There were plenty of dunks and behind the back passes as the West took care of the East 137-126, but the entire weekend by the Bay has been about this style of play. So while it doesn't seem like a significant moment watching two guys with a combined 21 All-Star appearances to their credit bored during an All-Star game, then you haven't been watching today's NBA. The look on their faces told a story. Youth is taking over.

Two Bucks and one missing

Sam Cassell got the weekend off, while a pair of his teammates on Milwaukee, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen, combined for 24 points in each of their first All-Star appearances. But what about Sammy? "You know, I talked to him earlier today, and I'm gonna call him again in a few minutes," said Robinson, who showed us his cellphone to prove it to us. "He told me today to go out and relax and have fun, and we did. He should've been here with us. All three of us are having a good year, but Sam's the key. I'm gonna call him right now." Now that's teamwork.

"There's a lot of great young talent in the game, as well as some other guys who can get the job done," said East center Alonzo Mourning, who is 30. "Don't put me in the old category just yet."

But in today's NBA, Zo is old. He's not ancient like Malone, Robinson, John Stockton and Reggie Miller, other All-Stars who weren't exactly featured on Sunday, but he's getting there. In the first midseason classic since the lockout that jeopardized the state of the game, it was kids like Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett who needed to play big. And these guys did.

In the West, Garnett and Tim Duncan are each 23. Bryant is 21 and Rasheed Wallace and Michael FInley are emerging talents at 25 and 26, respectively. In the East, with nine first-time All-Stars -- to which Miller noted that means there are nine guys finally stepping up for the first time -- there's similar youth. First-time All-Star Allen Iverson, who led all scorers with 26 points and leads the league in the category for the season, is 24. Carter is 23, Ray Allen is 24 and Jerry Stackhouse is 25. And the league is also stocked with guys like Tracy McGrady Steve Francis and Jason Williams, who expect to be playing in this game next season.

"I see more positives as far as setting the standards for the next generation," Garnett said. "Right now the league is building. The league is like a stock; You have to give it a chance to recover from the lockout. And it's going to keep rising and rising."

Certainly the NBA is cognizant of the fact the stars that built the league to what it is today are no longer playing. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are long retired, Michael Jordan and now Charles Barkley are out as players. And Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen are winding things down. That's why the league focuses so much on its youth today, and does such a great job of marketing it. It may not be what Malone, who has been outspoken on the topic, wants to hear, but it has to happen for the league to survive.

"Hopefully we're able to do some of the same things that Magic, Larry and Michael and those guys provided for us," Bryant said. "They provided us with a lot of inspiration watching them play. Hopefully we can do the same thing. That would be fabulous."

Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal ended up sharing MVP honors, but Garnett could easily have made a case to make it a trio since he tied for the team lead with 24 points and added 10 rebounds. Garnett plays small forward, and seeing a 7-footer play that spot is something new to the league. It's part of the reason why there are so many exciting possibilities for the league in the next century. No longer are we confined to seeing post players post up and point guards dish and stay on the perimeter. Everybody can do everything.

That was pretty obvious when O'Neal, who at 315 pounds is more than 50 pounds heavier than anyone else who played in the game, was seen dribbling through the East defense on the fast break and finishing with a layin in the second period. Big men didn't do that a few decades ago.

Back to Robinson and Malone. While the former was sitting because his shoulder was hurting -- it wouldn't have kept him out of a regular season game, and the latter was sitting because his heart wasn't into being here in the first place, West coach Phil Jackson admitted he would've played the young guys a lot anyway. It's their game now.

"I wanted to play more, but I had to let Tim represent San Antonio," Robinson said with a smile. "We've just got incredible players in this league, and it's in good hands. Tim's doing it, Shaq's blocking shots and intimidating people, and then there's Allen Iverson getting rebounds with the big guys and Ray Allen trying to dunk over Shaq. These guys are fearless."

And their time is now.