NEW YORK -- John Stockton, Reggie Miller, Jamal Mashburn,
Antoine Walker and Steve Francis have a lot in common -- none are
All-Stars this year.
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2ball teams named
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NEW YORK -- Natalie Williams of the Utah Starzz, along with
new partner Bryon Russell of the Utah Jazz, is back to defend her
title in the NBA's 2ball competition during the league's All-Star
weekend.
Williams paired with Jeff Hornacek to win last year's 2ball
title. Hornacek retired after last season.
2ball, played at one basket, is a one-minute competition
featuring shooting, rebounding, dribbling and passing. The winning
teams splits $25,000.
Seven other teams were selected on Wednesday for the Saturday
night event at the MCI Center in Washington.
Challenging Williams and Russell will be David Wesley and Dawn
Staley from Charlotte; Trajan Langdon and Eva Nemcova from
Cleveland; Cuttino Mobley and Sheryl Swoopes from Houston; Tracy
McGrady and Nykesha Sales from Orlando; Jason Kidd and Brandy Reed
from Phoenix; Predrag Stojakovic and Ruthie Bolton-Holifield from
Sacramento; and Richard Hamilton and Nikki McCray from Washington.
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Dikembe Mutombo and Latrell Sprewell are. The Atlanta center and
the New York forward were added to the East roster Wednesday by NBA
commissioner David Stern because Alonzo Mourning and Grant Hill --
chosen as starters in fan balloting -- will not be able to play.
The NBA has announced the results of the coaches' voting for the
All-Star reserves Tuesday. Picked in the Western Conference for the
Feb. 11 game were Karl Malone (Utah), Antonio McDyess (Denver),
David Robinson (San Antonio), Gary Payton (Seattle), Michael Finley
(Dallas), Rasheed Wallace (Portland) and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota).
Stephon Marbury (New Jersey), Theo Ratliff (Philadelphia), Allan
Houston (New York), Anthony Mason (Miami), Jerry Stackhouse
(Detroit), Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee) were chosen for
the East.
Now, Stern may get an additional pick or two.
Shaquille O'Neal is expected to miss his third consecutive game
Wednesday night with an inflamed arch on his right foot, and Vince
Carter played less than four minutes Tuesday night before a knee
injury flared up.
For now, there are five first-timers -- Marbury, McDyess, Mason,
Ratliff and Tracy McGrady -- among the 24 All-Stars.
"When I came in this morning and Dan (Nuggets coach Dan Issel)
told me, he was excited but I was WAY excited," McDyess said. "I
jumped up and down about two or three times.
"I was kind of shaking, shivering. A chill came through my body
when I got the good news."
Previously announced as All-Star starters were Hill (Orlando),
Mourning (Miami), McGrady (Orlando), Carter (Toronto) and Allen
Iverson (Philadelphia) for the East; O'Neal (Lakers), Tim Duncan
(San Antonio), Chris Webber (Sacramento), Jason Kidd (Phoenix) and
Kobe Bryant (Lakers) will start for the West.
Malone will be making his 13th appearance, while Robinson was
picked for the 10th time, Payton for the seventh and Garnett for
the fourth.
Allen, Finley, Houston, Robinson and Stackhouse were selected
for the second time each.
Among the league's top 20 scorers, Antawn Jamison (25.1 points
per game) of Golden State, Walker (22.4) and Paul Pierce (24.0) of
Boston, Dirk Nowitzki (21.5) of Dallas and Elton Brand (20.8) of
Chicago were left off.
"I understand everyone on here, but I can't understand Anthony
Mason," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said as he looked at the list of the
reserves.
Also notable by their absence were Jamal Mashburn of the
Charlotte Hornets, who do not have any All-Star representatives,
and Francis, who leads Houston in five offensive categories.
Miller, a five-time All-Star, finished fourth among Eastern
Conference guards in the voting by fans, and Jermaine O'Neal, who
came to the Pacers this season in a trade with Portland, was fourth
among the centers.
Jalen Rose, hoping for his first All-Star selection after being
named the NBA's most improved player last year, was not among the
leaders in fan voting despite averaging a team-best and career-high
21.6 points a game.
"It is very surprising to us, considering both Jalen and Reggie
were in the Finals last year and performed well," said Pacers
coach Isiah Thomas. "Their numbers are up this year, and both
Jalen and Reggie are playing better basketball."
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