Zaza Pachulia credits native Georgia for All-Star voting surge

For the second straight year, the longtime role player had made a surprisingly strong surge in voting for the NBA All-Star Game. Pachulia (439,675 votes) was in line for the Western Conference's second starting frontcourt spot behind Golden State teammate Kevin Durant (541,209), per initial fan balloting returns released Thursday. Thanks largely to Georgians stuffing the online ballot box, Pachulia came within 15,000 votes of becoming an All-Star starter last year. The NBA changed its system this season so that, instead of having complete say of the starters, the fans account for only 50 percent of the vote. Under this new model, Pachulia would need a massive lead in the fan vote to withstand the inevitable dip when player and media ballots are recorded. [...] more than earning an invite to New Orleans in mid-February, Georgia's only active NBA player is focused on the support he has again received from his home country. Perhaps the next most recognizable name is Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the No. 5 pick in the 2002 draft by Denver who averaged 2.9 points per game over four NBA seasons before heading overseas.