Stars come out to shine

REVISITING THE MOST MEMORABLE ALL-STAR GAME PERFORMANCES IN TEAM HISTORY

The NBA’s midseason showcase hits the Big Easy this weekend. • The league’s All-Star Game will be Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. • For the third consecutive year, James Harden will serve as the Rockets’ lone representative. • Beginning with Don Kojis in in the 1968 All-Star Game, 16 Rockets players have been selected to represent the team during its 50-season history, including the six players — Clyde Drexler, Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rudy Tomjanovich and Yao Ming — whose numbers the franchise has retired. The Rockets have had 35 All-Star starters and on 14 occasions, two or more Rockets have been All-Star selections. • Here’s a look back at some of the most memorable Rockets All-Star performances.

ELVIN HAYES, 1970

Starting as a representative of the then-San Diego Rockets in the game at Philadelphia, Hayes scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds — both game highs — but lost out on MVP honors to New York’s Willis Reed, who scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds to lead the East to a 142-135 win over Hayes and the West.

RUDY TOMJANOVICH, 1979

For the only time, three Rockets played in the All-Star Game, which was played at the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit. More than a year after his life-threatening injuries suffered at the hands of Kermit Washington’s infamous punch, Rudy Tomjanovich started for the East, which lost 134-129. He scored 12 points and had six rebounds. Moses Malone also started and had eight points and seven rebounds. Calvin Murphy made the lone appearance of his career and scored six points in a reserve role.