1 The West showed why it holds the balance of power in the NBA.
2 In a game that wasn't close after the first quarter, the Western Conference rode the shooting of Mitch Richmond on Sunday to beat the Eastern Conference 139-112.
3 Richmond, the Sacramento Kings star, led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting and took home the most valuable player award in his third All-Star game.
4 'This just caps off how we've turned things around in Sacramento,' Richmond said.
5 Even Shaquille O'Neal's first good performance as an All-Star couldn't match the West's firepower.
6 Utah's Karl Malone and Phoenix's Charles Barkley had 15 points apiece. Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon had 13 points and 11 rebounds. And Seattle's Gary Payton had 15 assists.
7 After two years of frustration, O'Neal finally had a good All-Star game, leading the East with 22 points, making 9 of 16 shots.
8 The East was never really in this one, falling behind by 16 at halftime.
9 A 3-pointer by Joe Dumars made it 79-69 with 6:18 left in the third quarter. Then O'Neal grabbed a rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and drove to the basket, drawing the foul and cutting the lead to eight.
10 That was as close as the East got. The West proceeded to outscore the Eastern All-Stars 25-10. Richmond led the way with 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and the West capped the spurt with 3-pointers Richmond and Detlef Schrempf.
11 By the end of the period, the West was up 104-81, and the outcome was decided.
12 In the fourth quarter, things started to get ragged, not to mention downright silly.
13 O'Neal tried a 3-pointer and hit nothing but . air. On the next possession, rival center Hakeem Olajuwon attempted one, too. He made his.
14 And during a timeout with 5:50 left, the Suns' gorilla mascot was dunking off a springboard, and Barkley wanted to join the fun. But as he took the ball in his hands, teammate Dan Majerle pulled him back, and Western Conference coach Paul Westphal came running out on the court to stop him, too.

Richmond , the Sacramento Kings star , led all scorers with 23 points on 10 - for - 13 shooting and took home the most valuable player award in his third All - Star game .
valuable player award in his third All - Star game
Is the all star game a series of games?