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Injury replacements Okur, Allen selected as All-Stars

Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur, right, of Turkey, keeps New York Knicks center Eddy Curry in check during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game on Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah. Okur was selected as an All-Star injury replacement on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

Turkish forward Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz and Seattle Super-Sonics guard Ray Allen were selected on Tuesday to play as injury replacements in Sunday's National Basketball Association All-Star Game.

NBA commissioner David Stern named both players to the Western Conference team for the annual All-Star classic on Sunday in Las Vegas. He has named four of the 12-man roster for the West due to injuries.

Allen and Okur were selected to replace guards Steve Nash of Phoenix and Allen Iverson of Denver, who are sidelined by injuries.

Canada's Nash has a sore right shoulder while Iverson has a sprained right ankle.

Last week, Stern selected Denver forward Carmelo Anthony and Dallas' Josh Howard as injury replacements.

Allen took a place on his seventh All-Star squad. He is averaging a career-best 26.9 points, ranking seventh among NBA scorers despite missing 10 games earlier this season with an ankle bone bruise.

Okur will make his All-Star Game debut. He is averaging a career-high 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Okur gives Utah an All-Star player after Carlos Boozer was forced out due to injury.
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