In an offensively loaded All-Star Game, Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers led the Eastern Conference All-Stars to a 125-115 win over the Western Conference All Stars. A.I. took home MVP honors for the second time in his career, scoring 15 points and leading all players with nine assists and five steals.
The West jumped out to an early 13 point lead, only for the East to answer with a 17-0 run in the second quarter that gave them a two-point lead going into halftime. The game remained fairly close throughout its duration, with the East hanging on for the victory. Ray Allen led all scorers with 17 points, but his effort was not enough for the West to emerge victorious.
The rookie game was not as close of a contest. The Sophomores, led by Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony's 31 points, won easily over the Rookies, 133-106. Anthony, playing in front of his home crowd, hit 13 of 18 shots and took home MVP honors.
The Rookies came out firing and led 64-58 at the half. However, their fortune was reversed in the second half, with the Sophs storming out of the gate and blowing out their younger counterparts. This was the third consecutive year that the Sophs have defeated the Rookies.
High-flying Atlanta Hawks rookie Josh Smith scored a perfect 50 on three of his dunks on his way to winning the Slam Dunk Contest. Among his slams were a leaping jam over Nuggets' forward Kenyon Martin, as well a windmill dunk, made famous by former Hawks great Dominique Wilkins, while wearing a throwback Wilkins jersey. Smith defeated Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire in the final round of the competition.
Stoudemire's teammate, guard/forward Quentin Richardson, won the three-point shooting contest, while fellow Suns guard Steve Nash easily won the Skills Competition. Suns forward Shawn Marion, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, and retired Suns guard Dan Majerle took home the hardware in the Shooting Stars competition.
Now, here's Part II of Inside the NBA's All-Star Break Report.
The surprise team of the year is the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics were not brought up in preseason discussions of playoff contenders, let alone division winners. However, they've made all doubters eat their words.
Seattle is currently third in the West, and holds a ten game lead in the Northwest Division. Led by All-Stars Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, the Sonics are playing to their strengths and have been one of the NBA's premier teams up to this point. Coach Nate McMillan has done a fantastic job in turning around a team that made no major acquisitions during the offseason and seemed doomed for mediocrity.
McMillan and Allen are in contract years, and negotiations thus far have been decent at best. Allen is looking for a big long-term deal, but he and the team are about $30 million apart on contract talks. Allen has been part of several trade rumors, and whether or not the sides will come to agreeable terms on a contract is questionable at the moment. The ability for Seattle to continue its winning ways will be watched closely throughout the duration of this season. Honorable mention: Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards.
The most disappointing team of the year would have to be the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves had the same team that fell just short of the Western Conference finals, and have had a healthy Wally Szczerbiak and Troy Hudson for nearly the whole season. Kevin Garnett has continued to post his MVP-like numbers, averaging 22.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game.
Expectations were high, with many believing that the Wolves would break through to win it all. However, their struggles can be primarily attributed to the lack of production from veterans Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell. Sprewell is averaging career lows in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game, and has complained about contract negotiations as he is in the final year of his deal with the team.
While Cassell's numbers have not dropped quite as much, they are still down across the board compared to his numbers last year.
In addition, the inconsistency of their frontcourt has added to their problems. They are 10 games back of Seattle in the Northwest, and currently wouldn't qualify for the playoffs. They just fired Coach Flip Saunders and are a team in need of some personnel changes as well. Honorable mention: Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, and the entire Atlantic Division, which is poised to send the worst three-seed in NBA history into the playoffs.
The sixth man of the year award goes to Vladimir Radmanovic of the Supersonics. The Bosnian forward, in his fourth year in Seattle, has become a key figure in the Sonics' winning ways. His 12.5 points per game is third on the team, and he leads the team in three-point shooting, hitting 41 percent of his trifectas. He has taken some of the defensive attention away from Allen and Lewis, and his combination of size and shooting range makes him a tough matchup for many teams.
He fits in perfectly with Seattle's perimeter-oriented strategy and is another of the Seattle players that will become free agents in the offseason. Seattle will have competition in trying to retain Vlad's services, as he will be a fairly sought after free agent. Honorable mention: Antonio Daniels (Seattle), Marquis Daniels (Dallas Mavericks).
