LeBron-Kobe battle is on again for NBA All-Star Game

It is that time of the year when the stars in the NBA are gathered just for fun. The hatchets are buried, and all are friends. But in Sunday night's All-Star game two stars are likely to put on a battle again.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant will try to lead their teams to the victory in All-Star game, probably to send a message to the rest of the league about who is better.

Kobe will have an old friend in his side. The NBA All-Star game will see the return of the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant pairing that once dominated league headlines, on and off the court.

Together they led the Los Angeles Lakers to three straight championships and four finals berths in five years.

O'Neal was chosen to 14 straight All-Star games before missing last year during an injury-plagued season.

"I'm a very lucky player because I went through three different eras of the All-Star game," O'Neal said. "I went through the Mike era, where it was Mike (Jordan) and (Charles) Barkley and all those guys, and I went through my era, where it was me all the time and Kobe, and now it's the Kobe-LeBron, D-Wade era, Dwight Howard eras. So I've been lucky enough to go through all of those transitions."

O’Neal’s words mark what may be the highlight of the All-Star weekend: A Kobe-LeBron battle.

Bryant and LeBron James have dominated recent All-Star games, combining for the last three MVP awards. James said the first three quarters are for fun, but the fourth quarter, "that's when we all really start to play hard." "It's fun to go out there and compete," James said. "I love playing against the best in the world and on this stage."

Bouncing back

Bryant won his second trophy two years ago in Las Vegas, but will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing All-Star weekend in New Orleans last year, when he could barely play because of an injury.

James has been even better - the best scorer ever in All-Star play. His 27-point performance last year in the East's 134-128 victory raised his average through four appearances to 24.3 points, the highest among players who have played in that many games. He was MVP of that game, two years after he won it in Houston.

"He's a special talent. There's obviously All-Stars and they're elite players, and there's those guys that are even a step above that," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "And when you start talking about those guys, you're talking about Kobe, and Tim (Duncan) and Michael and Magic and Bird, and 'Bron obviously fits in that category."

A Bryant-James duel would be the perfect ending, except James may have an obstacle in the form of his Cleveland coach, who was leading the East and may prefer his franchise player to save his strength for the real games.

"He may have a tough time getting MVP because I don't know if you can get MVP playing more than three minutes," Brown joked. "We'll have to see, that honor may go to Kevin Garnett. Playing 48 minutes, you can put up big numbers."

There are plenty of potential standouts in this one, with Bryant, James, O'Neal and Allen Iverson all in the hunt for a third MVP award. Bryant, though, didn't seem interested, with bigger things to look forward to.

"It's going to be a fun little vacation for me," Bryant said. "I'm looking forward to having some time off, getting off my legs a little bit and recharging my batteries for the second half of the season."

Of course, the All-Star weekend is not about the big East-West game. Dwight Howard will be under the spotlights when the big man is defending his Slam Dunk Contest title. Monstrous center will be against Spanish Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks' Nate Robinson and Denver Nuggets' J.R. Smith.

Three Point Shootout will be worth watching as well, as Jason Kapono searches a third consecutive win. Sharpshooters, including Mike Bibby, Danny Granger, Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason, Daequan Cook, will try to outlast Kapono.

EASTERN ALL-STARS

Allen Iverson (Detroit)

Dwyane Wade (Miami)

LeBron James (Cleveland)

Kevin Garnett (Boston)

Dwight Howard (Orlando)

Joe Johnson (Atlanta)

Ray Allen (Boston)

Danny Granger (Indiana)

Paul Pierce (Boston)

Mo Williams (Cleveland)

Devin Harris (New Jersey)

Rashard Lewis (Orlando)

Head Coach: Mike Brown (Cleveland)

WESTERN ALL-STARS

Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers)

Chris Paul (New Orleans)

Tim Duncan (San Antonio)

Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix)

Yao Ming (Houston)

Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)

Shaquille O'Neal (Phoenix)

Brandon Roy (Portland)

Chauncey Billups (Denver)

Pau Gasol (LA Lakers)

David West (New Orleans)

Tony Parker (San Antonio)

Head Coach: Phil Jackson (LA Lakers)