Brief break brings honor for JohnsonWest coach is wished well at a gospel brunch in Houston12:17 AM CST on Monday, February 20, 2006By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning NewsHOUSTON ? Coaching the West All-Stars wasn't the only honor for Avery Johnson over the weekend.The Mavericks coach was recognized along with local pastors, city council leaders and former boxer Evander Holyfield at a gospel brunch Sunday morning. The event, held in the front of roughly 1,000 people at the George R. Brown Convention Center, touched Johnson, who still has a home outside Houston."When you get honored in other circles, it makes you feel good," Johnson said. "You have people in other walks of life who really like what you're doing as a person."This was not just about winning basketball games, it was not about celebrating the No. 6 who won a championship, but celebrating me as a person."Johnson, who also took part in a Players Association fashion show, talked about how much joy the event brought his family and friends. He took his kids to the Jam Session but had to leave early because the crowd was so big and so many people wanted to wish him well.The defensive-minded Johnson, who never made the All-Star Game as a player, even uttered a phrase in Saturday's practice that Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki couldn't believe."He said we're really trying to outscore this team," Nowitzki said. "I was like, 'Did he really just say that?' That's the first time I've ever heard him say that."He will hear that from me for the rest of the year, for sure."Well, maybe not the rest of the year."We've been having a lot of fun," Johnson said. "But as soon as 6 a.m. comes Monday morning, we'll really be back to work."Repeat performance: It's been 20 years since Spud Webb won the Slam Dunk contest in Dallas.New York's Nate Robinson paid homage to that moment by jumping over Webb on his way to the title Saturday night. The idea actually came from Knicks teammate Jamal Crawford."I wasn't that nervous," said Webb, who still lives in Dallas. "We practiced it and you know, he cleared me. He was so high."I was telling guys all night [Friday] how high he jumped, trying to keep it in that he was going to jump over me."Minute by minute: The Mavericks and Spurs are in a tight race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio's Tim Duncan was asked if he was concerned that Avery Johnson, the coach of the West team, would give him 35 or more minutes Sunday on the hope he might be tired coming out of the All-Star break."I think Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] threatened Avery with bodily harm if I get over a certain amount of minutes," Duncan said.Duncan played just under 11 minutes in the first half and finished with 19 minutes.Briefly: Kobe Bryant hasn't been able to break Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100 points in a regular-season game. What about Chamberlain's record of 42 points in an All-Star Game?"I don't go for anything," Bryant said before the game. He finished with 8 points.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...fs.85d9c41.html
