10 best plays from NBA All-Star Game

Forget Saturday's slam dunk contest. The NBA All-Star Game was where the highlights lived.

Sunday's game was a showcase for dunks, passing and ball-handling, with Chris Paul and LeBron James leading the way. The Western Conference won 143-138 behind Paul's 20 points, 15 assists and four steals, but both sides produced highlights.

Here are our 10 favorites:

L.A. confidence, y'all:

Paul to Kobe Bryant to Blake Griffin. If you wanted a unification of the Los Angeles NBA teams, this was it. Bryant had a big passing day, finishing with eight assists. And we all knew Griffin could fly.

LeBron James will alley-oop forever:

The man can jump. The first was better than the second, with him delivering a quick pass to Dwyane Wade who returns the favor in transition. But the second, on a lob from Carmelo Anthony, was almost as nasty. The lesson: Don't even bother defending James in a fast break. It won't work.

Chris Paul will embarrass you with his handles and passing:

A day after Bryant joked about playing with Chris Paul, he showed what they could do together. Well, Paul showed it. The stutter-stepping ball-handling is impressive enough, but then he finds Bryant streaking with no problem. Paul is a perfect fit for All-Star Games and had nine assists in the first half.

Tony Parker will embarrass you with his handles, too:

Oh, Chris Bosh. First, the Miami Heat star was strangely chosen to start the game in Rajon Rondo's place because it was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's choice. Then heairballed his first shot. Then Paul dribbled it between his legs. Then Tony Parker later did the same, though not quite as nastily.

Big men have handles, too:

Joakim Noah likes to call himself a point-center, and he has the dribbling skills to merit that tag. Here, he crosses up Zach Randolph because Zach Randolph can't handle this. That's a 6-11 guy showing off that nasty crossover. It may not be Paul-level, but it's easier to dribble when you're only 6-0.

Dwight Howard hit a three-pointer:

There doesn't need to be much more said about this. But here's his last three-pointer made.

Old friends are still friends:

James Harden and Russell Westbrook used to play together for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets. Now they don't play together. So they made up for lost time quickly when getting off the West bench, with Harden throwing a lob in late transition to Westbrook, who threw it down with authority.

"That's a surprise, sneaky dunk right there":

We're not sure what TNT's Reggie Miller meant with that comment, but it seems to fit Jrue Holiday's slam dunk in the first half. Holiday is a surprise, sneaky player, after all, a guy not many casual fans would name as one of the NBA's best point guards but a guy who definitely belongs in the conversation.

Kevin Durant should be in the dunk contest:

We all know Durant is a great scorer and shooter, but don't forget about his dunking ability. Bryant found him in transition, and the results were spectacular. His reverse slam here is pretty awesome. Durant had 19 points to lead all scorers.

Maybe Tyson Chandler should be, too:

We didn't expect this one. The Knicks center is known for his defense, and while he has thrown down many great alley-oops in his past, he's rarely regarded as an elite dunker. But he had to jump out the gym to catch this lob, and he threw it down with no problem. NBA players are good athletes.