By Bill Nichols

It may have been overcast where you were yesterday, but the stars came out at the Coliseum as the National Basketball Association staged its mid-winter show of slam dunks, behind-the-back passes and standing ovations.

When it was over, the East nipped the West, 123-120, and raised its All-Star series lead to 21-10.

The crowd of 20,239 was an All-Star Game record for  a conventional arena.  The overall record of 31,745, was set at the Pontiac Silverdome two years ago.

The littlest man on the court, Nate (Tiney) Archibald of the Boston Celtics, gave the East the leadership it needed and would up with the Most Valuable Player award.  He scored nine points and had nine assists.

The game also marked the All-Star debut of Cavaliers forward Mike Mitchell.  The packed house reserved a standing ovation for him as he entered the game.

Mitchell responded with 14 points in 15 minutes of play.

Nearly everyone on the court showed moments of brilliance and then matched this with mistakes not tolerated in an average playground game.

In the first quarter, Chicago guard Reggie Theus fired three straight brilliant passes, only to find teammate Julius Erving missing the ball -- or any easy layup after receiving it.  The Philadelphia 76ers' Doctor settles down later, though, and put on a couple of incredible moves with reverse layups.

There was Larry Bird, the consummate forward for Boston, playing on an injured leg which had huge black and blue marks.  Some might not have bothered to suit up with such an injury, but Bird did, proving that it's difficult to keep a player out of this game if he can crawl or walk.

The game was one of spurts, with first the West taking charge and then the East.  The West got hot again and made it a close game near the end.  The final buzzer sounded as Jack Sikma of the Seattle SuperSonics missed connections on the only three-point attempt of the game.

"This game reminded me that it was just a reversal of last year's game," said East Coach Billy Cunningham.  "In that game the West ran up the early leads, but we had the ability to come back and win.

"An All-Star Game is a game of spurts, first dead and out of it, but you get a spurt and you're back in it."

"These guys are beautiful.  I thought the overall attitude was great.  With the West so big and strong inside, we tried to open the floor with our quickness."

Phoenix Coach John MacLeod, who guided the West, added, "I thought the penetration of Tiny (Archibald) was the key with a shooter popping out.  That really put the pressure on our defense.

"I think there were five or six times in the third quarter and again in the third quarter and again in the fourth the East would shoot the ball and we would have our hands on the rebound, but they somehow got the basketball back and scored."

Game scoring honors went to a pair of hotshots from the West, Paul Westphal of Seattle and Dennis Johnson of Phoenix, with 19 points each.  These two guards were the subject of a major trade last summer they were dealt for each other.

The West, with Westphal hitting for 10 points, led after the first quarter, 27-23, but in the second, the East, behind Mitchells eight points, roared to a 61-58 halftime advantage.

Atlanta's Eddie Johnson paced the East in the third quarter with nine points as it upped the advantage to 97-88 going into the final period.

The east improved the lead to 16 points, 109-93, early in the fourth and then appeared to take a nap.

"Everyone waits for the fourth quarter in an All-Star Game," said Dennis Johnson.  "That's when teams start playing defense.  The first three quarters are fun quarters."