LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James racked up a silky-smooth triple-double. Kevin Durant dropped 34 points in 30 minutes. Amare Stoudemire slammed and jammed his way through Staples Center to 29 points.
They still couldn’t beat Kobe Bryant to his latest trophy.
The Lakers guard was well aware he would tie Bob Pettit’s NBA record if he could win his fourth All-Star game MVP award on Sunday night, and he went after it with aggression from the opening tip. The All-Stars deferred to Bryant for much of the night, and he delivered in front of his Hollywood fans.
Bryant got the history he sought, but immediately focused his eyes on his next prize.
And LeBron, K.D. and the Boston Celtics won’t make it nearly as easy to claim his sixth championship ring.
