Fully deserved his MVP award for the All Star game, now lets get the full house, regular season MVP and Playoff MVP (not going to happen) But our one TWolf did us proud, with a great performance
Reply ATLANTA -- Go to the NBA All-Star Game, have fun and bring home some hardware, the coach from his day job had told Kevin Garnett. Hardware? Forget the tool belt. Garnett needed a hernia belt after lugging a massive gold-and-polished-wood trophy, bigger than a Mafia princess' wedding cake, around the bowels of Philips Arena after the NBA's annual showcase event as Sunday night turned into Monday morning. Good thing the Timberwolves talented forward was flying back via private jet. No way that thing -- Garnett's prize for being named Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds, three assists and five steals in the Western Conference's 155-145 two-overtime victory -- gets clearance through the metal detector. Garnett did bring the trophy home, by the way, despite a lighthearted suggestion that he offer it up to Michael Jordan, the NBA legend making his final All-Star appearance and, for much of the night, the sentimental favorite to win the award. Michael Jordan acknowledges the crowd. John Bazemore Associated Press Vince Carter, at the urging of the East team, gave up his starting spot to Jordan, so the trophy seemed like fair game, too. "If he wants it, he can have it," Garnett said, with some sincerity. "I'm in the books. I'm good. "You know what, when they talk about his last, they'll bring it up [that Garnett won the MVP]. It's something they can't take away from me, man. I'm a fact. It feels good to be a fact in Michael Jordan's last game. Special weekend, special time, and this is even more special." Toronto Raptors Vince Carter, East, puts pressure on Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Garnett. Dave Martin Associated Press Garnett won the award that Wolves coach Flip Saunders had targeted for him with, clearly, his best All-Star performance in six trips. His 37 points were three more than he has scored in a serious game so far this season. Garnett, 26, was cruising along nicely most of the night, leading all scorers with 14 points at halftime and 26 by the end of regulation. But he got six of those o help the West dig out of a 116-106 hole over the final four minutes. Then Garnett scored the first seven points of the second overtime to give his squad a lead it never lost. There were thrills and spills before and in between Garnett's big plays, in the first All-Star Game to run 58 minutes. Among the most dramatic: Jordan missing a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation, Jordan hitting a high-arcing, Hollywood shot from the right baseline with five seconds left in the first overtime, Kobe Bryant missing one of three free throws with 1.0 left to send the game to another five minutes tied at 138-138. In the end, though, it was Garnett towering over NBA Commissioner David Stern at center court, beaming and working hard to be gracious in the sort of ceremony that so rare to him. "I've never won anything in my life," Garnett said later, away from the lights. "I'm just very pleased right now." When the game started, Garnett seemed willing to relax, enjoy the event and serve as a simmering little subplot in his fractured relationship with former teammate Stephon Marbury, also a member of the West squad. Their Martin-Lewis split and, one way or another, their anticipated reunion was capturing what scarce attention was left over after the clamor over Jordan and Yao Ming's All-Star debut. But it didn't play out that way. Marbury played only 15 minutes, scored four points and watched all but three of the game's final 22 minutes in his Suns' warmups. They spent most of the weekend avoiding each other -- Marbury even avoided eye contact when passing Garnett on the court during warmups -- and managed to do so in the game, too. They were on the court together a grand total of 1 minute 49 seconds, all in the first quarter, all uneventful. "It was a situation where we both totally were doing whatever, individuals," Garnett said. "I didn't want to push anything. I'm not going to sweat anybody. I didn't come into the All-Star Weekend looking for or expecting anything." Instead, Garnett showed what can happened when he finally does get surrounded with some, er, talented teammates. Now it's back to 33 more games of heavy lifting for the Wolves. "I think you put talent around any kind of other talent, and things happen," he said. "I'm not a [general manager], I don't make any decisions or anything like that. But if you look at a lot of teams, that's what they have: A lot of talent. And that's why they're succesful."
