Kobe Bryant put on a spectacular show in the show capital of the world as the NBA held its annual gala mid-season weekend bash known as the All-Star Weekend.
Bryant scored 31 points on Sunday night as the Western Conference wiped out the East for a 153-132 victory in the 56th NBA All-Star Game at the Thomas and Mack Center.
For his sparkling efforts, Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers took the Most Valuable Player honors for the second time in his career.
"It feels great," said Bryant, who also lifted the trophy in 2002. "I wanted to come out, play hard and have a good showing. It felt good to come to Las Vegas and play. We had a great time. We had a great weekend."
Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, who added 20 points and nine rebounds in his first NBA All-Star Game, agreed with the voting.
"Kobe played great tonight," the league's top scorer said. "He deserved it. He played hard, he scored, he did everything he could out there, plus we won."
Amare Stoudemire had 29 points while his Phoenix Suns teammate Shawn Marion added in 18 for the West, which led by as many as 33 points in the wipeout.
The West had dropped the last two mid-season extravaganzas but snapped the modest streak by falling just two points of matching the all-time scoring record while pulling to within 35-21 in the all-time series.
"Obviously, we played pretty well," Western Conference coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It was just they came out wanting to win. They had the energy, and Kobe set the tone early."
The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James led the East, which trailed virtually the entire game, with 28 points while Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic collected 20 points and 12 rebounds.
"They came out early and were hitting on all cylinders, and we weren't," said Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, who had 10 points and six steals.
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