Michael Jordan got the start and provided one more lasting moment. But it was all Kevin Garnett at the finish. The 52nd NBA All-Star Game was Jordan's last and filled with firsts as the Western Conference exhausted the Eastern Conference 155-145 in a double-overtime thriller. Given a surprise start as Toronto's Vince Carter stepped aside, Jordan appeared to make yet another of his seemingly endless series of game-winning shots. The superstar swingman of the Washington Wizards threw in a high-arcing jumper from the right baseline over Phoenix's Shawn Marion that gave the East a 138-136 lead with 4.8 seconds left in the first overtime, bringing a roar from the Philips Arena crowd. "I didn't think it was going to go in, but it went in," said Marion, who was victimized for a game-winning shot by Jordan in Phoenix last season. "I thought it was the game-winner, but anything can happen in an NBA game," Jordan said. Anything did. A foul call on a three-point attempt put Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at the line for three free throws with one second to go. Bryant made just two free throws to tie the game. "The first thing when Kobe got up, he said, 'I can't believe he called that,'" said Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal, who committed the foul. Bryant's free throws forced an unprecedented second extra session, which belonged entirely to Garnett. The 7-footer of the Minnesota Timberwolves -- who played shooting guard earlier in the game -- took the smaller Carter into the low post for three straight jumpers. He added a foul shot for a 145-138 lead with 3:38 remaining, and the West never trailed again. "It looked like old 23 crept back in the building and was trying to take the game, but for the most part, we hung together and won," Garnett said. Garnett collected his first All-Star Game MVP award as he scored 37 points on 17-of-24 shooting and added nine rebounds and five steals. His points were the most in an All-Star Game since Jordan scored 40 in 1988. "The All-Star Game is not about individual," said Garnett, an unselfish superstar. "It's totally a group effort. It's a time for you to share stories, good times, emotional times with your teammates." Jordan, who turns 40 in eight days, gave Garnett some stories to share. He started very slowly and even missed a dunk in the first quarter. But he became the all-time leading scorer in the All-Star Game late in the third quarter and finished with 20 points on 9-of-27 shooting. "I think I got a chance to enjoy some good young company tonight," Jordan said. Some of that company joined Jordan on the Eastern Conference. Guards Allen Iverson of Philadelphia and Tracy McGrady of Orlando -- both of whom offered their starting spot to Jordan -- scored 35 and 29 points, respectively. But it wasn't enough to prevent the East from dropping to 32-20 in the all-time series. "I was going to try to forget my jersey in the locker room," McGrady said. "That way (Jordan) had to start and go out there." Bryant scored 22 points and Steve Francis of Houston added 20 for the West, which erased an eight-point deficit in the last two minutes of regulation and blew a seven-point lead in the last two-plus minutes of the first overtime. San Antonio's Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal had 19 and 13. It was the sixth overtime All-Star Game and the first since 1993 in Utah. Although the first quarter was the lowest-scoring opening period in 50 years and the first half the lowest since 1976, the game fell three points shy of the highest-scoring contest, another overtime affair in 1987. The pace seemed to quicken a bit after a halftime ceremony in which Jordan was serenaded by Mariah Carey, who wore No. 23 jerseys of Chicago and Washington while performing three songs, including "Hero." "I thank you for your support," a visibly humbled Jordan said to the crowd. "I leave the game in good hands." "The halftime ceremony was something I'll remember for a long time," said Francis, who was playing in his second All-Star Game. "I felt like he was talking to me when he said the NBA was going to be in good hands." McGrady took the third quarter into his hands, scoring 17 points to give the East a 93-86 lead. With 2:04 to go in the period, Jordan sank two free throws to move past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (251 points) as the all-time leading scorer. The West overtook the East at 102-100 on a dunk by Shaquille O'Neal with 8:14 to go, but McGrady responded with a three-pointer. Three jumpers by Jordan and a drive by Iverson pushed the lead to 116-106 left and tightened the MVP race. It appeared to be Jordan's when he flipped in a left-handed shot on 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas for a 120-112 lead with 1:58 to play. But he missed shots on three consecutive possessions, allowing the West back in it. "I wanted it to be a competitive game," Jordan said. "It was a fun ending anyway you look at it." Bryant had a chance to win it when he was fouled with 17 seconds left but split the pair, and Marion partially blocked Jordan's jumper at the other end. Despite eight overtime points from Iverson, the East looked dead when Francis hammered home a lob for a 135-128 bulge with 2:09 remaining. But McGrady and New Jersey's Jason Kidd scored four points each as the East surged to a 136-135 edge with 33 seconds left. A free throw by Shaquille O'Neal tied it. "It's easy to come in with the attitude that you are just going to run down the court and jump around and not play hard, but that's not what it is about," Iverson said. "I think the fans deserve more than that." The fans got a huge treat when Carter -- who had been criticized for keeping his starting spot -- stepped aside for Jordan in a classy move. "This is a storybook ending for Michael," Carter said. "I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to be in the All-Star Game, and this is how it's supposed to be." "I felt like he had taken a beating and he shouldn't have," Jordan said. "I think he was being very respectful." But Jordan missed eight of his first 10 shots, and the poor shooting was contagious. The East held a pedestrian 23-18 lead after one period and the West held a 55-52 halftime edge.

