NBA: Bryant leaves an All-Star Game winner, West rolls 196-173

Toronto • All weekend, the best basketball players in the world have stopped Kobe Bryant to share a memory.

They've shared "stories of when they first came into the league and they were matching up against me, and just kind of the little things that-an elbow here or a steal here, and then wanting to earn my respect at an early age," Bryant said.

On Sunday night, the game's best shared the game's biggest stage with the Los Angeles Lakers legend, giving him a bittersweet sendoff in his 18th and final All-Star Game.

"Can't really put it into words right now," Wizards point guard John Wall said. "Basically the Michael Jordan of our era is what I see with all of his dedication to the game, his competitive drive."

"He's been my idol growing up, my basketball idol," added Rockets guard James Harden. "Just watching him play meant everything to me."

Bryant's inclusion provided an interesting contrast. Bryant was this weekend's main event, but so much of the showcase's best moments were about the new, fresh and young.

In the league's first all-star weekend outside of U.S. borders, Toronto showed itself to be not just a world-class city, but a basketball-crazed one, too. Second-year players Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine treated everyone to the best slam dunk contest in years. Stephen Curry, maybe the best shooter to ever play the game, dazzled with deep bombs from 3, but he wasn't even the best shooter on his team on Saturday. Klay Thompson beat him out for the the 3-point title.

Sunday's defense-optional barrage of between-the-leg passes, windmill dunks and deep, deep 3s-a 196-173 victory for the Western Conference-was the highest-scoring all-star game ever. In it, a couple of players showed they were better than new.

Pacers forward Paul George scored 41 points and showed everyone he's back after a horrific leg injury nearly cost him all of last season.

And Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook exploded off a surgically repaired knee for dunk after dunk, becoming the first player to win back-to-back most valuable player honors.

It even had Spurs coach Gregg Popovich smiling.

"It's the most fun I've ever had at an All-Star Game," he said, "just because of the predominant group of the young talented kids coming up like the new stars and watching them interact with each other was a thrill for me."

But even the game's MVP wanted a piece of Bryant this weekend.

"He hasn't signed anything yet," Westbrook said during his post-game press conference. "Hopefully I can catch him."

On Sunday night, Bryant's game wasn't much to watch. He scored 10 points and missed more shots than he made. But the legend laughed as he posted up his former teammate Pau Gasol. His eyes lit up when Curry drained a shot from near half court.

Off the court, he's been a kinder, gentler Mamba, too.

"Just a little bit more loose," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "I think years before on teams that were playoff and championship contenders, he would talk, but he knew it was all about business once he left, so he didn't want to open up too much and be looked at as, I guess, soft in his his words. He just opened up more. These last few years he's been more of a big brother to us all, and I wish we could have more time around him, but we cherish what we have now and appreciate all he's done."

The weekend had Bryant looking back on his favorite all-star memories. His first came in 1998 and he recalled relishing the chance to brush shoulders with the game's legends.

"Being in the locker room with greats like [John] Stockton and [Clyde] Drexler and all those guys, that was pretty cool," Bryant said.

But this goodbye also had Bryant looking forward.

As he stood on the court — after two different video tributes had played on the screens at the Air Canada Centre — Bryant took the microphone and paid tribute to the game's next wave of legends.

"It's a thrill for me to be here and have the chance to be around these young players here," he said. "When I first started playing, most of them were around my kids' age. It feels so good to be able to speak to them about the game, to share some of the knowledge from my career so they can continue on the tradition."

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