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Instead of Westbrook, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry
and James Harden of the Houston Rockets were selected as the
starting guards for the Western Conference in voting by fans,
current players and the media.
Curry, the league's Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016, will
make his fourth All-Star appearance while Harden, averaging 28.9
points this season, gets the nod for a fifth time.
The other Western Conference starters were Oklahoma City's Kevin
Durant, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans
Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.
Durant, a seven-time All-Star, is averaging 26.2 points and a
career-high 8.6 rebounds this season while Leonard, Defensive
Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, is averaging a career-best
24.8 points for the Spurs.
The Eastern Conference starters are LeBron James of the reigning
champion Cleveland Cavaliers, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls,
dynamic 22-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee
Bucks, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and Kyrie Irving of
the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James, who led the Cavaliers to a comeback win from a 3-1
deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals, is averaging 25.6 points this
season, and will be making his 13th All-Star appearance.
The All-Star Game will be played in New Orleans at the Smoothie
King Center on Feb. 19.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in St. Augustine, Florida;
Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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