Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant dominated voting to determine starters for the NBA All-Star Game in Houston on February 19, the league said.

China's Yao was the leading candidate for a second consecutive year, receiving 2,342,738 votes, the league said in a news release.

Eight-time All-Star Bryant, who recently scored 81 points in a game, was his closest rival with 2,271,631 votes.

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal was selected for a 13th consecutive All-Star team, garnering 2,192,542 votes. Jerry West of the Lakers and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz hold the record of 14.

NBA fans around the world participated in the voting for the NBA's 55th All-Star Game.

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