Dwyane Wade shone brighter than the rest of his fellow All-Stars as he led the East to a 141-139 win over the West in the 59th All-Star Game in Texas on Sunday.
The Team USA guard filled the stats sheet like no other, scoring a game-high 28 points, dishing out a team-best 11 assists, pulling down six rebounds and recording five steals in front of a record capacity crowd of 108,713 that filled the American Football venue Cowboy Stadium.
“I just wanted to do a little bit of everything,” Wade said afterwards. “That’s the way I would like to win MVP, not just get 30 points.”
The personal accolade – and of course the win for the Eastern Conference – gave Wade another reason to remember Dallas fondly. It was almost four years ago that he led the Miami Heat to their first NBA championship in north Texas, helping them overcome a 2-0 deficit against the Dallas Mavericks to clinch the series 4-2.
The East led 76-69 after a high-scoring first half and extended that advantage to 90-74 as Wade and fellow Team USA member LeBron James each had 10 points in the early part of the third quarter.
The West rallied all the way back thanks to some inspiring play from local favourite Dirk Nowitzki as well as Olympic Gold medallist Carmelo Anthony.
Team USA hopeful Chauncey Billups tied the score at 137 with just over a minute remaining before Wade got a steal and was fouled with 13 seconds to go. He made both free-throws for a 139-137 advantage before Nowitzki tied the game up again when he made a pair of his own.
Dallas native and Team USA member Chris Bosh edged the East back in front when he made good on his trip to the charity stripe with five seconds remaining and the outcome was settled when Anthony missed a game-winning three.
Wade and James have not yet confirmed whether they will be representing the USA in Turkey at this summer’s FIBA World Championship for Men as both players – along with Bosh – will headline the 2010 NBA free agent class.
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