LeBron, Giannis named All-Star captains as starters revealed
FORWARDS LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo repeated as captains for next month's NBA All-Star Game, the league announced Thursday, with the NBA also revealing the 10 players who will start.
The All-Star Game will pit Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis on Feb. 16 at the United Center in Chicago.
As captains of the teams, both James and Antetokounmpo will get to select their own teams regardless of conference or team affiliation, with the televised draft occurring on Feb. 6.
Joining James, who moved into third place alltime among career All-Star selections with 16, among frontcourt starters named from Western Conference teams are his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis (seventh All-Star berth) and L.A. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (fourth).
The starting guards from the West are Houston Rockets eight-time All-Star James Harden and the 20-year-old Doncic (first) of the Dallas
Mavericks.
Among Eastern Conference starters, Antetokounmpo is accompanied by frontcourt members Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (third AllStar appearance) and the Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam (first).
The East guards who will start are Kemba Walker (fourth) of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young (first) of the Atlanta Hawks.
James, who has helped the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in basketball (35-9 entering Thursday), held off a charge from the secondyear phenom Doncic as the top vote-getter by fans in the Western Conference.
It marks the third straight year that James, averaging 25.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and an NBA-best 10.8 assists per game this season, has led all players in All-Star votes.
The only players who have received more All-Star selections than James are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (18).
With his 16th start, James will top the mark he currently shares with Bryant.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks star and reigning NBA MVP Antetokounmpo topped all Eastern Conference players among fan votes.
Antetokounmpo ranks second in the league in scoring (30.0 points per game) and is tied for fifth in rebounds (12.9 per game).
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters. All current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 percent of the vote, with every voter completing one full ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference.
The All-Star reserves will be announced on Jan. 30. LeBron has triple-double as Lakers dump Nets
LeBron James totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 128-113 victory over the struggling Brooklyn Nets Thursday night in New York.
James posted his 91st career triple-double and 10th this season as the Lakers won for the 12th time in 14 games in front of a crowd that featured former President Bill Clinton and many Los Angeles fans.
James exited to a standing ovation from many fans after checking out for good with 4:42 remaining and the Lakers up 23.
James shot 11 of 19 from the floor as the Lakers shot 50 percent overall and hit a season-high 19 3-pointers.
James ended the game at 33,626 points, 17 behind Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time scoring list. His first chance at passing Bryant will be Saturday in Philadelphia.
Anthony Davis added 16 points and 11 rebounds to help the Lakers to a 52-41 rebounding margin. Kyle Kuzma also added 16 as the Lakers got 55 points from their bench.
Dwight Howard also posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Danny Green hit four 3-pointers and contributed 14 points.
Kyrie Irving scored 20 points but it was not enough as the Nets dropped their fifth straight game and fell to 2-12 in their last 14 games.
Taurean Prince added 18 while Caris LeVert contributed 16 as the Nets shot 44 percent and lost despite hitting 21 3-pointers. Wizards blow by Cavs behind Beal’s 36
Bradley Beal scored 36 points as the visiting Washington Wizards posted a 124-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Beal made 15 of 22 shots, one night after going 16 of 24 during a 38-point performance in the Wizards’ 134-129 overtime loss at Miami.
Davis Bertans scored 17 points to avenge a porous performance in Washington’s 113-100 loss to Cleveland on Nov. 8. Bertans made just 2 of 10 shots in that contest, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
Ish Smith chipped in 17 points for the Wizards, who shot 55.3 percent from the field (47 of 85) and 44.4 percent from 3-point range (16 of 36) to improve to 6-18 on the road this season.
Collin Sexton highlighted his 29-point performance by making 10 of 15 shots from the floor for the Cavaliers, who have lost six in a row and 11 of their last 13 games.
Larry Nance Jr. collected a career-high-tying 22 points along with 12 rebounds while Kevin Love added 21 points for Cleveland.