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Anthony a leader in All-Star voting

Aaron J. Lopez

Published December 14, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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With all due respect to NBA commissioner David Stern, Carmelo Anthony prefers to be a man of the people.

Stern sent Anthony to the 2007 NBA All-Star Game as an injury replacement, but the Nuggets forward probably won't need an assist from the commish in 2008.

Anthony leads all Western Conference forwards in early fans' balloting, putting him in line to become the first Nuggets player to start an All-Star Game in 19 years.

"That's a big step," Anthony said after the first round of vote totals were released Thursday. "To go from not even making it to being brung in by David Stern to being voted in by the fans, it's a big step . . . We've got two more months."

Anthony, averaging 25 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists, enjoys a comfortable cushion in his bid to be one of two starting forwards for the West in New Orleans on Feb. 17.

His 482,127 votes were about 39,000 more than Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and nearly 59,000 more than San Antonio forward Tim Duncan.

As long as he holds off at least Duncan, Anthony would be the first Nuggets player to start an All-Star Game since Alex English in 1989.

"Just by seeing that (he leads all West forwards) goes to show I've just been working hard and the fans out there are really supporting me right now," he said. "The only thing I can do is keep going out there and doing what I've been doing."

Aiding Anthony - and all Western Conference forwards, for that matter - is Kevin Garnett's move to the Eastern Conference and Duncan's initial ballot listing as a center.

Garnett, a 10-time Western Conference All-Star, was traded from Minnesota to Boston in the summer.

Duncan, a nine-time All-Star, is listed as a center on paper ballots. Fans can vote for only one center, so that might hurt Duncan, even though all votes he receives as a center still count toward his total.

Of the other Nuggets on the ballot, Marcus Camby is fourth among centers in the West, Allen Iverson is fourth among guards and Nene, who has missed 17 games because of injury, is not among the top 10 forwards.

All-Star Game leaders

Western Conference

Forwards - Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 482,127; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 443,117; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 423,608; Carlos Boozer, Utah, 175,248; Shawn Marion, Phoenix, 154,641.

Guards - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, 569,302; Tracy McGrady, Houston, 388,959; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 317,091; Allen Iverson, Denver, 292,565; Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 141,891.

Centers - Yao Ming, Houston, 439,125; Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix, 286,401; Erick Dampier, Dallas, 101,878; Marcus Camby, Denver, 94,473; Pau Gasol, Memphis, 73,461.

Eastern Conference

Forwards - Kevin Garnett, Boston, 735,664; LeBron James, Cleveland, 597,768; Chris Bosh, Toronto, 185,294; Paul Pierce, Boston, 164,346; Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee, 98,507.

Guards - Dwyane Wade, Miami, 470,921; Jason Kidd, New Jersey, 343,468; Vince Carter, New Jersey, 277,705; Ray Allen, Boston, 270,114; Gilbert Arenas, Washington, 256,994; Chauncey Billups, Detroit, 125,202.

Centers - Dwight Howard, Orlando, 596,187; Shaquille O'Neal, Miami, 282,727; Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, 69,331; Ben Wallace, Chicago, 68,871; Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana, 53,107.

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