 | Showdown in Washington Alexander James, Sunnyvale - Monday, February 12, 2001
Well it's that time of year again. Football is over and there is no Baseball. Only one thing left and that is my personal favorite. Basketball!
In an amazing comeback victory, New Jersey's Stephon Marbury drained a couple of three-pointers late to cap a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback for the East, which downed the West 111-110 in the 50th annual NBA All-Star Game at the MCI Center.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson ended with 25 points, including 15 in the last nine minutes, to take home MVP honors for the East. Allen also approached the scoring table at the beginning of the fourth quarter to see if anyone cared to bet against a comeback for the East. This just in, they would've lost.
"Everybody was saying we couldn't win because of our size. It's not about size. It's about the size of your heart," Iverson said. "Coming into the fourth quarter, we were all sitting on the sidelines saying 'Why not us? Why can't we be the ones to come back from a 19-point deficit (after three quarters) in an All-Star Game?"
"My family, my friends, everybody that's been with me through my struggles and pain knows it's a tribute," Iverson said. "I think it's going to be beautiful for years to come because every year it seems like we get somebody else with a different kind of God-given ability to add to this league."
This was looking like a blowout in the beginning. The East could not stop the big men for the West and found themselves down 11-0 after the first commercial break and down 30-17 after the first quarter. This deficit could be attributed to 10 turnovers in the first quarter. Even as they were closing the gap Jason Kidd hit a half court shot at the end of the half to push the lead back to double digits.
Down 21 points with 9 minutes remaining in the game the East rallied back to tie the game. Then the sparks began to fly. As the crowd started chanting M-V-P for Allen, who played ball here in G-Town, someone was listening. That someone was Kobe Bryant, and in a down-the-stretch performance reminiscent of his play in the Lakers' Game 4 overtime victory over Indiana in last year's NBA Finals, Bryant kept getting the ball and putting it in the basket. His short jumper made it 106-105, and his 20 footer gave the West a 108-105 lead with one minute left.
Marbury, ecstatic over his first all-star appearance, replied with a three pointer to tie the game with 53 seconds left.
Bryant answered right back with another jumper, but Marbury did him one better with another three-pointer that gave the East a 111-110 lead with 28 seconds left
Then something very odd and unusual happened. Kobe passed the ball. That's right, I said Kobe Bryant actually passed up a shot and passed the ball to a wide-open Tim Duncan, who missed the open jumper. Chris Webber tipped the ball back toward the rim and it bounced out with no time remaining.
The East has won three of the last four all-star games, and leads the overall series 32-18.
Atlanta's Dikembe Mutombo ended with 22 boards for the East. San Antonio's Tim Duncan ended with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the West, which was outscored 41-21 in the final quarter.
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant ended with 19 points and seven assists for the West, while Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and Sacramento's Chris Webber each had 14 points. | |