Surge makes Leonard, Lowry starters

NEW YORK — Kobe Bryant was the leading vote-getter for his final NBA All-Star Game, and Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry made late moves to join him as starters.

Leonard will start in his first All-Star Game, and Lowry will start on his home court in Toronto after both made up ground in the final days of voting.

Nobody was catching Bryant, who had 1.9 million votes and was selected an All-Star for the 18th time.

“It’ll be a special AllStar Game because this is Kobe’s last run,” Miami’s Dwyane Wade said.

MVP Stephen Curry of Golden State was next with 1.6 million. He and Bryant will be joined in the Western Conference lineup by Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and by Leonard, the San Antonio star who was more than 12,000 votes behind Golden State’s Draymond Green for the last frontcourt spot after the most recent returns.

Cleveland’s LeBron James and Indiana’s Paul George will start in the East frontcourt with New York’s Carmelo Anthony, who held off Chicago’s Pau Gasol by 360 votes.

Wade starts at guard with Lowry, who overcame a 32,000-vote deficit to Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving after the last update.

The reserves will be named by the head coaches in each conference and announced next Thursday.

Bryant, who is retiring after the season, will finish one behind Kareem AbdulJabbar for most All-Star selections. He is a fourtime All-Star Game MVP and the career leader with 280 points in the game — though James is just two points behind.

Bryant was atop the voting from the start, but Leonard had to come from behind. He finished 14,000 votes ahead of Dallas center Zaza Pachulia for the final West frontcourt spot. Leonard joins Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to be selected an All-Star, NBA Finals MVP and NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Lowry surged past Wade last year, and this time his late charge put him alongside Wade to give the Raptors a starter in the first All-Star Game held outside the U.S.