New York ? Washington’s Gilbert Arenas surged past Vince Carter in the final days of All-Star voting to claim the second Eastern Conference guard spot by 3,010 votes Thursday, the fourth-closest margin for a starting spot.

LeBron James, the MVP last year, led all players with more than 2.5 million votes for the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas.

Shaquille O’Neal was chosen to his 14th straight All-Star game. Arenas, O’Neal and James will be joined in the East lineup by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Injured Houston center Yao Ming led all West players with more than 2.4 million votes. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan were voted in at forward, while Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady won the guard spots.