NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Orlando's Dwight Howard and the LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant were the leaders in votes when the NBA announced its all-star game starters Thursday night.
Howard, the Magic's center and last year's all-star dunk champion, led all vote-getters with 3,150,181 votes, becoming the first player in balloting history to receive more than 3 million votes.
Rounding out the Eastern Conference's starting five are forwards Kevin Garnett of Boston and LeBron James of Cleveland, and guards Allen Iverson of Detroit and Dwyane Wade of Miami.
Garnett led all vote-getters last year, and will make his 12th all-star appearance.
Bryant led all Western Conference vote-getters with 2,805,397 votes, beating San Antonio forward Tim Duncan (2,578,168) and Houston center Yao Ming (2,532,958).
Also starting for the West are New Orleans guard Chris Paul and Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire.
Bryant, still just 30 years old, will make his 11th NBA All-Star game appearance when the contest is played Sunday Feb. 15 in Phoenix.
