LOS ANGELES (AP) It was the LeBron and Carmelo show on the first night of NBA All-Star weekend.

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony teamed up for four awe-inspiring alley-oop dunks that proved to be the best moments of the Rookie Challenge on Friday night.

With the sophomores well on their way to a record-setting 142-118 victory, the two heralded rookies decided to show off.

``After the game got out of hand, I went up to the players and said, `Let's give the fans what they want to see,''' James said.

James scored 33 points and created most of the moments that had a sellout crowd at Staples Center oohing and aahing. Anthony added 17 points.

``We saw Carmelo and LeBron do some amazing things,'' rookies coach Doug Collins said. ``I hope the fans enjoyed it.''

Typical of All-Star festivities, the players took the night off from playing defense.

MVP Amare Stoudemire, last season's Rookie of the Year, had 36 points and 11 rebounds in the highest-scoring game since the event began 10 years ago.

Carlos Boozer and Ronald Murray added 25 points apiece for the second-year pros, who made nearly 71 percent of their shots in the first half to turn it into a blowout.

``They're very exciting,'' Stoudemire said. ``LeBron can get up in the air so high, and Carmelo has the all-around game. ... It's all about scoring out there, enjoying yourself and putting on a show.''

Neither James nor Anthony was selected for Sunday's All-Star game. James was adamant that he won't accept a spot in Saturday's dunk contest, either, so the Rookie Challenge was the duo's only showcase of the weekend.

``It was just fun to be on the court with him,'' Anthony said. ``Nobody was serious and nobody got hurt. That was the big thing.''

Yao Ming swatted the ball away from the 6-foot-8 James on the opening tip, then gave way to Anthony and James.

Collins paired James and Anthony during the first half, substituting them together and taking advantage of their knowledge of each others' games. They needed less than four minutes to hook up on a spectacular play.

Anthony got loose on a fast break and served up an underhand alley-oop to James, who slammed it home to huge cheers. They teamed up again 2{ minutes later, with Anthony throwing a longer pass for another emphatic slam by James.

Their third connection came with less than five minutes to play when Anthony dribbled under the hoop and tossed it up to James, who dunked from the other direction. They added one more in the final minute, when both teams staged an impromptu dunk contest.

James also threw down a two-handed behind-the-head slam in the final moments, and Anthony capped the game with a similar jam. After Stoudemire accepted his trophy, James tossed his new gold-colored shoes into the crowd.

James' favorite dunk came shortly after halftime, when he tossed a pass off the backboard to himself and rattled home a jam that had fans leaping from their seats.

``Everybody wanted to match my dunk off the glass,'' he said. ``I just go up and be creative. (Backboard passes) are not out of style at all.''

The NBA capitalized on the presence of Anthony and James by moving the Rookie Challenge to Friday night from its usual Saturday spot.