The 11-time All-Star has won the NBA scoring title five times and is considered one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
Judging by the lack of offers he received as a free agent this summer and after he was waived by the Grizzlies in November, Allen Iverson isn't very popular among league executives. Whether it be age, attitude, style of play or a combination of the three, the value of the diminutive guard has diminished quickly over the last two seasons.
But judging by the final results of All-Star balloting, Iverson will always have his fans.
Though he's played just 19 games this season, Iverson received 1,269,568 votes and finished second among Eastern Conference guards in this year's balloting. Health permitting, he'll be starting alongside Dwyane Wade in the visitors' backcourt at Cowboys Stadium on Feb. 14. It's Iverson's 11th straight All-Star selection. (Click here for West starters)
"Without the fans, there wouldn't be no us," Iverson told NBA.com earlier this week. "For them to want to see me, regardless of what's been going on, that says a lot about how they feel about me. I just thank 'em for that."
Iverson has been dealing with arthritis in his left knee, which has forced him to miss five games since he rejoined the Sixers. He doesn't have the burst that has allowed him to relentlessly get to the basket in years past. And he'll keep his body in mind when it comes to making a decision on whether or not to take the court in Dallas.
"I want to be able to make sure my fans are happy, because they want to see me play," he said. "But I have to be smart about the future of this franchise right here."
Still, knowing Iverson's desire to play the game and the love he has for those that support him, it's very likely he'll be on the floor when the game tips off at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
Joining Iverson and Wade in the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference will be forwards LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, and center Dwight Howard.
It's the 13th All-Star selection for Garnett, the sixth for both James and Wade, and the fourth for Howard.
There are clearly more deserving guards than Iverson. A case can be made for Chris Bosh over Garnett, who is expected to play this Friday after missing the last 10 games with a hyperextended right knee. But there can be no argument with the trio of Wade, James and Howard. And they rightfully dominated the voting at their positions. James was the overall leading vote-getter with 2,549,793 votes, while Howard (2,360,096 votes) and Wade (2,327,550 votes) finished third and fourth overall respectively.
The rest of East roster will be voted on by the conference's coaches and announced Thursday, Jan. 28 on TNT. With Howard's team a disappointing six games off their pace of last season and James' supporting cast a bit more balanced, it's possible that Garnett will be the only starter who will be joined by a teammate in Dallas.
Fortunately, the starters are familiar with each other. Though Iverson has changed teams twice since, bouncing to and from the Western Conference, this is the same starting lineup that the East put on the floor last year in Phoenix, when they fell to the West, 146-119.
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The Clippers gave absentee coach Mike Dunleavy the perfect remedy for his balky backache.
With assistant coach Tony Brown orchestrating the show, the Clippers used a strong fourth quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-88 on Thursday night in the NBA's final game of the decade. Chris Kaman had 26 points and 10 rebounds, as all the Clippers' starters scored in double figures.
Dunleavy, who aggravated a herniated disc in his back while getting ready to go to Staples Center, remained home and watched on TV as his team shot 55 percent from the field and 10 for 16 from 3-point range.
"He was in a lot of pain, and he's been fighting a flu bug," said Brown, who had only about 5 hours notice. "He mentioned that he was having some trouble that caused him to get some treatment for his back, and his sneezing really escalated the back issues. But I talked to Mike again before I came in here, and he was quite happy with the win."
This was the third time Brown has been placed in this emergency role during his 11 seasons as an NBA assistant coach, and the third time he's won. It also happened with the Boston Celtics, when Doc Rivers had to leave the team suddenly because of a death in the family, and again with Milwaukee when Larry Krystowiak's wife went into labor with twins.
"Everything we ran tonight was stuff that we've been running," Brown said. "It was short notice, and I wasn't going to go through an old playbook of mine and confuse the guys. So I didn't use any of Doc's stuff. I didn't expect to be coaching tonight, but it feels good to get a win. We really needed it."
Baron Davis had 20 points and seven assists for the Clippers and Marcus Camby contributed 14 points and 10 boards. Los Angeles completed a season sweep of the 76ers after losing both meetings in each of the previous two seasons.
Lou Williams led Philadelphia with 19 points and Elton Brand had 17 in his first road game against the Clippers since he left town as a free agent. The 76ers, coming off victories over Portland and Sacramento, still haven't won three in a row this season.
"We just had a lapse, a mental lapse," Brand said. "We didn't get rebounds and we didn't have the toughness that we had the last two games. We had the lead, but we couldn't keep it. In the third quarter, we started out of synch. They got easy bucket after easy bucket, and we were behind the 8-ball."
Los Angeles fell behind by as many as 13 points after Brand intercepted a pass by Sebastian Telfair and converted the turnover into a breakaway dunk with 2:46 left in the first quarter to cap a 19-4 run. But the Clippers sliced the margin to 51-49 by halftime, as Kaman led all scorers with 16 points despite missing nine of 15 shots.
Los Angeles pulled ahead for good at 55-52 on a 3-pointer by Rasual Butler with 9 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter and extended the margin to 78-63 on another 3 by Camby with 6.6 seconds left in the period.
"The intensity was way up, which is something that we hadn't had in a while," Brown said. "Our third quarters have been normally been slow-starting for us and giving teams a chance to stretch leads. But I think we did a really good job defensively on their perimeter guys, making them take tough contested shots.
"Then we got some timely shots by Rasual Butler, and Baron just carried us down the stretch with his timely shots and playmaking skills."
Brand, who signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Sixers in July 2008 after he opted out of his Clippers contract, came off the bench for the ninth straight game. When he reported in with 3:18 left in the first quarter and Philadelphia leading 25-16, he was booed lustily by the crowd of 15,257.
"It was definitely strange, playing on the other side here. It was kind of surreal," Brand said. "I mean, there were a few plays where they did something good, and I wanted to give Kaman a high-five. But it's been a long time since I left, so it was a lot easier."
Brand holds the Clippers franchise record with 4,710 rebounds. After he left, Dunleavy accused Brand of backing out of a verbal agreement to return to the Clippers and never giving an explanation. Davis signed with Los Angeles as a free agent prior to that, with the understanding that he would play with Brand.
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Vince Carter lost his personal battle
with fellow superstar Allen Iverson, but the Toronto Raptors won
the war thanks to Keon Clark.
Clark had a season-high 23 points, eight rebounds, four blocked
shots and sparked a furious second-half comeback as the Raptors
overcame 51 points by Iverson in a rousing 110-106 overtime
victory over the league-leading Philadelphia 76ers.
Toronto starting center Antonio Davis left the game in the first
quarter with a sprained left ankle, forcing Clark to play a
season-high 39 minutes off the bench. Acquired from Denver on
January 12 in the deal that sent veteran forward Kevin Willis to
the Nuggets, Clark quietly stole the show from two of the NBA's
top scorers.
"We're excited about (Clark)," Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said.
"We're trying to work in as quickly as we can, and show him
something different every day, and he's just gobbling it up.
He's excited about being here and I thought that was just an
incredible job he did to step in for (Davis). We went to him
several times because we wanted him to know we had confidence in
him. He did a great job."
After helping Toronto eclipse a 20-point first-half deficit,
Clark watched helplessly as Iverson fueled a 17-0 Philadelphia
burst with 11 points, leaving the Raptors with an 89-78 deficit
with 8:47 left in regulation.
But the 6-11 reserve pivotman responded with a free throw and a
basket, pinned what appeared to be a sure layup by Iverson to
the boards and sank a 15-footer that drew Toronto within 93-92
with 1:55 remaining.
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