West Wins Thrilling 2012 NBA All-Star Game As Kevin Durant Takes MVP Honors

Instead, the East fell, 152-149. Is it any surprise that the Cleveland Plain Dealer took note of James’ shortcomings? Tom Reed writes that LeBron passed despite Kobe Bryant chiding him for doing so:

ORLANDO, FL -- It all happened on the same weekend as the Oscars this year, and that makes sense. NBA All-Star Weekend is nothing if not “Hollywood as hell,” so it’s only appropriate that LeBron James was at the center of it all this year. If nothing else, All-Star Weekend was a reminder that this is LeBron’s league now.

Today’s superstars dress like LeBron -- all in plaid button-downs you’d expect to see at a ski lodge, with hipster glasses you’d expect to see in Park Slope. They talk like LeBron -- no generation of superstars has ever been better with the media. And when the camera pans to superstars on the court or in the front row for the dunk contest, they’re all joking around with LeBron. They act like LeBron, too. It’s no coincidence that two years after LeBron turned the NBA on its head, the biggest story hanging in Orlando is whether Dwight Howard will leave the host city this summer.

Kobe Bryant was made to bleed his own blood early in the second half of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, but remained in the game, as one does when he is the recipient of a hard foul in an NBA All-Star Game. But Brian J. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Bryant is experiencing headaches and will be further evaluated as a result.

Presumably, any further evaluation of Bryant will be in regards to a possible concussion, as enduring headaches are symptoms consistent with a concussion.

Kobe finished with 27 points, and in the third quarter broke Michael Jordan’s career All-Star scoring record. For the East squad, Dwyane Wade finished with the third triple-double in All-Star history, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Durant isn’t the youngest NBA All-Star MVP ever -- LeBron won it in 2006 at the age of 21. Durant is 23.

The last four minutes of the game were wild and competitive. LeBron hit two monster three-pointers late, and missed a third that would have set the world on collapsing unto itself. But he had a bad turnover with the East down three in the closing seconds. He tried to hit Wade with a cross-court pass after an offensive rebound by Deron Williams, but saw the ball intercepted.

That play came shortly after Wade mishandled an outlet pass. Here’s a clip with both turnovers.

However, he wisely thought better of it, letting Westbrook throw down a monster tomahawk dunk.

The only real question is, in five years, whether people will say “he put you on a poster” or “he put you on a .gif.”

With the East all of a sudden locking down defensively, a competitive basketball game has miraculously broken out.

The record for most points by a team in an All-Star Game is 155, executed by the West in 2003. The West broke the record for most points in a half in the first half of this game with 88. Wade is looking to join Jordan and LeBron as the third player to register an All-Star triple-double.

For full coverage of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, follow our StoryStream.

We have video of the foul below the jump.

At the time of the foul, Kobe was two points behind Michael Jordan for the record for career points in NBA All-Star Games. Bryant hit both free throws and should own the record sometime soon.

Jordan scored 262 points in 14 career All-Star Games. Kobe actually entered the game fourth in career ASG scoring, behind MJ, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. Kobe also has a record-tying four All-Star MVPs to his name, a mark he shares with legend Bob Pettit. Kobe hopes to break that this season. He was the MVP in 2011 in Los Angeles.

Kobe scored the first bucket of Sunday’s game and had eight points in the first four minutes.

As expected, the NBA All-Star Game has already turned into a de facto dunk contest. Well, for everyone except Kobe Bryant, who’s still sticking to his Kobe System and getting his shots in. But on the other end of the floor, LeBron James is putting on a show, and has probably already won the dunk contest.

Here’s LeBron giving the ball up with a behind-the-back pass, then jamming an alley-oop home. Pretty much sums up the game so far.

Four of five of the East starters danced and had fun during introductions to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game. I’ll let you guess which one did not dance.

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James will be going for the third MVP trophy of his career, and the first since the 2008 season. Bryant has won the title twice in that span, including last year’s honors with a 37-point performance in a 148-143 West win. Howard is among the favorites despite never having won the title.

Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Derrick Rose trail with 7/1, 9/1, and 9/1 odds, respectively. Despite winning MVP in 2010, Dwyane Wade was given just 12/1 odds before the game. Among the starters, Andrew Bynum was given the lowest odds at 20/1, just edging out the 18/1 given to Carmelo Anthony.

The NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show is guaranteed to be a real good time. Pitbull will be there, so of course it will be.

Pitbull and Ne-Yo will team up for the All-Star Game halftime show to perform “Give Me Everything,” which you’ve heard on the radio 5,000 times in the past six months. Once more can’t hurt at this point. Various “special guest performers” are promised for this year as well in what has become an annual tradition.

Other than the bright pink tie, Craig Sager is wearing a relatively tame ensemble for the All-Star Game. Darryl Dawkins, however, went full Don Cherry for the festivities, breaking out one of the more ridiculous suits you’ll see. All-Star Game fashion is always very neat!

First, Sager’s entry:

When the 2012 NBA All-Star Game tips off on Sunday in Amway Center in Orlando, FL, the Eastern Conference All-Stars will be looking to avenge last year’s 148-143 loss to the Western Conference All-Stars.

Here’s a look at the players who will be representing the East.

The NBA All-Star Game is always fun, and there are always a lot of people who watch it on television. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to play this game in the middle of a lockout-shortened season, but here we are at All-Star Weekend. Some All-Stars played intense, competitive games on Thursday, and many of them will resume competitive games on Tuesday.

Will that affect the pace and competitiveness of the game, relative to past All-Star games? It’s possible, sure, but it’s more likely that there’s just even less defense than there usually is in All-Star games. This probably means even more showtime dunks, and that probably isn’t a bad thing.