King James & amp; the Fab Four lead East to comeback win

LeBron James scored 29 points to become the youngest MVP in history.
HOUSTON (AP) -- A push from the Detroit Pistons plus an MVP performance by LeBron James 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.
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 scorers with 36 points. The 21-year-old James, playing in his second All-Star game, scored 29 and led the comeback. He was the youngest MVP in All-Star game history.
"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."
Taking control
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. But the West tied it at 120 on Bryant's fadeaway jumper with 32 seconds remaining before Miami's Dwyane Wade had a putback with 16 seconds to go for the winning points.
That set up the final sequence. McGrady missed a jumper, and the East clinched the victory when Rasheed Wallace stole the ball from Bryant with 5 seconds left.
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.
Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Billups and Hamilton, 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.
Good defense
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.
Too good
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 said last week that his performance has suffered because of personal problems that he has declined to discuss publicly. But he seemed loose during the game, scoring 17 first-half points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.
"I've finally got a peace of mind," McGrady said during a halftime television interview. "I'm coming out here and enjoying this weekend."
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.