Kevin Durant set the scoring record for the National Basketball Association's All-Star Rookie Challenge Friday, pouring in 46 points to lead the Sophomores to victory over their first-year foes. Durant scored 30 of his points in the second half as the second-year players held off the Rookies 122-116. Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, shot 17-of-25 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range as the Sophomores won the contest for the seventh straight time. Durant, who has averaged 25.5 points this season, owns the fourth-highest average for someone who did not make the main All-Star contest. He scored 23 points in last season's Rookie Challenge and will continue his exploits this weekend in the H-O-R-S-E shooting contest on Saturday. Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, who was taken one spot ahead of Durant in the 2007 draft, could not face off with his rival in this one. He sat out after suffering a left knee injury in Thursday's loss to the Golden State Warriors. The annual contest that pits emerging first- and second-year stars against each other featured a wealth of team play and just 17 dunks. Durant polished off his night with two free throws with 11 seconds to play to give his side a 121-116 lead and thwart a rally by the Rookies. He highlighted the final minute with an athletic three-point play and a thunderous reverse dunk as he surpassed former record-holder Amare Stoudemire, who scored 36 points for the Sophomores in 2004. On the NBA's star-studded weekend, built around Sunday's All-Star exhibition game, two of the brightest made their presence felt even though they didn't play. The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard, the leading vote-getter for Sunday's showcase game, and Miami Heat veteran Dwyane Wade were honorary assistant coaches. Shaq, Bryant friends again Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant spent part of their first day as teammates again helping refurbish a school and its playground. O'Neal didn't accuse Bryant of hogging the tools and Bryant didn't blame O'Neal for being too fat to keep up. See that, those former feuders are getting along just fine. The start of NBA All-Star weekend brought the former Los Angeles Lakers back together on Friday, five years after the end of a great partnership on the court and a better soap opera off it. “It'll be like old times. It'll be great memories,” O'Neal said. “Kobe's playing at a very high level right now. It'll be like old times. I can remember, not that long ago, we were the best tandem ever created in the game. So it's going to be fun out there.” They will take the floor on Sunday for the first time since the 2004 NBA Finals. Just like the old days, the two couldn't have seemed more different on Friday. O'Neal had hugs and handshakes for old friends and foes. Bryant arrived 45 minutes late for his session with the media.
