This regulation applied to Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks, who coached the West previous season, therefore Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns took his position. Eddie Jordan of the Washington Wizards coached the East since Flip Saunders was ineligible due to coaching the East previous year. Johnson was selected over Mark Jackson of the Sacramento Kings and Larry Drew of the LA Clippers. Drew was originally chosen as the coach before Johnson replaced him when he became ill just days before the start of training camp. The game was played on February 14th at Madison Square Garden. The East defeated the West 121-116 in double overtime. LeBron James was named MVP for the second time in three years. Before becoming a full-time coach, Johnson spent nine seasons as an assistant with the New Jersey Nets, including six as the team's head coach. He also has experience as a head coach during his tenure as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks. He became the first European-born player to be voted MVP by his peers since Michael Jordan in 1992. The other candidates were James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, and Dwyane Wade. James received 37 votes while Durant had 16 votes. No Eastern Conference players were included on the All-Star roster.