ESPN.com - Eastern Conference Roster

Forget his nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. Carter's most important number was his giant assist in making it Michael Jordan's night by opting to step aside and let MJ start his final All-Star Game. Carter's second thoughts may have served as, what he previously termed, "a slap in the face" to the 1,300,895 fans who voted for him. But the 20,325 fans at Philips Arena were grateful. Grade: A (for generosity), C (for mediocre play)

O'Neal had a game-high four blocks, but if he hadn't tried so hard for a fifth block, the East probably would've won in one OT. A controversial foul on O'Neal on Kobe Bryant's desperation 3-pointer enabled Bryant to sink two of three free throws and force a second overtime. O'Neal did register a double-double, though, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Grade: C

Wallace had his moments, but the reigning Defensive Player of the Year wasn't as productive as usual, blocking two shots and grabbing only six rebounds in 24 minutes. Four of his boards came on the offensive end, however. Grade: C

Iverson simply refused to let the East team lose, scoring 22 of his team-high 35 points after the third quarter, and he enjoyed a solid overall game with five rebounds, seven assists and five steals. AI played hard. Grade: A

McGrady was looking like the MVP after three quarters. He scored 17 points in the third period on 6-of-7 shooting to help the East forge a 93-86 lead. T-Mac ended up shooting 10-of-17, sinking a game-high four 3-pointers. Grade: B+

The good news for Ilgauskas was that he made his All-Star debut. The bad news: He had did it against Shaquille O'Neal. Big Z -- and no one else on the East, for that matter -- came close to stopping Shaq down low, and ended up getting only four minutes of action. That explains why his line in the box score resembles computer code ... a bunch of 0s and 1s (for shot attempts, fouls and turnovers). Grade: F

You just knew he was going to hit one of his trademark clutch shots. Too bad Jermaine O'Neal's foul on Kobe Bryant ruined the storybook ending. Jordan was hardly perfect himself, though. He finished with 20 points but needed 27 shot attempts (making nine) and 36 minutes to do so. He also missed a dunk in his second straight All-Star Game. Grade: B

Not surprisingly, Kidd had no problem fitting into the up-tempo flow early on, recording six of his game-high 10 assists in the first half. He briefly went head-to-head with the point guard the Nets traded to get him, Stephon Marbury. Kidd also had 11 points and five steals. Grade: B+

Mashburn played just 14 minutes but made an impact in his limited time, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbing four rebounds. He saw just six minutes of action after halftime. Grade: C

Miller was the only player on the East squad to stand up to Shaquille O'Neal. That didn't mean he stopped Shaq. Miller, who once infuriated Shaq enough to throw a roundhouse right at him (lucky for Miller, Shaq missed), had five points and six rebounds to show for his 17 minutes of dirty work. Grade: C+

Someone had to sacrifice minutes to let Michael Jordan go out in style. That someone was Pierce, who played just five minutes after halftime -- all five coming in the decisive second overtime. Pierce shot 1-for-3 in the second OT and was just 4-of-11 from the field overall -- including 0-for-5 on 3s -- for eight points. He did have four steals, though. Grade: D+

Walker didn't play at all after halftime, but can you blame Isiah Thomas? Walker, who shot just 6-for-25 in his one and only round in Saturday's 3-Point Shootout, hoisted up a heinous air ball at the end of the first half that actually drew boos from the crowd. 'Toine finished with six points on 2-of-4 shooting (1-of-3 on 3s). Grade: D

Really, the East squad had no business being in position to beat the West. It had no one to neutralize Shaquille O'Neal or Kevin Garnett. Yet, Thomas stuck with Tracy McGrady's hot hand to build a 93-86 lead after three quarters and called a timeout at the end of regulation and the first overtime to put Michael Jordan in position to shoot the winning shot. If anything, Thomas deserves an "A" for handling all the Zeke-MJ rivalry with class. Grade: A