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Meanwhile, Jeff Hornacek carried the hopes and dreams of many, many others with him in his big day, from family members to Utah Starzz teammate Natalie Williams to section 112 in The Arena. Now that's pressure! Let's explain. First off, performing in a normal NBA game is one thing, but having to do it with a few screaming and clearly hyperactive children on the court at the scorer's table while you prepare to have a million people watch you shoot three-pointers is another. Then, after teaming with Williams to win the 2ball contest, Hornacek automatically became the poor soul entrusted with earning part of the crowd half a million bucks by trying a shot from three-quarters court. That's the other foul line. No practice allowed. Now people do this in games maybe, what, three or four times a season. By the way, the other half mil from the shot was pegged for Hornacek's favorite charity. Hornacek missed it wide right and short by 10 feet. The crowd didn't boo, though. This is Oakland, not Philadelphia, you know. "That was a pretty weak attempt I had," Hornacek admitted afterward. "But you debate whether you should try to shoot it two-handed or throw a baseball shot up there. And you don't think about that ahead of time." Funny, that last line is exactly what Vince Carter said about his dunks... Of course, Hornacek then went out and won the Shootout competition as well. Can anyone in the world right now shoot like this guy? Look at Hornacek for a minute. If you didn't know who he was, you'd walk right by him. He's an accountant, not the best shooter in the world. He's slow. He's not 6-foot-8. He doesn't dunk, which is the major regret we had on Saturday, that he didn't just go and win everything. Then where would Hornacek be on the list of greatest athletes of this century? "I knew Jeff would make all his shots, because he's a money man," Williams, a post player in real life, said. "He was a great partner. And I wanted to hold my end up, and, luckily, I did." Hornacek is not a quote machine, but he can shoot. The guy is pretty much one of a kind in the NBA, and we won't have him to kick around anymore next season because he announced before the season that this was his last year. Unlike Chuck Barkley, you kinda believe this guy. Hornacek, who has said he just wanted to make the NBA out of Iowa State, has played 14 years and averaged nearly 15 points a night in that span and made just under half his shots. He might break the free throw percentage record this season. And he's a pretty nice guy, too. All-Star Saturday won't be the same without him.
Event by event Quickly, let's break down what happened in our own words on a very long Saturday in Oakland.
Significance: Getting the WNBA stars involved in All-Star weekend is a smart move for David Stern. But why not have this during the WNBA's All-Star weekend, too? Um, probably because the NBA contingent aren't there? That's it. Best moment: Kidd-Gillom looked like champs until the final 10 seconds when the title was brutally seized from them. Horny and Williams missed only once down the stretch, and when Williams hit a shot to tie the score at 61 with just a few ticks remaining it looked like a tie. Then Williams passed over to Hornacek for one final shot, and, from 19 feet, 9 inches, Horny drained it as Kidd looked on in awe. Since the scoreboard operator couldn't keep with all the shots going in, nobody knew what had happened. Then the Utah pair celebrated. "I thought we had a good chance to at least get a tie," Kidd said. "Leave it up to Jeff to make that shot. You might as well forget it. It was a great competition, and I think that's what the NBA was looking for." What else: Richard Hamilton, teamed up with Washington's Chamique Holdsclaw, wasn't hitting his shots. But one of them bounced over the backboard and got stuck with 14 seconds left in their only round. After a guy with a broom got the ball loose, the duo finished. And also, we still think Lisa Leslie could beat Derek Fisher in one-on-one.
Significance: Do you really think Boston's Adrian Griffin is gonna tease Paul Pierce because the rookies beat the sophomores? Does Lamar Odom even talk to teammate Michael Olowokandi? Sure, the first-year guys won, but if you watched Jason Williams play, it really wasn't about winning. The best thing to come from this is that the format will live in. It's a lot better than rookies playing rookies. Best moment: In the overtime period, while Odom was at the line, Steve Francis told him to miss the shot so he could dunk the rebound. "I had forgotten that the ball had to hit the rim," Odom said afterward. "It slipped my mind. But anything for the fans." Odom hit the backboard while Francis ran into the lane, and it was a violation. But fun, nevertheless. What else: Andre Miller was booed incessantly every time he touched the ball after the first few minutes. Why? Was it because he did something while he was with the Cavaliers against the hometown Warriors? Something while he was Utah? No, poor Andre actually finished off a few fast breaks with layups rather than mind-numbing dunks. For that you get booed? "They want to see some exciting things, and you've got players like Jason Williams that can create and do stuff. And I'm just one of those players that likes to go out and gave fun, take shots and pass the ball." Sorry, Andre, no room for that in this game.
Significance: More proof that Hornacek, who successfully defended his title in this event, is a great shooter. More proof that no matter how good you are during the season, this is a totally different ballgame. You have to shoot 25 shots in a minute. Even Allen Iverson couldn't get that many shots up in that time. You have to get a little lucky, which Hornacek did since his score was so low. And you have to get on a roll, which didn't happen much for anyone. Best moment: The look on Hornacek's face -- and the reaction of his kids -- when Dirk Nowitzki couldn't beat 13. Dirk had the highest score of the day, a first-round 18. But in the final he made only three of his last 15 and earned only an 11. It was a nice moment for the Hornaceks, and a great day. What else: Iverson went slowly from the start, and fell three balls short of finishing. Look, the guy is as streaky a shooter as they come, and but he's also not a three-point bomber. He would fit better in the dunk contest. In fact, we were hoping he would take the final dunk for Larry Hughes, who missed his first two. Bobby Sura also struggled, making his last five just to get to nine. He missed 16 of his first 17.
Significance: Now young guys will be pining to dunk in the All-Star game. Best moment: When Vince did his first dunk of the competition, not his best of the day, the crowd, which was waiting all day for this, all seemed to jump up at the same time like one big wave. It was similar to the classic footage at Madison Square Garden in the playoffs last season when Larry Johnson drained the the three-pointer and got fouled somehow against Indiana. An entire arena jumped. It was exciting. The crowd was better prepared for the ensuing dunks. What else: What else do you need after Vince? It's a shame that Tracy McGrady got hurt, because it may shy players awat in the future. McGrady had an ice pack on his arm at the press conference and he could barely move the fingers on his hand.
Eric Karabell is the NBA editor for ESPN.com. |  ALSO SEE NBA All-Star Game 2000 Frozen Moment: Carter dunks everyone Carter soars to near-perfect slam-dunk victory Iverson now leading NBA into next century Around the Rim in Oakland, Saturday Around the Rim in Oakland, Friday Flashy points spice up Rookie game | ||||||||||||||
