As perfect as the ending of All-Star Weekend was for Magic Johnson, he wasn't going to make any predictions prior to the game on Sunday.
As Johnson talked with reporters before tipoff, someone asked him if he would try to win the MVP award. "I'm not getting into none of that," he said. "I'm just going to be here and be happy to play. When I think about that kind of thing, I usually play bad."Even before he won the MVP Award, Johnson said it had been a rewarding trip to Orlando. Asked if it was the weekend he had hoped for, he replied, "And more."
Michael Jordan says his relationship with Isiah Thomas could be improving.
After Saturday's practice session, he said, "I think we've opened up the chance to develop a relationship away from basketball. We've never had that before, being with my playing for the Bulls and him playing for the Pistons, and our rivalry on the court, so there's never really been that opportunity before. But now the door is open on that chance, and it could happen."
There's nothing worse than watching athletes get old. A case in point was Saturday's Legends game, when Norm Nixon and David Thompson took trips to the hospital after injuries.
There may soon be a move afoot to make it a Legends game of "H-O-R-S-E."
"I don't know how much fun I had out there tonight," said former Pistons' star Dave Bing. "We had a little discussion on the bench, not so much on who's going to win or lose the game, but who's going to be able to walk away. Then Norm went down and I had to go in for him. So it wasn't a good feeling."
Thompson, an athlete to the end, downplayed his injury as he was being wheeled off the court. "I don't think it's that bad," he said. "I want to tell my kids that Daddy's OK."
Three-time 3-point champion Craig Hodges has something to say to Larry Bird: In Your Face (from a distance).
After winning Saturday's competition, Hodges said, "I read how earlier in the season Larry Bird said, `Well, he may have hit 19 in a row (last year), but I still see him at the end of the bench.' So I wanted this. I was ready."
The rock and rap stars are lining up these days to associate themselves with the NBA. At Saturday's slam-dunk, 3-point and Legends competition, the list of stars included the group Boys II Men (who sang the national anthem), Hammer and Public Enemy. Pop star Michael Bolton sang the national anthem at the All-Star Game.
Jazz trainer Don Sparks made national TV twice on Saturday, attending to David Thompson and Norm Nixon, both of whom went down with injuries . . . Michael Jordan skipped the media session on Friday, opting for 18 holes of golf instead. Asked prior to the game how many autographs he had signed, he told reporters, "I don't know. I'm trying to hide - as you guys have come to find out." . . . The West's 153 points matched the most ever scored in a non-overtime All-Star Game . . . The West broke a two-game East winning streak, but the East leads 27-15 in the series . . . Johnson's three 3-pointers were one short of his All-Star Game record . . . The West's phenomenal .653 field goal percentage beat the old record of .583, set by the East in 1985.