LOS ANGELES (AP) Shaquille O'Neal didn't start the NBA All-Star game.

But he finished. Oh, did he finish.

O'Neal made nine dunks en route to a 24-point, 11-rebound performance that helped the Western Conference beat the East 136-132 Sunday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers' star shot 12-of-19 while playing 24 minutes in relief of Houston's Yao Ming, who was pretty good himself with 16 points in 19 minutes.

Yao started at center for the West after edging O'Neal in fan balloting.

Shaq was the co-MVP in the 2000 game with San Antonio's Tim Duncan, who made a short bank shot over Jamaal Magloire with 26.1 seconds left to give the West a 133-132 lead and trigger a 5-0 game-ending run by the winners.

After Duncan's big shot, O'Neal shadowed Tracy McGrady, forcing the Orlando star into a turnover.

``Can you dig it! Can you dig it!'' O'Neal told the hometown fans after receiving the MVP award.

Then, more calmly, he added: ``I just came out and had some fun.''

The taller West, with five 7-footers to none for the East _ entered as a solid favorite, but had all it could handle in a game neither team led by more than nine points.

The East got its final point on a free throw by McGrady with 37 seconds left for a 132-131 lead.

The West has won four of the last five All-Star games after losing three straight.

The 31-year-old O'Neal has been slowed much of the season by a strained left calf, but he showed no ill effects in this game, perhaps a good sign for the struggling Lakers entering the season's second half.

O'Neal provided one of the game's biggest highlights when he dribbled the length of the court and slammed in his eighth dunk for a 126-123 lead.

His final dunk with 1:56 to play tied it at 129.

O'Neal, the self-proclaimed MDE _ most dominant ever _ has been chosen to play in 11 All-Star games.

Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' other All-Star, scored 20 points in 36 minutes after arriving late and missing the team picture. Nobody else on either team played more than 29 minutes.

Bryant also didn't appear to be slowed by his recent injuries _ a sprained right shoulder he hurt Jan. 12 and a severe cut on his right index finger sustained Jan. 29.

Bryant went on the injured list after each, missing seven games after injuring his finger before returning in the Lakers' final game before the All-Star break. He didn't seem completely himself in a 102-87 loss at Houston that completed a seven-game road trip.

Bryant made an uncontested layup early in the final period to give the West a 107-106 lead. The home crowd booed, obviously wanting to see the kind of creative dunk Bryant is known for in those situations.