Ray Allen and Paul Pierce establishing a short lived

LOS ANGELES — Media availability Saturday was even crazier than Friday’s sessions — twice as many reporters, and only 30 minutes total to scramble to as many of the 24 All-Stars as possible.
Some highlights:
• If you were watching NBA TV, I suspect it broadcast an attempt by Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to break the Guinness World Record for most three-pointers made by a duo in one minute. The shooters had to alternate shots, and they could only shoot once their teammate made a shot. Allen and Pierce made 13 in one minute, which set the record even though Pierce struggled early, missing at least four straight at one point while Allen waited to launch.
But of course that wasn’t it. The Western Conference team wanted a shot to break the record, and it trotted out Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki to do it. The crowd, which booed the Celtics’ duo loudly, chanted for Kobe Bryant to join either Durant or Nowitzki, but the Lakers’ star did not oblige. He sat on the scorer’s table and watched.
Dirk and Durant finished with 15 and broke the record with at least 10 seconds to spare. They are just beautiful shooters to watch. One interesting note: Of the four guys who participated in this little exhibition, only Nowitzki opted to shoot from the corner. The other three shot from the wing, which is a lower-percentage shot but perhaps one that they are more used to taking in games.
• I asked Dwight Howard whether he was hoping the Magic would swing even a minor deal, if only to land him a backup center. He shook his head. “We have the talent to win it already.”
• An actual exchange I had with Russell Westbrook:
“The easy answer you guys often give is ‘hard work,’ but what do you guys need to do over the last 30 games to get your defense back to where it was by the end of last season?”
After a quick pause, Westbrook looked up and smiled: “Work harder.”
• Nowitzki rolled his eyes and smiled — in a good way — when I asked him about Caron Butler, and how the team deals with a situation in which one of its key players suffers what appears to be a season-ending injury but then suggests he might be able to return for the playoffs. Would it be easier if the situation were just a black-and-white thing, if the team could mentally just settle on the reality now that Butler is out for the season?
“We just don’t know,” Nowitzki said. “It’s a real question. But if he comes back, that’s great.”

Nowitzki credited Dallas’ excellent work with zone defense this season in large part to Del Harris, who was an assistant and consultant with the Mavs for most of the 2000s. “Del was really the zone guru,” Nowitzki said.
• The buzz for what JaVale McGee is going to do in the dunk contest is huge. That is all.