Bryant Is Elected All-Star Starter

The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant earned his seventh All-Star appearance Thursday with his selection as a Western Conference starter for the Feb. 20 game in Denver.

Bryant received 1,815,952 votes in fan balloting. Bryant’s status for the game, however, is uncertain since he has been sidelined since Jan. 13 because of a severely sprained right ankle.

Houston’s Yao Ming received a record 2,558,278 votes and will start at center for the third year in a row for the West. He will be joined by Bryant, Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Tracy McGrady of Houston.

Shaquille O’Neal’s 2,488,089 votes were the second-highest in All-Star history. O’Neal of Miami will start at center for the Eastern Conference. The previous record of 2,451,136 for Michael Jordan was set in 1997.

Grant Hill of Orlando edged Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal by slightly more than 65,000 votes for a starting spot on the East team. Hill received 1,497,489 votes to Jermaine O’Neal’s 1,432,438, allowing him to join Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson of Philadelphia, Vince Carter of New Jersey and LeBron James of Cleveland as East starters.

James, the Cavaliers’ 20-year-old phenom, is the only first-time All-Star among the 10 starters.

All-Star reserves, selected by the league’s coaches, will be announced Tuesday.

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Indiana guard Stephen Jackson was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA for verbal abuse of a game official at the end of the Pacers’ loss to Toronto on Wednesday night.

Jackson was called for a foul against Toronto’s Jalen Rose with 0.4 seconds left, leading to Rose’s winning free throws. Jackson has played only five games since returning from a 30-game suspension for the Nov. 19 brawl in Auburn Hills, Mich.