The game continued with the Eastern team inbounding from the baseline, attempting to lob the ball to Mourning in the paint. However, O'Neal stretched out and stole the pass. He then dribbled the ball up the sideline himself, with He Xi Meng trailing him, sweating profusely and fearing O'Neal might trip over his own feet. He Xi Meng's worries were unfounded; while O'Neal's dribble was high and susceptible to steals, it was surprisingly fluid.
He Xi Meng then remembered O'Neal mentioning that he used to play point guard in elementary school.
O'Neal dribbled in a straight line to just inside the three-point line. Realizing that dribbling past Mourning would be difficult, O'Neal abruptly stopped and passed the ball back to He Xi Meng, who was behind him.
He Xi Meng caught the ball and drove towards the center. The Eastern defense quickly converged, denying He Xi Meng a direct path to the basket. Seeing this, He Xi Meng made a bounce pass to O'Neal, intending to set him up for a two-handed dunk in the paint. O'Neal received the pass, but the dunk didn't happen. Mourning immediately sealed O'Neal's position, forcing him into a short floater.
The ball rimmed out. Duncan immediately flew in, attempting to grab the offensive rebound. O'Neal, not clearly seeing Duncan and thinking it was Mourning, or perhaps realizing it was Duncan but not processing that they were on the same team, jumped again quickly before Duncan secured the ball and swatted it towards the perimeter.
A scramble ensued outside the arc. Iverson emerged from the crowd, securing the ball amidst a double-team from He Xi Meng and Kobe, and immediately threw it forward. Carter, streaking ahead with no one guarding him, completed a mid-air 360-degree windmill dunk.
The crowd erupted in cheers, and even Kaylee, on the sidelines, applauded and cheered for Carter along with the other VIP guests.
Carter continued to showcase different dunking moves, and He Xi Meng felt the pressure mounting.
Turning around, He Xi Meng attempted a give-and-go with O'Neal. After passing the ball, he drove straight up the middle. O'Neal, a teammate of He Xi Meng for three years, responded with perfect chemistry, executing a precise bounce pass back to He Xi Meng. However, Mourning was not going to make it easy.
The moment O'Neal made the pass, Mourning turned towards the center, forming a pincer with Hill. If He Xi Meng dared to drive, they would block his shot.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, He Xi Meng pulled the ball back in mid-air, spun, and passed it back to O'Neal, who was cutting down the right side.
O'Neal had seen the potential for He Xi Meng to be blocked and had come down to secure the rebound. However, He Xi Meng lobbed the ball back into his hands. O'Neal took advantage, jumping from behind Mourning and, before Mourning could turn, completed a powerful one-handed slam right over his head.
Well, dunking might be difficult, but assisting is where he excels.
The Eastern team advanced, with Iverson bringing the ball upcourt and passing to Hill at the arc. Hill looked inside but saw no opportunity, so he passed to Iverson on the left. Iverson faked a drive at He Xi Meng, who didn't bite and refused to jump. He Xi Meng had witnessed Iverson's three-point shot the previous day and wasn't intimidated.
Iverson also lacked confidence in his three-pointer. After the failed fake on He Xi Meng, he used a high screen from Mourning to shake He Xi Meng and drove forcefully up the middle, attempting a high lob pass on the move. However, O'Neal, who had switched to defend, pursued closely from the side and rear, directly blocking Iverson's lob pass off the backboard.
O'Neal seemed to be getting into the game, showing such active defense.
O'Neal's block was a bit too forceful. The rebounding ball flew beyond the three-point line. Perhaps O'Neal intended for his teammate to complete a fast break, but Hill on the perimeter secured the ball and made an accurate bounce pass from beyond the arc to Carter, who was cutting to the basket.
All the fans, including Duncan, expected Carter to turn and execute a spectacular dunk. Duncan extended his arms, covering Carter, intending to deter him from any reckless moves.
However, Carter glanced at Duncan, then suddenly executed a back-pass bounce pass to Iverson, who was cutting into the lane.
Iverson caught the ball and took flight. Facing Duncan, who had turned to block him, he spun 360 degrees in the air, using his body as a shield to create space against Duncan. Finally, he executed a blind, fadeaway scoop shot over his shoulder, accurately lobbing the ball into the basket.
The ball went in, and the whistle blew! Iverson was awarded an and-one opportunity.
Although a foul was called on Duncan, he smiled as he landed and patted Iverson on the head, praising him, "Nice shot!"
Yes, that shot was incredibly difficult.
The crowd's excitement surged again, with loud shouts of Iverson's name.
The Eastern team either didn't score or scored with extremely spectacular plays. It was no wonder Iverson was beaming after that shot, high-fiving Carter in celebration.
Iverson stepped to the free-throw line and calmly made the additional free throw, completing the 2+1.
Turning the ball over, He Xi Meng brought it past half-court and saw Duncan cutting inside. He threw a high lob pass, intending to connect with him for an alley-oop.
Eddie Jones, attempting to help defend, knew he couldn't stop Duncan and fouled him prematurely, preventing Duncan from catching the ball.
After the foul, Eddie Jones quickly apologized to Duncan, stating that this was an All-Star game, not the playoffs, and such a foul was unnecessary.
Duncan, however, was unbothered, figuring a foul was better than having to jump for a dunk.
Duncan, inbounding from the baseline, passed the ball back to He Xi Meng at the three-point arc. He then ran towards the high post, drawing the Eastern defense up. Garnett moved from the high post to the low post, using Duncan's off-ball screen to cut along the baseline into the paint.
He Xi Meng responded with another direct lob pass to the basket. This time, no one could stop Garnett, who flew up for an uncontested alley-oop, completing a two-handed slam.
After the defensive battle, the stars on both teams gradually found their rhythm in the All-Star game.
Defense was no longer played with such intensity.
On offense, the more flashy the play, the better.