Marcus Camby figured his night was over. Big lead, fourth quarter, road game in Houston the next night. Camby was all set to kick back and watch the final quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 110-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. But when Cleveland sliced Denver's 25-point lead to 13 with 7:23 remaining in the game, Camby was sent back in. He scored four of his season-high 26 points in the final quarter and grabbed six of his 17 rebounds. "It's always in the backs of our minds about blowing leads," Camby said. "The guys stepped up down the stretch." Denver needed to the way LeBron James was playing. James finished with his first triple-double of the season -- 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds -- and 10th of his career. "We contained him," said Allen Iverson, who finished with 25 points and nine assists. "That's all you can do with players like that. You can't play this game scared." The Cavaliers cut Denver's cushion to 103-98 on Damon Jones' 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the game. But Denver closed the game out with a 7-1 run. The struggling Cavaliers have now lost four of their last five and dropped into a first-place tie with Washington for the best record in the Eastern Conference. "We've just got to regroup," James said. The Cavaliers received a scare when Denver's J.R. Smith fell on James' right ankle when both were scrambling for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter. James sat out all of 8 seconds before checking back in. "It's been better," James said of the ankle. Carmelo Anthony said earlier in the week this was a painful game to miss. He was looking forward to going up against his good friend James. The two will always be linked as James went first overall in the 2003 NBA draft and Anthony was picked third. Anthony said he'd watch from his living room as he served his second-to-last game for the suspension he received for his role in a fight with the New York Knicks. Anthony's 15-game suspension will be done after he sits out the game Saturday night. He'll be back Monday night as Denver hosts Memphis. James wasn't the least bit sorry that Anthony didn't suit up. "Nah, he ain't my teammate -- no way," James said. "They already killed us on the offensive end, it ain't going to help it. As a competitor, of course I miss him, but not on the court. They definitely are going to be a dangerous team." Smith was suffering from the flu and missed the Friday morning shootaround. He didn't come out onto the court until 6:56 remaining in the first quarter yet he finished with 14 points, the most he's scored since coming off his 10-game suspension earlier this month. "I feel better," he said. The Nuggets were gushing over Camby's play after the game. "I've never seen him score like that," Smith said. "He played like an All-Star center for us," coach George Karl said. The Nuggets have watched third quarter leads slip away in five home games this season. But not on Friday night. "We'll take it," Iverson said. "By 50 points or a point, we'll take it. If we'd have lost, it would have been bad. I like the results we had." Cavaliers coach Mike Brown certainly wasn't pleased. He was clearly frustrated after the game. "I don't know what it is yet, but I'm definitely going to find out," he said. "We keep thinking offensively we're bad, offensively we're bad, offensively we're bad. Yes, we will be bad offensively if we come down and take the first shot, if we come down and take a jump shot without moving the basketball, if we come down and take a shot after one pass. That's what we did tonight. That's the way the Denver Nuggets play. That's the way the Seattle SuperSonics play. That's how teams out West play. They want to get out and run the floor and if we fall into that trap, we will get beat every single time on the floor. ... We don't play a rat race. We don't play a high-tempo basketball game."

