"A pair of potential MVP candidates pushed past Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett in fan voting to earn starting spots for the Eastern Conference for the All-Star Game Feb. 20 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Derrick Rose of the Bulls got the nod over Rondo to fill out the backcourt with the Heat's Dwyane Wade. The Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire joins LeBron James of the Heat at forward, and the Magic's Dwight Howard is the center.

Playing in front of the home crowd, Laker Kobe Bryant, the leading vote-getter league-wide, will start for the Western Conference with guard Chris Paul (New Orleans), forwards Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City) and Carmelo Anthony (Denver), and a center of commissioner David Stern's choosing to replace Houston's injured Yao Ming."