NEW YORK – Blake Griffin is going to his first All-Star game and Kevin Garnett matched an NBA record Thursday with his 14th straight selection as one of a record-tying four Boston Celtics headed to the midseason event.
Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will accompany Garnett, who equaled Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone for the most consecutive selections. The Celtics joined the 2006 Detroit Pistons as the only teams to have four players picked as reserves by the coaches.
Additional Photos
Griffin, the Rookie of the Year favorite of the Clippers, will become the first rookie All-Star since Yao Ming in 2003. Joining Griffin on the Western Conference team for the Feb. 20 game at Staples Center in Los Angeles were Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili of the NBA-leading Spurs, forwards Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Pau Gasol of the Lakers and guards Deron Williams of Utah and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, who joins Griffin as the lone first-time selections.
Chris Bosh will go with Miami teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who were elected as starters. The other East reserves picked were Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
The reserves were selected in voting by the head coaches in each conference, who had to vote for two forwards, two guards, a center and two players regardless of position.
They went for the winning teams in the East, whose reserves are represented by just three teams.
The voting was much more difficult in the West, where coaches bypassed the likes of Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph and Lamar Odom at the forward spot.
“There haven’t been too many times where you’ve had this kind of competition at the top of the Eastern Conference with such good teams,” Wade said. “So looking at the All-Star team, you understand that most guys are going to be from a few teams. That’s how it should be in the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference is a different argument.”
Tony Parker missed out despite being the second-leading scorer on the Spurs. Veteran Steve Nash of the Suns and Golden State’s Monta Ellis, the league’s sixth-leading scorer, also fell short.
“I think every year it’s hard for point guards to make it because there are so many great point guards in this league, especially in the West,” Williams said. “There are always young guys that are coming into the league and it’s going to continue to be a fight every year. That’s another reason I feel so honored.”
The starters were chosen by fan voting and announced last week. Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire are the other East starters, while the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, Hornets guard Chris Paul, forwards Carmelo Anthony of Denver and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, and Houston center Yao were the winners from the West.
Yao is injured and Commissioner David Stern will choose a replacement.
But the coaches couldn’t overlook Griffin, even though the Clippers are also below .500. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft has been spectacular after sitting out last season following knee surgery, averaging 23 points and 12.7 rebounds.
The East will be coached by Boston’s Doc Rivers, who said earlier Thursday he hoped his four players would be rewarded and said he would play them all together.
“That way we can run offense in the All-Star game,” Rivers said. “That’d be a first.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.