ORLANDO--The proof was in the blood that flowed from Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's nose and the trash talk that streamed from his mouth.
After holding to form as an offensive exhibition with more silly than series moments for much of the night, Sunday's NBA All-Star game had become, well, a game.
Now Heat guard Dwyane Wade was giving Bryant a hard foul to prevent a layup—a blow that broke Bryant's nose, the Lakers would announce later. Then Bryant (famous for his competitive fire) taunted Heat forward LeBron James (knocked for allegedly lacking the same) for passing up a chance to take a game-winning shot.
Isn't this supposed to be a meaningless game?
“That's the type of All-Star Game you want to see,” said game MVP Kevin Durant of the Thunder, and the previously-sleepy fans at Amway Center who erupted for the final moments agreed.
The Western Conference stars beat their East counterparts 152-149. The whimsical tone illustrated by 7-footers Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum launching 3-pointers in the first half was gone once the East began to rally from 21 points behind.
James sparked the comeback by scoring 15 points in the third quarter after the East trailed 90-69. It was during that period when Wade, trying to block Bryant's drive from behind, instead whacked him on the shoulder and face.
Bryant smiled as blood trickled from his nose. He didn't speak to media after the game because he was being evaluated for headaches, and the Lakers later said a CT scan confirmed a nasal fracture.
“I obviously didn't try to draw no blood, but I took a foul,” Wade said after the game. “Kobe fouled me two times in a row, so he's still got one up on me. But I'm glad that everything was cool and we got back to being competitive and having fun.”
Bryant stayed in the game and finished with 27 points to surpass Michael Jordan as the career scoring leader in All-Star games. James matched Durant for game-high scoring honors with 36 points but prompted some woofing from Bryant for not shooting with the game on the line.
The East came out of a timeout huddle trailing 151-149 with 16.3 seconds left. James dribbled the ball as Bryant hunkered down on defense, seemingly ready to settle the game one-on-one.
But James passed to New Jersey's Deron Williams, who had run off a screen on a designed play. Williams missed the open 3-point attempt and a long rebound ended up with James, who still had Bryant in pursuit.
James tried to pass off again but the Clippers' Blake Griffin stole it. Bryant appeared to be in disbelief that James twice turned down a chance to shoot.
“Come on, man!” television replays appeared to show Bryant saying to James.
James, who was criticized for his passive play late in games during the NBA finals last season, was laughing. Bryant, who has won five championships with the Lakers, was not.
“He was telling me to shoot it,” James confirmed. “Definitely wish I could have that [errant pass] back.”
The East had a chance to tie with 1.1 seconds left. When Bryant realized that James would be throwing the ball in from out of bounds instead of taking the shot, he started trash talking him again.
Wade missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to finally end the All-Star game that, for at least a few moments, looked like something more.
