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LeBron, Pistons Power East to Comeback All-Star Win
LeBron James came into the NBA as "The Chosen One" and now stands tall as the All-Star MVP.
Even down by 21 points, the Detroit Pistons' Fab Four plus LeBron James were still in the game.
A push from the Pistons, an MVP performance by King James and a putback by Dwyane Wade helped the East rally for a 122-120 victory over the West in an NBA All-Star Game that went down to the final seconds Sunday night.
"We didn't want to get blown out on national TV," James said. "All in all, this is a game and we just want to have fun, but you know we're all competitors and our competitive nature kicked in at one point."
The East pulled it out in a frantic final minute that felt more like a game that mattered than an exhibition.
"I thought, especially for our league, the fourth quarter was a great quarter," said East coach Flip Saunders of the Pistons. "They saw a little bit about what NBA basketball is about: great plays by great players."
With the score tied, Allen Iverson was off-target on a jumper, but Wade darted into the lane for the rebound and the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds left.
Still, the East didn't wrap it up until hometown hero Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets missed a jumper with the clock ticking down. Kobe Bryant then had the ball slip out of his hands for a turnover, and it hardly mattered that Vince Carter missed a breakaway dunk on the other end just before the buzzer.
McGrady led all players with 36 points. The 21-year-old James, in his second midseason showcase, scored 29 and became the youngest All-Star MVP.
"It was more impressive that we came from, at one point, 21 points down and willed ourselves to a win," James said.
Detroit teammates Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton, all selected as reserves from the team with the league's best record, came off the bench together to help the East rally.
"I talked to the guys at halftime and basically said that we were not as competitive," Saunders said. "I thought that the second half they played exceptionally well. In these type of games, it takes a lot of time to get used to playing with guys. Every guy did something in a very positive way."
The West took a 74-53 lead 2 minutes into the third quarter. But the East responded with a 28-13 run over the next 6 minutes as James scored 13 points.
"You could definitely see the game change when (the Pistons) were all out there together," West center Tim Duncan said.
Led by Billups' 15 points and seven assists, the Pistons combined to score 23 points, grab 14 rebounds and dish out 10 assists. Defensive ace Ben Wallace added three steals and blocked two shots.
"They were in sync," West coach Avery Johnson said. "It really shows how great of a team sport basketball can be when you have everybody on the same page."
The East grabbed a 117-107 lead with 3:29 to go. The West made it 120-all on Bryant's fadeaway jumper with 32 seconds remaining.
That set up the final sequence. After McGrady missed, Bryant lost the ball and Rasheed Wallace grabbed it with 5 seconds left.
McGrady claimed he was fouled by James on his final shot.
Had McGrady hit the tying jumper, he might have beaten out James for MVP honors. McGrady thanked his West teammates for trying to help him win the award at home.
"That was the whole strategy," he said. "Obviously, those guys did a great job. First of all, just their kindness to want to get me the MVP. It was there if we would have won the game."
McGrady said the game provided a respite from the undisclosed personal problems that have bothered him in recent weeks.
"This was just an opportunity for me to have a peace of mind and go out and have some fun, and I took advantage of that," he said.
Early in the game, play was dominated by flashy dunks and sloppy ballhandling. But the tenor changed when the East returned to the floor for the second half.
"I think tonight, the first three quarters was pretty much more entertainment than anything," McGrady said. "The East came out in the third quarter and they were ready to play ball."
As is often the case, the All-Star game had plenty of subplots. Ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant, no longer feuding, shook hands before tipoff and laughed when O'Neal fouled Bryant in the first quarter. The 7-foot-1 O'Neal, now with Miami, took a spin as the East's point guard for one possession.
The four Pistons, along with Boston's Paul Pierce, entered the game with 3:38 to go in the first quarter and the East trailing 24-21. After Phoenix's Shawn Marion scored on a layup to give the West a five-point lead, Pierce and the Pistons closed the quarter on a 7-2 run.
Defense, which has long been Detroit's calling card, is rare in the All-Star Game - but once the Pistons entered the West struggled to score. The East limited the West to four points in the final 3:38 after it had scored 24 points in the game's first 8 minutes.
"It was just fun for us," Hamilton said during an in-game television interview.
The four Pistons were the most on one All-Star team since 1998, when Bryant, O'Neal, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones represented the Lakers. The Pistons honored the fifth member of their starting lineup, Tayshaun Prince, by writing '22' on their shoes.
The Pistons were the talk of the East locker room.
"They deserve it - and Tayshaun probably should have been here," said Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who was injured and did not play. "Those five guys are a big reason why they have the best record in the NBA. I think it's a huge thing for the league. I'm for any story that makes the NBA look good."
Detroit center Ben Wallace said the selection of four Pistons underscored the importance of the team concept.
"I think it says a lot about the league, that you don't have to come out and try to dominate the basketball and dominate the game in order to have individual success," he said.
But the All-Star Game is all about individuals. And on Sunday night, the East was best.
After playing to a 28-28 first-quarter tie, the West outscored the East 42-25 in the second quarter to take a 70-53 halftime lead.
The West was sparked by the 26-year-old McGrady, appearing in his sixth All-Star game. He seemed loose during the game, scoring 17 first-half points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.
The East rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the West 41-27 behind James to cut the deficit to 97-94 entering the final quarter.
Then the Pistons provided another spark. The East pulled even at 97 when Billups was fouled on a layup and converted the free throw for a three-point play. And the East surged ahead on a jumper by Rasheed Wallace.
The Pistons' finest moment came on a 3-on-1 fast break that culminated in Billups' layup to give the East a 105-101 lead.
Source: AP
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