Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry thanks fans for all-star voting surge

Bryant led all players with almost 1.89 million fan votes, nearly 300,000 more than second-placed Stephen Curry, earning him the right to be one of the five Western Conference starters for the league’s annual exhibition.

Kobe Bryant will be starting alongside Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook.

Remembering the night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points: Time flies when you score 81 points. “I look forward toward hopefully being healthy and going out there and playing well”. Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry (7) takes off up court after stealing the ball from Brooklyn Nets’ Donald Sloan, left, during second half National Basketball Association action in Toronto, Canada, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016.

“Everybody was calling”, said Miami’s Dwyane Wade. The Lakers continue to lose with regularity and Friday’s 108-95 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs was the team’s fifth straight and ninth in their last 10 games. Bryant has said he will retire after this season. “It’s weird. As a player, you hear and feel the energy, and you just have to ride that wave without really stepping outside of yourself and appreciating the moment, because you don’t want to lose your rhythm”.

Anybody who has played video games can recall an experience where they felt helpless against video game Artificial Intelligence or ‘AI, ‘ and that is how Villanueva felt against Kobe that night.

Paul George, Indiana Pacers (3rd All-Star selection) – George has cooled after a hot start, but his numbers are still impressive for a guy who missed most of last season after that devastating leg injury in 2014. It’s wholly unsurprising that he was voted as a starter in the West considering his worldwide fame and notoriety, but it’s also hard to deny that he hasn’t been particularly effective for the Lakers in terms of production in his final season. The Trail Blazers won the first two meetings by an average of 13 points and have won each of the past five games by double digits.2.

In this day and age, when ticket prices are skyrocketing and coaches rest their best players with greater regularity, the least the National Basketball Association can do is let its audience-the one that’s turned the league into a business worth upwards of $5 billion-have some say in who plays one night per year.

Lakers Coach Byron Scott has a similar response after his team’s practice on Thursday – first reflecting how he’d handle a red-hot Bryant as a player.

It goes without saying it will be special to start an all -tar game in the city he represents and with DeRozan expected to be voted in as a backup Thursday, it will mark the first time in Raptors franchise history two players have been selected by coaches, and/or fans, to play in the same game.

Bryant is a four-time MVP and the leading scorer (280 points) in All-Star Game history. In recent memory, only Carmelo Anthony came close with his 62-point effort against Charlotte a few years ago.

“Putting the team on his back” is one of the most misused cliches, but Bryant’s performance against the Raptors is an exception.

“I felt bad for Sam Mitchell”, said Scott.