West stars dominate East 146-119

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 2/19/2009

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — Who said Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant could not play together? Obviously that was yesterday's news. They had to be separated in Los Angeles years ago after winning three NBA titles together, but they can still dominate in their respective areas outside and inside.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns combined to score 44 points, dominating the inside and outside just like the good old days when they were with the Lakers, as the West All-Stars ran away from the East 146-119 in the 58th Annual NBA All-Star game.

Bryant led all scores with 27 points and four steals, while O'Neal had 17 points and five rebounds, making eight of nine shots. The two future Hall of Famers shared the game's Most Valuable Player award.

The West stars dominated in the paint, scoring 96 points as Bryant and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets continually broke down the East stars defensively, leading to easy buckets. Paul scored 14 points and dished out a game-high 14 assists. Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix added 19 points, while Tony Parker, Brandon Roy, and Paul Gasol each scored 14 points for the West.

The East stars were led by LeBron James of Cleveland with 19 points and Dwyane Wade of Miami with 18.

The West stars shot a blistering 61 percent from the field and dominated the glass, out-rebounding the East 51-38. The East stars also committed 18 turnovers to help ignite many fast breaks for the West.

The NBA, as always, brought together the biggest stars from the entertainment and music industries to celebrate and support the best basketball players in the world. The game was a complete sellout with 16,382 fans on hand.

Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-record er.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzger ald.com.