ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Playing about 20 miles west from where he was a high school star, Dallas native Chris Bosh looked right at home in the All-Star game Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium.
“It is a really good feeling to be an All-Star year in and year out,” said Bosh, who hit two free throws with 5 seconds left to give the East a 141-139 victory. “But to be an All-Star in my hometown, it’s been great for me.”
The Toronto star, a five-time All-Star selection, had 23 points and 10 rebounds playing in his favorite football team’s stadium.
He entered the game with 5:44 left in the first quarter. Bosh drove for a dunk 8 seconds later and hit all three of his shots in the first quarter.
Bosh finished things off with two of his more memorable free throws.
“First off, I just wanted to make them,” Bosh said. “We got a shot at the end. We all wanted to win the game, obviously.”
icks each season.
This isn’t Bosh’s first experience at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. He was in attendance for the first regular-season game at the stadium Sept. 20 when the Cowboys hosted the New York Giants.
Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams, who played in high school at The Colony in suburban Dallas, had 14 points in six assists in 28 minutes.
“It was one of the most memorable games I’ve ever played in my life,” Williams said.
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AMARE TRADE RUMORS: Phoenix star Amare Stoudemire has been mentioned in trade rumors, including several reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have zeroed in on the five-time All-Star.
“Right now, I’m a Phoenix Sun,” Stoudemire said. “If anything changes, I’ll play and act the same way.”
Stoudemire had 12 points and 10 rebounds as a West starter. Afterward, most of the questions he took from reporters were about his possible move to join LeBron James and Co.
“I haven’t heard nothing solid,” Stoudemire said. “I plan on traveling to Memphis with the Suns and playing the Grizzlies.”
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PAUL WATCHES AGAIN: Chris Paul was a spectator once again Sunday at Cowboys Stadium.
The New Orleans point guard, who had surgery on his left knee Feb. 4, watched the game in a suit and tie from the Western Conference bench.
ed the Dallas Cowboys’ game against San Diego on Dec. 13, a day before they played the Mavericks in Dallas.
The three-time All-Star would have preferred to be part of the action on Sunday.
“It’s tough,” Paul said. “I definitely wanted to be out there with the top players in the league. But it’s still a huge honor. It’s always good to be recognized.”
Paul has been working out in hopes of getting back on the court. He was working out last Sunday when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl. With the Saints having won their first Super Bowl, does that put extra pressure on the NBA’s Hornets to win a title of their own?
No way, Paul says.
“If anything, it helps us,” Paul said. “I guess you have to be in New Orleans to understand. It’s unlike any other place. It’s one big family. Everybody is so tight. The Saints and the Hornets are one big family. We support the Saints, they support us.”
The Hornets will need Paul at full strength if they want to have a chance to reach the same heights as the Saints.
Paul is expected to be out another three to five weeks.
“I’m happy the injury isn’t as bad as it could have been,” Paul said.
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NO SHAQ, NO KOBE: The All-Star game was played without both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal for the first time since 1997.
rookie in 1997. This would have been Bryant’s 12th straight All-Star appearance if he had played.
O’Neal was selected to the squad as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1997, but he did not participate in that game.
This was only the second time in O’Neal’s 18-year career he wasn’t chosen to play in the All-Star game.
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KICK BACK AND ENJOY: When the players weren’t in the game, they were lounging in plush recliners stitched with the All-Star logo that looked as if they belonged in someone’s media room instead of near a basketball court.
When LeBron James took his first breather with 2:50 left, he kicked back in the recliner and stretched his feet onto the elevated court.
“We didn’t want to get up,” Orlando center Dwight Howard said. “They were so comfortable.”
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QUICK HITS: Saturday night’s All-Star broadcast on TNT was the second most-watched night in the event’s 25-year history, delivering a 3.1 U.S. household rating, nearly 5.5 million total viewers and 3.6 million households. Last season’s event is the most watched in the league’s history. … Dwight Howard hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter. He is 1 of 16 in his career in the regular season. … LeBron James scored 25 points and is averaging 23.7 points in six All-Star games, the highest among active players.
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