East rallies from 21-point deficit to beat West

~ LeBron James led the East to a 122--120 victory.

HOUSTON -- A push from the Detroit Pistons, an MVP performance by LeBron James and a putback by Dwyane Wade decided an NBA All-Star game that went down to the final seconds.

Trailing by 21 points, the East rallied for a 122-120 victory Sunday night behind King James and the Pistons' Fab Four.

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," said East coach Flip Saunders of the Pistons. "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.

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.

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 East rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the West 41-27 behind James of the Cleveland Cavaliers 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.