The greatest comeback in NBA All-Star game history happened at the MCI Center in Washington DC on February 11th, 2001.
It's the game many basketball fans consider one of the greatest All-Star games ever. It's the game many basketball fans like to bring up when complaining about many of the non-competitive and disappointing games over the past decade. It's the game the league is hoping to have again by raising the money pot and incorporating ideas like the All-Star draft. It's the game that saw Allen Iverson (who reportedly partied for 72 hours straight without any sleep) win MVP after scoring 15 of his 25 points in the 4th quarter of the 111-110 victory for the East.
"Everybody was saying we couldn't win because of our size. It's not about size. It's about the size of your heart," Iverson said after the game. "Coming into the fourth quarter, we were all sitting on the sidelines saying 'Why not us? Why can't we be the ones to come back from a 19-point deficit in an All-Star Game?"
A lot of credit also goes to fellow 1996 pick Stephon Marbury, who knocked down a pair of clutch threes.
"To win the game at the end of the game the way we did after being down by 21 showed a lot of heart," Marbury said. "To be able to hit some big shots at the end of the game and help us win it was a great chapter. It was beyond my dreams."
If you don't want to watch the full game, you can watch the final two minutes of the final quarter, which saw the East outscore the West 41-21.
Leading vote-getter Vince Carter scored 16 for the East and Kobe Bryant led the West with 19 points. His Laker teammate and leading vote-getter on the West, Shaquille O'Neal, did not play due to an injury.
All-Star Game rosters
Eastern Conference
Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers)
Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic)
Antonio Davis (Toronto Raptors) **
Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors)
Anthony Mason (Miami Heat)
Dikembe Mutombo (Atlanta Hawks) **
Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks)
Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee Bucks)
Stephon Marbury (New Jersey Nets)
Latrell Sprewell (New York Knicks) **
Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit Pistons)
Allan Houston (New York Knicks)
Grant Hill (Orlando Magic) *
Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat) *
Theo Ratliff (Philadelphia 76ers) *
Western Conference
Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns)
Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)
Chris Webber (Sacramento Kings)
Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Rasheed Wallace (Portland Trail Blazers)
Gary Payton (Seattle Sonics)
Michael Finley (Dallas Mavericks)
Antonio McDyess (Denver Nuggets
Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Vlade Divac (Sacramento Kings) **
Shaquille O'Neal (L.A. Lakers) *