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Standing tall East rallies from 21 down to stun West 111-110
Updated: Monday February 19, 2001 3:45 PM
WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Eastern Conference used a stunning fourth-quarter comeback in Sunday's 50th NBA All-Star Game to shift the league's balance of power -- at least for one day. Allen Iverson scored 15 of his 25 points and Stephen Marbury bombed away in the fourth quarter as the East erased a 21-point deficit in the final nine minutes. The West is considered the NBA's stronger conference, boasting the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and three others teams with at least 30 wins. But Iverson, the Philadelhpia 76ers' superstar, used his remarkable quickness to weave his way through the bigger West stars, recording three steals in the final period en route to Most Valuable Player honors.
"I've got tremendous admiration for him," said West coach Rick Adelman of the Kings. "I thought the fourth quarter was typical of the way he plays. He's just fearless in the way he attacks the basket and takes it there." A Virginia native who attended nearby Georgetown, Iverson joined Julius Erving and Hal Greer as the only Sixers to be named All-Star MVP. He had some help, as Marbury nailed back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute in his All-Star debut and fellow Georgetown product Dikembe Mutombo recorded 22 rebounds and three blocked shots. "Dikembe was guarding everybody," said East coach Larry Brown of the 76ers. "We were down by 21 at one time and nobody was laughing about it," said Mutombo, the Atlanta Hawks' 7-footer. "Everybody was just keeping their composure and trying to find a way how we can win this game." Marbury's first 3-pointer forged a 108-108 tie with 53 seconds left. His second came with 28 seconds to go, put the East on top, 111-110, and set up the final possession. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, who made three jumpers in the final 90 seconds, took the inbounds pass but was double-teamed. He passed to the left baseline to Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, whose shot was partially blocked by Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors. Chris Webber of the Kings tried to follow the miss, but the ball bounced out as the East bench sprinted onto the court. Carter scored 16 points, Milwaukee Bucks guard Ray Allen added 15 and Marbury finished with 12 for the East, which has won four of the past five games and has a 32-18 lead in the all-time series. Bryant scored 19 points to lead the West, which was held to 21 points in the final period. The starting frontcourt of Webber, Duncan and Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves chipped in 14 points apiece. "It was a lot of fun," Duncan said. "I hope it was a lot of fun for the fans because it was a great show."
This was the lowest-scoring All-Star Game in 26 years and the first decided by a single point since 1977, when Brown guided the West to a 125-124 triumph.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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