Radically revamped NBA All-Star Game brings return of defense, competition

Government

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The world's best basketball players participated in what could've been the most unusual game of their careers Sunday, in a generally well-received mini-tournament that included welcomed doses of energy, a tad of confusion and perhaps one foreseeable flaw. A team of younger American standouts, dubbed "USA Stars," beat the veteran "USA Stripes" squad 41-21 in the radically revamped 75th NBA All-Star Game. The mid-season exhibition featured three squads, the two American sides