Bryant Surpasses Jordan As Leading Career All-Star Scorer
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS) -- Kobe Bryant took Michael Jordan's record, but nearly lost the game to LeBron James, as well as the Buls' Derrick Rose and first-time All-Star Luol Deng, as the West held off a furious comeback by the East to win the NBA All-Star game 152-149 Sunday.
Bryant scored 27 points, moving past Jordan as the career scoring leader in the game. Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant had 36, and Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook finished with 21.
James and the East cut a 21-point deficit to one in the closing seconds, but weren't able to move in front. James had 36 points and fellow Heat star Dwyane Wade finished with a triple-double.
Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau was at the helm of the East team. But Rose played just 18 minutes, sitting out the entire second and fourth quarters.
Deng only played the final six minutes of the first quarter and didn't return. An assist to Wade was his lone highlight.
"Going there we had talked about, you know, not playing a lot of minutes," Thibodeau said. "We wanted to limit what Derrick was doing, and also Luol, so we just wanted to play it safe."
Rose finished with 14 points and three assists.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant scored 36 points for the west, and was named the MVP. Bryant added 27 points, unfazed by a hard foul in which he drew blood from his nose. He moved past Michael Jordan as the career scoring leader in the game.
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert had three points and three rebounds for the East.
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