a thunderous dunk on the break. Later in the contest, Bryant set up possibly the play of the game when he lobbed it up for Amare Stoudemire from near half-court. Stoudemire caught it on the right side of the hoop, came around to the other end to finish off the alley-oop with an amazing windmill jam.

However, an impressive line and these show-stopping plays wouldn’t be enough to boost the Western All-Stars to a victory at the Pepsi Center, as they fell to the Eastern squad, 125-115.

The West led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but squandered that lead when they gave up 17 unanswered points to the East, early in the 2nd quarter.

Allen Iverson would walk away with MVP honors, tallying up 15 points, 10 assists and 5 steals for the East. Iverson’s speed was too much for the West on this night and he used it to find his teammates, particularly when he found LeBron James for a high-flying alley-oop dunk during the first half. Iverson’s unselfish play willed his team to victory on this night, as he received his 2nd All-Star game MVP award.

James and Tim Duncan would each contribute solid performances for their respective conferences as well. LeBron put up 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the East, while Duncan had 15 points and 9 rebounds through 3 quarters. Duncan was rested in the 4th quarter by coach Greg Popovich due to his struggles with injuries and fatigue throughout the first half of the season.

It was Bryant’s 7th All-Star appearance of his career, after being the youngest player ever to play in an All-Star game. With LeBron James’ appearance in this game, he became the second youngest to be voted into the event.

With trade rumors rapidly moving about, the Lakers look to possibly make a trade before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

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The Lakers’ next game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night marks the first time Gary Payton returns to STAPLES Center since being traded this past summer. Click on the link to chat about it in our CL.com Gameday discussion!