The morning shootaround in Cleveland two weeks ago was almost over when Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett huddled his teammates at midcourt, clapped his hands and became the first to congratulate teammate Wally Szczerbiak on making his first NBA all-star team.

Sczerbiak beamed. Then became a little choked up. And when he talked about it recently, Garnett did, too.

"When I first got named, I didn't feel like some key guys felt the love for me,'' said Garnett, who will make his fifth consecutive all-star appearance this weekend. "Everybody gathered around, but I didn't feel that.

"I wanted him to feel my energy, that I was genuinely happy."