Howard leads all players in first All-Star Ballot returns

NEW YORK -- Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat top the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Western Conference after the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint. Howard, the Kia Defensive Player of the Year each of the past three seasons, is the overall leader with 754,737 votes. 

The 2012 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Amway Center in Orlando -- on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah (75,038). James leads Eastern Conference forwards with 640,789 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (496,351) of the New York Knicks. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls leads Eastern Conference guards with 640,476 votes, followed by Miami's Dwyane Wade (637,912).

Bryant's 690,613 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul placing second (540,173). Durant's 633,538 votes lead forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 394,264 votes. The Lakers' Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 496,597 votes, followed by the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan (134,961).

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the first returns of 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint are below:

All-Star Balloting Presented By Sprint | Eastern Conference

Forwards: LeBron James (Mia) 640,789; Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 496,351; Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK) 178,797; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 173,161; Chris Bosh (Mia) 140,601; Paul Pierce (Bos) 94,071; Luol Deng (Chi) 85,086; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 54,739; Carlos Boozer (Chi) 53,477; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 43,154.

Guards: Derrick Rose (Chi) 640,476; Dwyane Wade (Mia) 637,912; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 253,969; Ray Allen (Bos) 174,934; Deron Williams (NJN) 89,128; Jose Calderon (Tor) 42,929; John Wall (Was) 38,025; Richard Hamilton (Chi) 36,418; Kyrie Irving (Cle) 27,713; Joe Johnson (Atl) 23,384.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 754,737; Joakim Noah (Chi) 75,038; Tyson Chandler (NYK) 61,774; Joel Anthony (Mia) 41,832; JaVale McGee (Was) 24,713; Al Horford (Atl) 23,546.

All-Star Balloting Presented By Sprint | Western Conference

Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 633,538; Blake Griffin (LAC) 394,264; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 231,832; Pau Gasol (LAL) 185,428; Kevin Love (Min) 143,814; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 118,268; Tim Duncan (SA) 81,783; Lamar Odom (Dal) 59,686; Metta World Peace (LAL) 39,006; Danilo Gallinari (Den) 34,438.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 690,613; Chris Paul (LAC) 540,173; Ricky Rubio (Min) 133,520; Steve Nash (Pho) 118,922; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 107,197; Kyle Lowry (Hou) 90,725; Monta Ellis (GS) 63,696; Manu Ginobili (SA) 50,765; Jason Kidd (Dal) 49,596; Chauncey Billups (LAC) 42,657.

Centers: Andrew Bynum (LAL) 496,597; DeAndre Jordan (LAC) 134,961; Marc Gasol (Mem) 102,116; Nenê (Den) 94,167; Marcin Gortat (Pho) 62,631; Kendrick Perkins (OKC) 41,579.

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Lakers and Spurs even series 1-1, Thunder up 2-0

(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers came alive following their disappointing playoff opener to grind out an 87-78 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday and level their best-of-seven series 1-1.

The San Antonio Spurs also tied up their first round series 1-1 with the Memphis Grizzlies while the Oklahoma Thunder went 2-0 up over Denver.

The defending champion Lakers were shocked in their series opening loss on Sunday when New Orleans point guard Chris Paul ran riot, but they returned with a strong defensive effort and now head to New Orleans for Game Three on Friday.

Andrew Bynum led the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Lamar Odom added 16 to offset poor performances from Kobe Bryant (11 points) and Pau Gasol (eight).

"I was just trying to be aggressive defensively," Bynum told reporters. "If I play hard defensively, sometimes we get some stops, some good luck and get transition baskets."

Los Angeles established a six-point halftime lead and were up seven after three quarters before stretching their lead to 15 in the fourth where they held off the Hornets.

New Orleans was limited to just 39 percent shooting. Trevor Ariza scored 22 and Paul had 20 for the visitors.

The Spurs, top-seed in the Western Conference, had to once again fight to earn their 93-87 triumph.

They trailed by three points at half-time but were inspired by Argentine shooting guard Manu Ginobli who missed the opening game of the series through injury but returned with 17 points.

But San Antonio kept their cool and George Hill made sure of the win with four points with free throws.

Sam Young top scored for the Grizzlies with 17 points.

The Thunder comfortably took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Denver Nuggets with Kevin Durant scoring 23 points and Russell Westbrook scoring 21 in the 106-89 win.

The Thunder took charge from the outset and had a 26-point lead early in the second quarter as they secured their second win before the series moves to Denver on Saturday for Game Three.

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Los Angeles Lakers scored their 10th win in 11 games over Orlando with a 97-84 victory

(AP) Los Angeles, California-  Pau Gasol scored 23 points and Kobe Bryant added 16 while playing on a sprained left ankle as the Los Angeles Lakers scored their 10th win in 11 games over Orlando with a 97-84 victory.

Andrew Bynum had 10 points, a career high-tying 18 rebounds and four blocks as the two-time defending NBA champions opened a seven-game homestand with another impressive post-All-Star effort.

The Lakers (48-20) also drew virtually even with the Dallas Mavericks (47-19) for second place in the Western Conference standings.

Dwight Howard had 22 points, 15 rebounds and nine turnovers – four more than the entire Lakers squad – for the Magic.

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