Michael Jordan's coach pleaded with him to go back in the game, and the opposing coach made sure Jordan had the chance to end his career with a basket. Jordan's last shot was a free throw, and like his final appearance in an NBA uniform, it was good. One of the greatest players in NBA history played the final game of his illustrious career Wednesday night, not in the setting that he would have preferred but in a special atmosphere nonetheless. Jordan's final moment on the court ended with him receiving applause and a lengthy standing ovation from nearly everyone in the arena -- including the coaches and the other players. He soaked it all up with a wide smile and a wave to the crowd after exiting for good with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 107-87 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. ``Now I guess it hits me that I'm not going to be in a uniform anymore -- and that's not a terrible feeling,'' Jordan said afterward. ``It's something that I've come to grips with, and it's time. This is the final retirement.'' Jordan finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes -- drawing several adoring ovations from the last sellout crowd that will ever watch him play. ``The Philly people did a great job. They gave me the biggest inspiration, in a sense,'' Jordan said. ``Obviously, they wanted to see me make a couple of baskets and then come off. That was very, very respectful, and I had a good time.'' Jordan's final points almost looked scripted, with Eric Snow of the 76ers fouling him in the backcourt for no apparent reason except to send him to the line. ``Coach (Larry Brown) told me to foul him, get him to the line to get some points and get him out of there,'' Snow said. Both foul shots went in, and the Wizards committed a foul one second later so that Jordan could be removed from the game and receive the proper send-off. In a rare scene, the 10 players who remained on the court turned to Jordan and applauded, too. The 40-year-old Jordan would have preferred to end his career in the playoffs, but the Wizards never clicked during his two years in Washington and finished 37-45 in both seasons. But that was merely a footnote on this stirring night, the last time the basketball public was treated to one of the greatest athletes in history playing the game one last time. Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points -- the third-highest total in league history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. His final career average of 30.12 goes down as the best in NBA history, just ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.07. ``I never, never took the game for granted. I was very true to the game, and the game was very true to me. It was just that simple,'' Jordan said. With the Sixers ahead by 21 points with 9 1/2 minutes remaining, the crowd began chanting ``We want Mike.'' The chant grew louder as the period progressed with Jordan remaining seated, and fans ignored the game to stand and stare at the Wizards' bench, wondering why Jordan wasn't playing. This being Philadelphia, they eventually booed. Jordan finally pulled his warmups off and re-entered the game with 2:35 left for his brief final appearance. ``I played here. I told him I at least have to be able to come back (to Philadelphia),'' Wizards coach Doug Collins said. ``I told him to go back in for a minute. He said, 'I'm stiff.' I said, 'Please. They want to see you.' He said, 'Larry Hughes is going to foul out soon, so put me in then.''' Earlier in the game, Jordan showed his age. There was a play in the first quarter when he looked like the Jordan of old, except for the result. Starting near the foul line, Jordan ducked his shoulder, lowered his head, stuck out his tongue and drove to his right, the ball rolling off his fingers ever so softly as it arched toward the net. Rather than going in, though, the ball hit the front rim and missed -- one of several of his shots that came up a few inches short. One of the exceptions was Jordan's final shot of the first half -- a one-handed dunk that came after he received a nice pass under the basket from Bobby Simmons. Jordan hit his first two shots of the third quarter but didn't do much else positive in the period. On an alley-oop pass from Tyronn Lue, the ball hit him in the fingertips and bounced harmlessly away. A lazy crosscourt pass was picked off by Aaron McKie, leading to one of Philadelphia's 31 fast-break points. Jordan's final field-goal attempt was a missed layup with 8:13 remaining. ``I'm not embarrassed,'' Jordan said, ``but it's just not ... I've had better feelings in terms of playing a competitive game.'' The standing ovation that Jordan received lasted about three minutes, with Jordan smiling, nodding and chewing gum throughout. The group Boyz II Men sang ``It's So Hard To Say Goodbye'' between the first and second quarters as a montage of Jordan's career highlights was shown on the scoreboard.

4th NBA Rookie Challenge Game. Date: February 8, 1997, at Gund Arena in Cleveland; Coaches: Eastern Conference: Red Auerbach; Western Conference: Red Holzman; The (BIG) Class of the 96/97 Season: Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Stephon Marbury (not playin'), Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Derek Fisher, Kerry Kittles, Marcus Camby...etc.

NBA Draft Night Highlight of AI At 6 feet tall and 165 pounds (maybe), Allen Iverson was the smallest first-overall draft pick in the history of the National Basketball Association. Everyone wanted to know if he could survive in NBA's land of big men. By the end of his debut season, he had set records and earned awards such as NBA Rookie of the Year. Allen proved that not only could he survive in the NBA, but that he could come out on top as well. Although he has been criticized for his "bad boy" image, Allen has been working to overcome that without severing his ties to his past and who he is. Controversy? It follows Allen. But, no one can debate the contribution he has made to the NBA.

Baron Davis slams it home on Kevin Garnett.

More Allen Iverson pictures/media/videos @ http://AllenIversonFantasy.com Allen Iverson's Interview on the ESPN show "Quite Frankly" with Stephen A. Smith Allen Iverson talks about basketball, life, family, and he FINALLY talks about the 2002 incident with his wife and the police and what REALLY happened. Very long and indepth interview. The video is very long and big in filesize, so be patient while loading.

This is the fifth consecutive game that iverson's got his 40 or more points when he was playing for the Philadelphia Sixers in his Rookie Season. Chris Webber and Juwon Howard were the Bullets. Allen Iverson extended his rookie record of consecutive 40-point games to five, finishing with 40 points after making a 26-footer following a Philadelphia timeout with 19 seconds left. The 76ers have lost all five games despite Iverson averaging 43.6 points in that span. And Iverson now is playing for the Denver Nuggets.