The Los Angeles Lakers guard Bryant also had 14 rebounds, three steals, and three assists, finishing just five points shy of Wilt Chamberlain's all-star game scoring record of 42 points.

Bryant's 37 points propelled him past Elgin Baylor and Julius Erving into fourth on the all-time, all-star scoring list with 244 points.

“Being at home I wanted to come out, play hard, and put on a good show,” said the 32-year-old Bryant, who also won the MVP in 2009, 2007 and 2002.

“This feels great being at home and playing in front of home crowd. This will be my last all-star game in front of these fans. So it feels good.”

Bryant's fourth MVP performance overshadowed the brilliant all-star debut of Los Angeles Clippers rookie Blake Griffin, who finished with eight points, five rebounds, and five assists.

“He just went out there and took over,” Griffin said of Bryant. “It was fun to watch a player get off like that and really get his shots. He was just feeling it.”

New York's Amare Stoudemire sensed Bryant was up to something early in the contest.

“You could tell he started out from the start,” Stoudemire said. “He wanted to get the MVP. He was not passing the ball at all. But that is Kobe.”

Griffin, who soared over a car Saturday to win the slam-dunk contest, was the busiest all-star this weekend competing in the rookie game, dunk contest, and his first all-star Sunday.

“Oh man. I can barely move right now. The last time I was this tired was probably at training camp,” Griffin said. “I had fun, no doubt. It was a good experience."

In a game filled with spectacular alley-oops, no-look passes, fade-away jumpers and precision shooting, LeBron James exploded for 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the East.