First: West 37, East 27

There were plenty of cheers for Kobe Bryant during the opening quarter tonight at Staples Center, especially after he unleashed a a driving reverse dunk from along baseline. Blake Griffin replaced Bryant late in the quarter, a nice touch from West coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. Griffin scored his first basket on a lob from Utah’s Deron Williams, which made it 33-25 in final minute of the opening quarter. There were plenty of boos for the Celtics foursome upon entering midway through, especially Paul Pierce. This is Los Angeles, after all. Bryant led all scorers with 11 points.