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LeBron not an All-Star

Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James, right, drives against Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton during the second quarter in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

LeBron James missed the cut Tuesday in voting for All-Star reserves, finishing behind Eastern Conference guards Paul Pierce, Michael Redd, Baron Davis and Jason Kidd.

"Being selected to the All-Star team, it wouldn't be nothing new to me," James said Tuesday before the 14 reserves were announced. "I've been on All-Star teams my whole life. That's just how I play the game of basketball."

The league's 29 coaches selected the reserves.

Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers was among the Western Conference reserves for the league's showcase event Feb. 15 in Los Angeles.

Other All-Star reserves for the West are: Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller of Sacramento, Sam Cassell of Minnesota, Andrei Kirilenko of Utah and Ray Allen of Seattle.

The other East reserves are: Jamaal Magliore of New Orleans, Ron Artest of Indiana and Kenyon Martin of New Jersey.

Redd is averaging 22.1 points for the surprising Milwaukee Bucks, Pierce is the league's sixth-leading scorer (22.9) for Boston, Davis of New Orleans had the league's fifth-highest average (23.2), and Kidd has led New Jersey to first place in the Atlantic Division.

Starters for the league's 53rd All-Star game, selected in fan balloting, are: Vince Carter of Toronto, Tracy McGrady of Orlando, Ben Wallace of Detroit, Jermaine O'Neal of Indiana, Allen Iverson of Philadelphia for the East; Yao Ming of Houston, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Steve Francis of Houston and Tim Duncan of San Antonio for the West.

Minnesota's Flip Saunders will coach the West, and Rick Carlisle of the Pacers will coach the East.

James is averaging 20.8 points, 5.9 assists and 5.9 rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose surge of six victories in eight games has moved them into contention for a playoff spot in the East.

James is 13th in the NBA in scoring and 12th in assists, averaging 24.1 points since Cleveland traded Ricky Davis to Boston in mid-December. James, Pierce, Allen and McGrady are the only players averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Coaches had to choose a center, two forwards, two guards and two others regardless of position. They could not vote for their own players.

"I'd be very excited about it, but if it [doesn't] happen it's not the end of the world," James said after the Cavs' morning shootaround in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Cleveland coach Paul Silas said he had expected James to make the Eastern team.

"He's put up the kind of numbers that warrants that. We're beginning to win and that's also a major factor," Silas said.

Other players having strong seasons who did not make the All-Stars include: Mike Bibby of Sacramento, Latrell Sprewell of Minnesota, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton of Detroit, Michael Finley of Dallas and Zach Randolph of Portland.

Knicks 97, Pacers 90

Two of Isiah Thomas' acquisitions, Penny Hardaway and Stephon Marbury, made several big plays down the stretch Tuesday to lead the New York Knicks past the Pacers 97-90, ending Indiana's three-game winning streak.

"I knew he [Thomas] wanted this win real badly. We definitely did not want to let him down," Hardaway said. "I think he wanted to see how we were going to respond to a good team coming in here and see what we were going to do, and I think we stepped up to the challenge."

Hardaway had 14 points, including a clinching jumper with 17.2 seconds remaining, and Marbury had 23 points and eight assists. Keith Van Horn outplayed Ron Artest at small forward and had 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, and Kurt Thomas added 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Artest had 19 points for the Pacers, who were coached by Thomas the past three seasons. Thomas was fired in August by new team president Larry Bird, and this was his former team's first time playing in his presence since it was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last spring.

``It's not about me, it's about the players, and they played well tonight,'' Thomas said. ``I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Pacers, they're a great team.

Cavaliers 85, Pistons 82

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Carlos Boozer helped make up for LeBron James' poor shooting performance with 21 points and 15 rebounds, leading Cleveland over Detroit.

James shot 5-of-19 for 12 points.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and Jeff McInnis added 11 points for the Cavaliers, who have won seven of nine.

Chauncey Billups, who missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, had 19 points for the Pistons. Richard Hamilton had 18, Tayshaun Prince added 13 and Ben Wallace had 17 rebounds, five blocks and five points.
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