Februay 20.2013____________________
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Black History Month
Page
NBA All-Stars (from left) Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant of the West Team, and Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade of the East Team laugh during the first half of the
NBA All-Star basketball game Sunday in Houston. (AP photo)
Kobe Leads
West to
NBA All-
star Win
(AP) - The NBA's career scoring
leader in the All-Star game, Kobe
Bryant has never been just about
offense.
"I'm known for my defense,"
Bryant said. "I can defend. I'm pretty
smart with my defense."
Pretty good, too. Ask LeBron
James.
Bryant blocked James' jumper,
turning it into a dunk by Kevin Durant
that helped the Western Confer­
ence put away the East 143-138 on
Sunday.
Bryant may not leap like Blake
Griffin, but he can still get up when
he needs to, especially when the
defenseless part of the All-Star game
is over and it's time to stop some­
body - even the league's best player.
On Michael Jordan's 50th birth­
day, the players most often com­
pared to him turned the final min­
utes into a 1-on-l duel, and it went
to Bryant - the guy Jordan said he'd
pick between the two based on his
five championship rings. That's one
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