One to Grow on for Iverson

The subplots had all fizzled toward the end of the 54th All-Star game.

Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant? Nothing there.

The run-and-gun Phoenix Suns? Only 18 combined points for their three All-Stars.

The kids held up their part of the deal -- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade accrued a pleasant array of highlight footage -- but they weren’t quite most valuable player material.

In the end, a relative old-timer, 29-year-old Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson, was the last story line standing after the Eastern Conference defeated the West, 125-115, before 18,227 Sunday at the Pepsi Center.

Iverson had 15 points, nine assists and more MVP votes than anybody in a mostly bland game where no All-Star player scored 20 points for the first time since 1981. Bryant had 16 points, second-most on the West. Seattle SuperSonic guard Ray Allen had a game-high 17 points.

Iverson made four of 14 shots and had seven turnovers, three more than any other player, but he gladly accepted top honors of the night and took the occasion to declare himself all grown up.

Iverson, who also won the MVP award in 2001, said he had matured beyond his bad-boy image that included confrontations with coaches and various legal run-ins off the court.

“I’m older, simple as that,” he said. “You can’t expect me to stay 25, 26 years old forever. You’ve got to grow up. A lot of mistakes that I made before in my life, I wish it never happened, but I’m happy I made those mistakes and make sure I don’t make them again. It’s all in becoming a man.”

Also, handing out enough assists to stop the West from winning a fourth consecutive All-Star game.

Of course, it helped that the East had added O’Neal to its roster since the last All-Star game at Staples Center a year ago. O’Neal had 12 points but prevented double teams from hovering around Iverson.

“When you take Shaquille O’Neal from the West and then bring him to the East, nine times out of 10 you can say that the East is stronger regardless of the other four guys that you have on the floor,” Iverson said.

O’Neal and Bryant quickly slipped off center stage after ignoring each other during pregame handshakes at center court.

They came together only once during the game, when O’Neal was called for a reach-in foul as Bryant was driving toward the basket in the second quarter.

“I’m really not going to make this weekend about myself and Shaquille,” Bryant said. “I obviously respect Shaquille tremendously for what he can do on the basketball floor and vice versa. Even when we played together, we weren’t the best of buddies, but we won three titles, so I think everybody has to just kind of leave that in the past and move on.”

Their reception from the crowd during introductions might have been the one item of note. O’Neal placed his hand on his chest and simulated a beating heart as he was greeted with cheers. Bryant, 125 miles from Eagle, Colo., where he was charged with sexual assault in July 2003, was booed lustily. The charges against Bryant were dropped last September.

There were other moments to record Sunday, events that could only happen within the parameters of an All-Star game.

San Antonio Spur forward Tim Duncan, hardly known for his ballhandling skills, led a successful fastbreak by dribbling from one end to the other and dunking without hesitation.

Later, New Jersey Net forward Vince Carter found a seam in the defense, threw the ball off the backboard and dunked it.

Wade had 14 points and James had 13 for the East. Afterward, James, in his first All-Star game, complimented Iverson, in his sixth All-Star game.

“People judge a book by its cover about Allen Iverson all the time, which is not right,” James said. “He’s a totally different person than what everybody perceives him to be. He played great tonight and he has great athletic ability and helped us win.”

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Kobe Bryant’s statistics in his seventh All-Star appearance:

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FG FT 3-Pts O Reb Reb Assis Fouls Steals T’over Blocks Points ts 7-14 0-0 2-5 3 6 7 5 3 4 1 16

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