09:08 AM CST on Monday, February 21, 2005

Associated Press

DENVER – LeBron James and a host of outstanding young players are knocking on the door of NBA stardom.

But Philadelphia's Allen Iverson showed Sunday night that not all of those old stars are ready to open the door just yet.

In an All-Star Game that was more about balance than brilliance, Iverson led the way. His 15 points, 10 assists and five steals is not the stuff of legend, but the East fed off his energy on its way to a 125-115 victory over a more talented West team.

NBAE/Getty Images

Yao Ming didn't disappoint fans who made him the leading vote-getter in All-Star balloting.

It also gave the 29-year-old Iverson the Most Valuable Player award over James and those other young guns that everyone has spent the weekend raving about.

"More than anything, he just kept pushing the other guys," said Miami's Stan Van Gundy, the coach of the East team. "He got everyone else rolling."

James had his moments. So did Miami's Dwyane Wade, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire and the 10 players in the game who are 26 or younger.

But youth wasn't served this night. Iverson was the MVP. The best dunk belonged to the 28-year-old Vince Carter, who threw the ball off the backboard, caught it in the same hand and rattled the rim as he soared down the lane.

I don't point out these things because I happen to be old myself. The point is that no matter how much good, young talent comes into the league, the pool of veteran talent is deep and shouldn't be overlooked.

Now, onto the game.

Teamwork, defense and balance have been hot-button words in the league since last June when the Detroit Pistons won the championship. It's what every coach strives for, and the Pistons give them the leverage to make the argument.

All of the qualities we mentioned are good for the league, but bad for the All-Star Game.

In terms of electricity, Sunday night's game was a power plant short. The game failed to produce a 20-point scorer for the first time in 24 years. Neither team shot more than 46 percent from the field. There were as many steals (14) as dunks in the first half.

This wasn't an All-Star Game as much as it was a typical February game between the Mavericks and Sacramento, with one key difference.

More defense was played. Drives to the basket were contested. The two teams combined for 16 blocked shots.

A weekend of concerts, celebrity sightings – yes, that was Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz shopping together at Cherry Creek Mall – subsided for a few hours Sunday night so everyone could turn their attention to the game. As always, there were plenty of subplots.

We just can't get enough of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, even though it's clear they've had enough of each other. Each refused to acknowledge the other before the game as players from both teams gathered at midcourt for the opening tip. O'Neal actually gave Bryant a warmer reception than many of the fans who booed when the Los Angeles Lakers star was introduced, the ongoing fallout from Bryant's legal troubles in the state.

But as Bryant said afterward, the All-Star Game isn't the platform to analyze his relationship – or lack of one – with O'Neal for the umpteenth time. It's about the game.

And this game belonged to Iverson.

Score one for the old guard.

E-mail dmoore@dallasnews.com