Iverson, East Win Big at NBA All-Star Game

Slashing through the lane from all angles, keeping defenders honest with an occasional jumper, and providing pinpoint assists, Iverson led the charge as the Eastern Conference erased a 21-point deficit to beat the West 111-110 Sunday. The Philadelphia 76ers` guard finished with 25 points, 15 in the frenzied final nine minutes, and was selected as Most Valuable Player.

After the West`s Tim Duncan missed a short shot at the buzzer that would have reversed the outcome, Iverson joined his teammates in running around the court with arms raised, a celebration normally reserved for NBA titles.

"We wanted to win. I mean from the beginning when we first threw the ball up, because everybody was saying we could not win, because of our size," Iverson said.

"It`s not about size, it`s about the size of your heart."

He accepted the MVP trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern -- who chastised Iverson last fall for lyrics on a rap album offensive to homosexuals and women.

In an obvious reference to that and Iverson`s slight build at 6-feet, 165 pounds, a grinning Stern told Iverson that great basketball "can be wrapped -- if you pardon the expression -- in very small packages."

Iverson also was fined by the league for yelling a slur at hecklers during a game in Indiana last month.

While his character has been questioned, no one has any problems with Iverson`s game. He led the NBA in scoring two seasons ago, was second last season, and is averaging 29.7 points this season, only 0.2 behind league leader Kobe Bryant.

Iverson, who went to nearby Georgetown, was the last player out during the fireworks-sparked pregame introductions at the MCI Center and he was the one lighting it up at game`s end to the delight of the crowd.

The East started terribly, down 11-0 by the first TV timeout, and trailed by the same margin at halftime. When Dallas Mavericks forward Michael Finley scored inside with 9:05 left to play, the West was up 95-74.

Given that this was an exhibition game, the outcome certainly did not seem to be in doubt.

Iverson, nicknamed "The Answer" because few situations confound him when it comes to scoring, didn`t think so, though.

He exhorted his teammates during timeouts, and confidently told the people working at the scorer`s table that he would lead the East to victory -- not the customary attitude during what tends to be a free-flowing, no-defense funfest with little on the line.

Slapping away passes at the defensive end (he had four steals), and spinning through the lane on offense, Iverson engineered the reversal with 15 points down the stretch, plus three of his team-high five assists.

It all impressed his college coach.

"Iverson`s maturing," former Georgetown boss John Thompson said. "He did what he was supposed to do when he was supposed to do it. I`m happy for him."

Iverson, whose 76ers entered the All-Star break with the best record in the East, had some help during the rally, including from backcourt mate Stephon Marbury of the Nets, who hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute.

"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?"` Iverson said.

By producing the way he did with the outcome on the line, Iverson upstaged such other young stars as Toronto`s Vince Carter (16 points, including two rousing first-half dunks, one after a 360-degree turn in the air, the other a windmill slam), and the Lakers` Bryant (West-leading 19 points, but he passed up a chance to take the winning shot at the buzzer).

"That`s why we call him `The Answer,"` said Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo, who had 22 rebounds for the East. "We had so many questions on the bench, and he kept responding."

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: Action News - 6 ABC