West manhandles East: Legendary partners share All-Star glory

PHOENIX – Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 27 points and Shaquille O’Neal made his way back onto the All-Star stage with 17 in just 11 minutes as the Western Conference beat the East, 146-119, Sunday night.

Back on the same team for the first time in nearly five years, the three-time champions shared the game MVP award. They helped the West get untracked after an awful start, then teamed up for a few buckets that helped blow it open in the third quarter.

It was their first time on the floor as teammates since the 2004 NBA finals. O’Neal was traded to Miami that summer, breaking apart a duo that produced three straight titles but was perhaps better known for its frequent feuding that made the breakup inevitable.

“It felt like flashbacks,” O’Neal said during a TV interview. “It felt like ‘99 to ‘02.”

Bryant and O’Neal shared a slight hug after being announced as MVPs, then playfully fought over the trophy which commissioner David Stern handed to them.

Amare Stoudemire scored 19 for the West, which bounced back from its loss last year in New Orleans, when Bryant was limited to just a few minutes of action while resting a dislocated pinkie finger.

LeBron James led the East with 20 points. Paul Pierce and Dwyane Wade each scored 18.

O’Neal missed the All-Star game last year after 14 straight selections, and he brought back his unmatched entertaining abilities. Players were introduced on a stage behind the Jabbawockeez, a hip-hop dance group. O’Neal, the last reserve to come out, was wearing one of their masks and boogied along with them before taking his spot on the court.

“That was freestyle,” O’Neal said.

The weekend festivities were a welcome distraction for Phoenix basketball fans, whose disappointing Suns were apparently in the process of dismantling their team while the fun was going on around them.

Phoenix coach Terry Porter will be fired Monday and replaced by assistant Alvin Gentry, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke Sunday night on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made.

The changes may not stop there.

Stoudemire, who started for the West, is the biggest name involved in trade rumors ahead of next week’s deadline. Just in case he won’t be seen again for a while, Stoudemire earned a pair of loud ovations before the game from the celebrity-filled crowd that included Muhammad Ali, plus Sen. John McCain sitting four seats away from Spike Lee.   (AP)