Yao leads Shaq by 70,000 in All-Star voting
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-14 10:54

Yao Ming's lead over Shaquille O'Neal in the race to finish No. 1 overall in NBA All-Star game balloting has increased to more than 70,000 votes.

Houston Rockets' Yao Ming, right, tries to get by the defense of Dallas Mavericks' Erick Dampier (25) in the first half, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, in Dallas. [AP]

The Houston Rockets' center had 1,888,533 votes through three rounds of voting as of Thursday. O'Neal, traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat in the offseason, tops the Eastern conference with 1,817,828.

Yao's lead among centers in the Western Conference is seemingly insurmountable: Sacramento's Brad Miller is second with 283,562 votes.

Fans can vote through Jan. 23, and All-Star starters will be announced Feb. 3. The game is Feb. 20 in Denver.

Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, the reigning league MVP, is third overall, leading West forwards with 1,545,544 votes, followed by San Antonio's Tim Duncan (1,224,697).

Yao's teammate Tracy McGrady (1,469,005) is the top guard in the West, trailed by the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (1,362,409).

In the East, Detroit's Ben Wallace trails O'Neal at center with 560,484 votes. New Jersey's Vince Carter (1,294,646) and Orlando's Grant Hill (1,118,795) lead the forwards, while Philadelphia's Allen Iverson (1,154,074) moved ahead of Cleveland's LeBron James (1,151,688) as top the guard.

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