Russell Westbrook’s soaring dunk to cap a fast break made it 45-37 early in the second. Westbrook and Kevin Love give the West a UCLA flavor. West coach Gregg Popovich called a timeout after LeBron James dribbled through the paint and flipped the ball into the basket to cut it to 49-43. This must be serious. Kobe Bryant guarded James late in the half. Bryant dunked, then Chris Paul (a future Lakers point guard?) stole the inbounds pass, drove and lobbed a pass to Kevin Durant for a dunk and a 70-58 lead for the West. East coach Doc Rivers called a timeout with 1:05 left in the half. This must really be serious. Bryant scored 21 points in the opening half, taking the early lead for MVP honors.