West Is Best as Richmond Shows the Way : NBA: Sacramento star is most valuable player in 139-112 All-Star game victory over East.

The West showed why it holds the balance of power in the NBA.

In a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter, the Western Conference rode the shooting of Mitch Richmond on Sunday to beat the Eastern Conference, 139-112, in the NBA All-Star game.

The Sacramento King star led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting and took home the most valuable player award in his third All-Star game.

“This just caps off how we’ve turned things around in Sacramento,” Richmond said.

Even Shaquille O’Neal’s first good performance as an All-Star couldn’t match the West’s firepower.

Utah’s Karl Malone and Phoenix’s Charles Barkley each scored 15 points. Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon had 13 points and 11 rebounds. And Seattle’s Gary Payton had 15 assists.

After two years of frustration, O’Neal finally had a good All-Star game, leading the East with 22 points, making nine of 16 shots.

The East was never really in this one, falling behind by 16 points at halftime.

A three-point basket by Joe Dumars made the score 79-69 with 6:18 to play in the third quarter. Then O’Neal grabbed a rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and drove to the basket, drawing the foul and cutting the lead to eight.

That was as close as the East got. The West proceeded to outscore the Eastern All-Stars, 25-10. Richmond led the way with 10 points, including two three-point baskets, and the West capped the spurt with three-point baskets by Richmond and Detlef Schrempf.

By the end of the quarter, the West led, 104-81, and the outcome was decided.

In the fourth quarter, things started to get ragged, not to mention downright silly.

O’Neal tried a three-point shot and hit nothing but . . . air. On the next possession, rival center Hakeem Olajuwon attempted one, too. He made his.

And during a timeout with 5:50 left, the Suns’ gorilla mascot was dunking off a springboard, and Barkley wanted to join the fun. But as he took the ball in his hands, teammate Dan Majerle pulled him back, and Western Conference Coach Paul Westphal came running out on the court to stop him, too.

For the East, Orlando’s Anfernee Hardaway and Chicago’s Scottie Pippen each scored 12 points, and Hardaway had 11 assists. Detroit’s Joe Dumars scored 10 points, and his Piston teammate, rookie Grant Hill, had 10.

After the East took a 127-118 decision last season at Minneapolis, the West won for the third time in four years.