Rookie game



MULTIMEDIA

Iverson says he wasn't trying to put on a show.
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CLEVELAND -- Allen Iverson, sporting a new look and the same lightning-quick game, backed up his boasts with 19 points and nine assists as he led the Eastern Conference to a 96-91 victory over the West in the Schick Rookie Game on Saturday night.

Allen Iverson floats past Travis Knight for two of his 19 points.

Wearing a headband over hair braided in cornrows, Iverson overcame a sloppy start and ignored the boos from the Gund Arena crowd to earn the MVP award.

"Coming into the game, I felt everybody probably figured I would come out and try to shoot up all the balls, try to think I had something to prove, win the MVP trophy," Iverson said.

"That wasn't the case. I just wanted to come out and give my teammates the ball. Without those guys, I wouldn't be holding this trophy."

East coach Red Auerbach, the Celtics' Hall of Famer, was impressed with the young Sixer.

"The kid is coachable," Auerbach said. "With all of his great talent and flamboyance, he's coachable. I love him. I love him."

Iverson said playing for Auerbach is an experience he won't soon forget.

"I was playing with a great coach," Iverson said. "I was telling the coach it was a great experience I'm going to treasure for the rest of my life. I'm never going to forget this."

After saying Saturday that he was the best rookie in this class, Iverson proved it. He became the fourth guard in as many rookie games to win the MVP.

To do so, he had to overcome Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant scored 31 points, a record in the four-year history of the contest, but played on the losing team.

Bryant, an 18-year-old who was playing at the high-school level at this point last year, won the dunk contest later in the evening.

"I think Kobe played a great basketball game," Iverson said. "I think he's been great all year. The guy never played college basketball."

East forward Marcus Camby played a terrific all-around game and scored 18 points for the East.

But the night belonged to Iverson, who played as if he were trying to prove wrong his detractors. He had eight assists in the first half, when the East shot a blistering 68 percent (25-of-37) from the field and raced to a 17-point lead.

Camby carried the first-half scoring load with 14 points. But he cooled off in the second half, and Iverson -- who leads all rookies in scoring and assists -- picked up the slack, with 15 points after the intermission.

"He is a great guard," Boston Celtics forward Antoine Walker said of Iverson. "He sees the floor well. He's one of those guys you can get real excited about playing with."

Despite a record 31 points, Kobe Bryant still didn't get his hands on the MVP trophy.

After a 3-pointer by the 6-foot-11 Camby, Iverson scored to give the East a seemingly safe 76-57 lead with 5:40 remaining.

But Bryant led a charge that pulled the West within 87-82 with just more than a minute to go. Iverson made six foul shots in the final minute to seal the win, the East's second in a row.

It was the highest-scoring contest in the rookie game's brief history. Bryant eclipsed Lakers teammate Eddie Jones' record of 25 set in 1993.

Auerbach said he took issue with the theory that the NBA's young players are disrespectful.

"Whatever they say, all these guys, there were no wise guys and nobody that couldn't pay attention," Auerbach said. "I lost my voice, and they all moved in closer to me so they could hear."

Walker led the East with 20 points. Vancouver Grizzlies forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 17 points, and Lakers guard Derek Fisher added 16 for the West.

For the first time, players wore the uniforms of their own team rather than league-commissioned jerseys. Coupled with background music and ragged play, the early going looked like a schoolyard game.

No one looked more like a playground player than Iverson. He was booed during introductions and had a couple of early turnovers that drew some hoots from the crowd.

"That was the first time I ever recall being booed," Iverson said.

The players calmed down and began scoring at a pace that fans of the deliberate Cavaliers haven't seen all season. A basket by center Travis Knight -- one of a record three Lakers in the game -- drew the West within 26-25 before the East scored four consecutive baskets on spectacular plays in the next 90 seconds.

Camby was in the middle of all of them. He had a 360-dunk, then fed New Jersey guard Kerry Kittles for an alley-oop dunk. Iverson had a pair of slick passes that led to baskets by Camby, and the East was off and running.