A stunning fourth-quarter comeback led by Allen Iverson. A thrilling final-minute shootout between Stephon Marbury and Kobe Bryant.
The ball in Bryant's hands for the last shot. A pass that no one expected. A last-second miss. A postgame celebration worthy of June.
Yes, it was quite an All-Star Game.
Iverson, Marbury and his Eastern Conference teammates transformed what looked like a blowout loss into an improbable 111-110 victory Sunday in a performance fitting of the 50th anniversary of the game.
"It was like a championship game out there," Dikembe Mutombo said. "I've been in the All-Star Game the last seven years, and I've never seen anything like this."
It was the kind of game that might stop people dismissing the East as far weaker than the West, the kind of game that might make the casual fan appreciate the heart and determination of some of the younger stars trying to seize the spotlight in the post-Jordan era.
Mostly, it was kind of game that any fan of any sport would prefer to see — a riveting one.
Iverson scored 15 of his 25 points in the final nine minutes, and Marbury hit two three-pointers in the final 53 seconds as the East came back from a 21-point deficit.
Bryant, the NBA's leading scorer, could have taken the last shot. Instead, in a shock to everyone sitting in the building and watching on television, he threw a pass that resulted in a last-second miss by Tim Duncan.
"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?"
Turns out they could.
While presenting the MVP award to Iverson, NBA Commissioner David Stern, with a sly grin on his face, told Iverson that great basketball "can be wrapped — if you pardon the expression — in very small packages."
The comment was a clever reference to Iverson's height -- he is an inch or two shy of 6 feet -- and Iverson's rap album, which was criticized for its lyrics and led to a meeting with the commissioner.
Iverson, who starred collegiately in this city at Georgetown and had a large contingent of family and friends in the arena, presented his MVP trophy to his mother.
"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."
The East trailed 95-74 with nine minutes left after the West dominated the first 39 minutes behind its superior size. It appeared the game would come out looking like a mismatch that would back up all the Western Conference superiority theories that have been thrown around so frequently this season.
But the East started pecking away, and Iverson walked over to the scorer's table during a timeout and asked if anyone wanted to wager whether the East would make a comeback.
That's exactly what the East proceeded to do, with Jerry Stackhouse and Vince Carter making three-point shots that were followed by a three-point play by Iverson to cut the West's lead to 100-96.
Iverson scored the East's next two points from the line, and Tracy McGrady tied it on a putback with 3:10 left.
"We had every reason to make this like a regular All-Star Game and lay down and stop playing, and it didn't happen," East coach Larry Brown said. "I had no idea we could come from behind. It was a wonderful ending for us."
Iverson scored the East's next five points, and a chant of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" was heard after his two foul shots gave the East a 105-104 lead.
But that chant might have revved up someone else, instead.
Someone named Bryant.
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.
nba final reference 在 pennyccw Youtube 的最佳解答
IT HAD the feel, the aura of a prizefight. Here was Allen Iverson, in his Denver Nuggets uniform, a Band-Aid covering a cut above his left eye, resolutely walking through the door of the postgame interview area, past a cordon of TV cameras, tape recorders and security, the final steps of his path roped off from the assembled reporters.
In this corner . . .
Was the former 76ers star guard.
Open.
Thoughtful.
Informative.
Patient.
This wasn't the Iverson who, before facing the Sixers in Denver in January, said, "I don't care anything about them," and said that despite having been with them for 10 years "they kicked me out as if I had been there 1 day."
This was a gracious, contemplative Iverson. The warrior in him would have to wait until the game started.
"I'm 32 years old now, simple as that," Iverson said before last night's 115-113 Sixers win. "That's the only answer I can give you. I don't make the mistakes, do some of the things I was accustomed to doing anymore. I don't want to be that person that I used to be.
"But I don't regret any of it, because I feel like going through what I went through here, my ups and downs, helped me to be the man I am today . . . I would never want to throw away the experience I had in Philadelphia. I don't regret anything, but I'm just not that same person.
"I still make mistakes off the basketball court. I still turn it over on the basketball court. But I think I'm a better person, a better player at this point in my life."
He dealt with the media for 15 minutes, 6 seconds, then left to complete his preparation for his first game against his former team in his former arena. When he came through the tunnel leading to the court to warm up, he ran directly to center court, kissed the Sixers logo and waved to however many people were already there.
When public-address announcer Matt Cord - who usually low-keys the visitors' lineup during introductions - began a louder, more complete introduction of Iverson, it was virtually impossible to hear his final words. The sellout crowd was already standing, applauding, cheering wildly. The ovation lasted 1 minute, 5 seconds and might have gone longer had Cord not begun introducing Iverson's backcourt mate, Anthony Carter. As a frame of reference, when Charles Barkley returned to the Spectrum for the first time with the Phoenix Suns in 1993, his standing ovation lasted 42 seconds.
Through it all, Iverson remained stoical. He walked a few steps in different directions. Finally, he cupped his hand to his ear, a signature move from the best days of the Iverson Era. The sound level rose.
He said he wanted the entire experience to be positive. And it was. There were Iverson jerseys all over the stands. There were also some Andre Iguodala jerseys. And at least one Thaddeus Young jersey. You knew Iverson was taking it all in. Meanwhile, his mom, Ann, sat courtside in the second row near the Nuggets' bench, signing dozens of autographs.
But earlier, he reflected on the Iverson who came to Philadelphia in 1996 as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
"I came to this organization, I was 21, I thought I was ready," he said. "I wasn't ready. I never had a dime in my life, and then all of a sudden I came into a bunch of millions . . . I was a fish out of water.
"I did a lot of things [with the Sixers] . . . Looking back on it, it's embarrassing, but I can share a lot of experiences, a lot of do's and do nots. I don't regret any of it."
nba final reference 在 ALL NBA Champions 1947 | Every NBA Finals Winners 2022 的推薦與評價
Thank to basketball- reference for the help NBA CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS ... NBA Champions (1947-2022)| NBA Finals MVP Since (1969-2022) List Of ... ... <看更多>