Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant paid a price for becoming the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game's leading scorer, breaking his nose in the Sunday contest, the Lakers said on Monday.
Bryant, who surpassed Michael Jordan as the game's all-time scorer, suffered a nasal fracture in the Western Conference's win and will be re-evaluated by an ear, nose and throat specialist when he returns to Los Angeles, the Lakers said on their website.
He also was experiencing headaches, Los Angeles media said.
The 14-time All-Star apparently was injured in the third quarter when he suffered a bloody nose on a foul by the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade. Bryant helped the West beat the East 152-149 by scoring 27 points in the game in Orlando, Florida. He now has 271 points in 13 All-Star Games, nine points more than Jordan.
Ricky Rubio stormed the NBA for a few weeks after the start of the season with some fancy passes and highlight plays, Jeremy Lin started the Linsanity with an NBA Record for Most Points in 5 first starts in NBA with 106, but the man called KYRIE IRVING just rose to the occasion after being proclaimed as the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge MVP. The first Overall Pick from the recent draft out of Duke University finished with a scintillating 34 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting beyond the arc together with 9 assist and 2 steals to lead the charge for the TEAM Chuck with a 146-133 rout against the Team Shaq composed of Blake Griffin,Jeremy Lin and Rubio to name a few.
Last year Challenge MVP John Wall scored 17 points and Paul George who was also a contestant to the NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest scored 23 points to support Irving's terrific performance.
Blake Griffin, the last year Rookie of the Year contributed 10 points while Tristan Thompson lead the scoring parade for the TEAM SHAQ with 20 points which never taste the lead since the start of the game.
Ricky Rubio finished the game with 12 points and 7 assist while Jeremy Lin only has 2 points on 8 minutes of play.
