Celtics forward Garnett remained the leader for the 2008 NBA All-Star game with 1,186,690 votes, according to the second set of returns released Thursday.

 

Cavaliers forward LeBron James, the leading vote-getter last year, was the second in the NBA with 1,005,733 votes.

 

In the Western Conference, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant ranked first with 941,716 votes, followed by Rockets center Yao Ming with 813,305 votes.

 

Another Chinese forward Yi Jianlian was fifth at his position in the Eastern Conference with 192,828 votes.

 

Voting will continue through January 13, for paper balloting and January 20, for NBA.com balloting. The All-Star starters will be announced on January 24.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)