News from January 18. The All-Star Starters were announced. The starters were determined by a combination of fan, player and media votes. The players were ranked for each voting list and then the formula of ((fan rank X 2) + player rank + media rank) / 4 was applied with the top 3 forwards and top 2 guards in each conferences getting the start position. The Western Conference starters are: Kevin Durant (GS), Anthony Davis (NO), DeMarcus Cousins (NO), Stephen Curry (GS), and James Harden (Hou). The Eastern Conference starters are: LeBron James (Cle), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Mil), Joel Embiid (Phi), Kyrie Irving (Cle), and DeMar DeRozan (Tor). The All-Star game will take place February 18 in Los Angeles. The reserves will be announced on January 23. In a new format, instead of the East playing the West, as top fan voters for each conference James and Curry are the captains of the two teams and each will select their teams from first the starters and then the reserves with James picking first as having received more votes. [Top 10 voting results listed at the end.] The NBA suspended Arron Afflalo (Orl) for 2 games for throwing a punch at Nemanja Bjelica (Min) during Tuesday's Orl-Min game Boston activated Kadeem Allen and Abdel Nadeer and placed Kyrie Irving (sore left shoulder) and Guerschon Yabusele (ill) on IL. Cleveland activated Derrick Rose and placed Ante Zizic on IL. Houston activated James Harden, Troy Williams, and Nene and placed Chinanu Onuaku (sinus surgery) and Markel Brown on IL. Philadelphia placed Richaun Holmes (gastroenteritis) and Demetrius Jackson on IL. Phi 89, Bos 80 at Bos Joel Embiid (Phi) had 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dario Saric (Phi) had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. T.J. McConnell (Phi) had 15 points and 3 steals. Marcus Smart (Bos) had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Marcus Morris (Bos) had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Cle 104, Orl 103 at Cle Isaiah Thomas (Cle) had 21 points including 3-10 3-pointers and the game winning free throws with 11.2 seconds left. LeBron James (Cle) had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. Kevin Love (Cle) had 12 points including 3-10 FG and 1-6 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. Elfrid Payton (Orl) had 19 points and 8 assists. Aaron Gordon (Orl) had 17 points including 7-20 FG and 2-10 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. Hou 116, Min 98 at Hou Clint Capela (Hou) had 20 points including 7-9 FG and 5 rebounds. Chris Paul (Hou) had 19 points including 4-8 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. Eric Gordon (Hou) had 30 points including 11-19 FG and 7-13 3-pointers. Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) had 22 points including 1-7 3-pointers, 16 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Jimmy Butler (Min) had 23 points. Trevor Ariza (Hou, suspended) and Gerald Green (Hou, suspended) did not play. Por 100, Ind 86 at Por Jusuf Nurkic (Por) had 19 points and 17 rebounds. Damian Lillard (Por) had 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. C.J. McCollum (Por) had 16 points on 6-18 FG and 4-10 3-pointers. Victor Oladipo (Ind) had 23 points including 1-9 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Darren Collison (Ind) had 23 points on 9-14 FG and 5-6 3-pointers. All-Star voting (top 10) Western Conference Forwards and Centers Score Fan Player Media Kevin Durant (GS) 1.0 1 1 1 Anthony Davis (NO) 2.5 3 2 2 DeMarcus Cousins (NO) 3.75 4 3 4 Draymond Green (GS) 4.25 2 7 6 LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 5.75 8 4 3 Paul George (OKC) 5.75 5 6 7 Karl-Anthony Towns (Min) 6.75 9 5 4 Kawhi Leonard (SA) 8.0 6 8 Carmelo Anthony (OKC) 10.25 7 9 Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 10.25 10 12 Fan | Players | Media Kevin Durant (OKC) 2,238,406 | Kevin Durant (GS) 204 | K. Durant (GS) 98 Draymond Green (GS) 1,135,478 | Anthony Davis (NO) 150 | A.Davis (NO) 73 Anthony Davis (NO) 1,088,230 | D. Cousins (NO) 114 | L.Aldridge(SA) 40 DeMarcus Cousins (NO) 922,269 | L. Aldridge (SA) 65 | D Cousins (NO) 34 Paul George (OKC) 881,287 | Karl-A. Towns (Min) 58 | C.Towns (Min) 34 Kawhi Leonard (SA) 741,838 | Paul George (OKC) 48 | D. Green (GS) 13 Carmelo Anthony (OKC) 612,021 | Draymond Green (GS) 41 | P.George (OKC) 4 LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 323,814 | Kawhi Leonard (SA) 34 | C.Capela (Hou) 1 Karl-A. Towns (Min) 552,376 | C. Anthony (OKC) 29 | Kyle Kuzma (LAL) 524,927 | Steven Adams (OKC) 10 | Guards Score Fan Player Media Stephen Curry (GS) 1.25 1 1 2 James Harden (Ho) 2.25 2 2 1 Russell Westbrook (OKC) 3.5 3 8 3 Manu Ginobili (SA) 4.75 8 9 Klay Thompson (GS) 6.0 9 7 5 Chris Paul (LAC) 6.5 7 7 5 Damian Lillard (Por) 6.75 8 4 7 Jimmy Butler (Min) 7.05 9 6 4 Devin Booker (Pho) 7.75 10 4 Lonzo Ball (LAL)GS) 8.0 6 13 Fan | Players | Media Stephen Curry (GS) 2,379,393 | Stephen Curry (GS) 146 | J. Harden (Hou) 94 Manu Ginobili (SA) 1,808,860 | James Harden (Hou) 141 | S. Curry (GS) 83 James Harden (Hou) 1,486,830 | R, Westbrook (OKC) 102 | Westbrook (OKC) 17 R. Westbrook (OKC) 1,241,129 | Devin Booker (Pho) 27 | J. Butler (Min) 2 Klay Thompson (GS) 1,239,768 | Damian Lillard (Por) 27 | C. Paul (Hou) 1 Lonzo Ball (LAL) 607,961 | Jimmy Butler (Min) 22 | K. Thompson (GS) 1 Chris Paul (Hou) 562,428 | Chris Paul (Hou) 21 | Damian Lillard (Por) 439,462 | Manu Ginobili (SA) 20 | Jimmy Butler (Min) 324,435 | Klay Thompson (GS) 17 | Devin Booker (Pho) 268,041 | C.J. McCollum (Por) 12 | Eastern Conference Forwards and Centers Score Fan Player Media LeBron James (Cle) 1.25 1 2 1 Giannis Antetokounmpo (Mil) 1.5 2 1 1 Joel Embiid (Phi) 3.25 3 4 3 Kristaps Porzingis (NY) 3.75 4 3 4 Kevin Love (Cle) 5.75 5 6 7 Al Horford (Bos) 6.75 7 8 5 Andre Drummond (Det) 7.25 9 5 6 Jayson Tatum (Bos) 8.0 6 12 Enes Kanter (NY) 8.25 8 9 Dwight Howard (Cha) 10.25 10 13 Fan | Players | Media LeBron James (Cle) 2,638,294 | G. Antetokounmpo 226 | Antetokounmpo 99 GAntetokounmpo (Mil) 2,530,211 | LeBron James (Cle) 220 | L. James (Cle) 99 Joel Embiid (Phi) 1,285,587 | K.Porzingis (NY) 100 | J. Embiid (Phi) 66 K. Porzingis (NY) 1,116,769 | Joel Embiid (Phi) 94 | KPorzingis (NY) 14 Kevin Love (Cle) 771,929 | Andre Drummond (Det) 38 | A.Horford (Bos) 13 Jayson Tatum (Bos) 422,620 | Kevin Love (Cle) 31 | J. Embiid (Phi) 6 Al Horford (Bos) 384,936 | Tobias Harris (Det) 27 | A. Horford (Bos) 6 Enes Kanter (NY) 294,926 | Al Horford (Bos) 18 | A.Drummond (Det) 4 Andre Drummond (Det) 220,736 | Enes Kanter (NY) 17 | Kevin Love (Cle) 2 Dwight Howard (Cha) 186,844 | K. Middleton (Mil) 14 | | Otto Porter (Was) 14 | Guards Score Fan Player Media Kyrie Irving (Bos) 1.0 1 1 1 DeMar DeRozan (Tor) 2.0 2 2 2 Victor Oladipo (Ind) 3.5 4 3 3 Ben Simmons (Phi) 4.5 3 6 6 John Wall (Was) 5.0 6 4 4 Bradley Beal (Was) 6.75 9 5 4 Isaiah Thomas (Cle) 7.25 7 9 Kyle Lowry (Tor) 7.25 8 7 Dwyane Wade (Cle) 7.75 5 15 Eric Bledsoe (Mil) 10.0 12 10 Kemba Walker (Cha) 10.0 13 8 Fan | Players | Media Kyrie Irving (Bos) 2,170,833 | Kyrie Irving (Bos) 181 | K.Irving (Cle) 96 DeMar DeRozan (Tor) 998,999 | DeMar DeRozan (Tor) 105 | D.DeRozan (Tor) 89 Ben Simmons (Phi) 669,397 | Victor Oladipo (Ind) 73 | V.Oladipo (Ind) 11 Victor Oladipo (Ind) 634,495 | John Wall (Was) 57 | B.Beal (Was) 4 Dwyane Wade (Cle) 617,271 | Bradley Beal (Was) 43 | J. Wall (Was) 4 John Wall (Was) 542,836 | Ben Simmons (Phi) 25 | Isaiah Thomas (Bos) 449,091 | Kyle Lowry (Tor) 19 | Kyle Lowry (Tor) 322,036 | Kemba Walker (Cha) 18 | Bradley Beal (Was) 269,238 | Isaiah Thomas (Cle) 17 | Jalyen Brown (Bos) 205,104 | Eric Bledsoe (Mil) 10 | Schedule for Friday, January 19 (All times Central) San Antonio at Toronto 6:00 pm Miami at Brooklyn 6:30 pm Washington at Detroit 7:00 pm ESPN Sacramento at Memphis 7:00 pm Phoenix at Denver 8:00 pm New York at Utah 9:30 pm ESPN Indiana at LA Lakers 9:30 pm Schedule for Saturday, January 20 (All times Central) Oklahoma City at Cleveland 2:30 pm ABC Chicago at Atlanta 4:00 pm Miami at Charlotte 6:00 pm Memphis at New Orleans 6:00 pm Milwaukee at Philadelphia 6:30 pm Golden State at Houston 7:30 pm ABC Toronto at Minnesota 8:00 pm LA Clippers at Utah 8:00 pm Dallas at Portland 9:00 pm ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html