The Numbers Behind the Comeback: Team LeBron Erases a 4th Quarter Deficit to Beat Team Stephen

The King gets his third All-Star Game MVP in a game where Steph and company were shooting bricks

It's Team LeBron versus Team Stephen

This year's edition of the annual All-Star Game marks the first time that the NBA has walked away from the usual East versus West format in aide to spice things up. In fact, the NBA has even increased the cash money that each member of the winning team to 100, 000 US Dollars to help in improvement of the competitiveness of the All-Star Game itself.

Apparently, those changes seem to work out after all.

In what appeared to be another classic All-Star Game, Team LeBron erased a 13-point deficit with under 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter to win it, 148-145. In all of the ironies that we've seen in this All-Star Game, it was the former dynamic duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving who led Team LeBron's amazing comeback which also enabled LeBron to win his All-Star Game MVP number 3- his first since 2008.

While it's rare that the All-Star Game is decided by a ton of serious numbers, there was no doubt that the change in the format enabled the players and the fans to witness an All-Star Game that was absolutely filled with excitement and a higher level of competitive nature. So what enabled Team LeBron to beat Team Stephen Below are the numbers:

LeBron James' Brilliance

Just how old is LeBron James again? 33 years-old, right? And he now joins Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Shaquille O'Neal as the players with 3 MVP awards in the All-Star Game- tied for second behind Bob Pettit and of course, Kobe Bryant who both 4 MVP awards during the All-Star Game.

In leading Team LeBron, the King led all scorers with 29 points on 12 for 17 field goal shooting. He also had 10 rebounds and 8 assists. But what was amazing about LeBron James is his ability to play at any position and in this case, his team was lacking a legitimate center as DeMarcus Cousins was ruled out for the season due to a season-ending injury. But LeBron didn't back down as he played the center position in the final moments of the game, even nailing a step back three-pointer to tie the score. If anything, being old in this league isn't bad after all as long as you're still competitive and LeBron James' legendary career is far from over.

Better (Re-Ignited) Chemistry= More Assists

One of the interesting stories in this specific All-Star Game was the possible awkwardness between former teammates turned rivals. Two of the duo that was watched most of the time were Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and of course, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. 

But all throughout the game, there was not a single drop of awkwardness. Only the renewed and re-ignited chemistry in the two duos that made them almost impossible to stop during their time together and in the All-Star Game, it clearly showed. In fact, it was Kyrie Irving who handed out the winning assist to LeBron James who scored the go-ahead lay-up. Irving had 9 assists while Westbrook had 8 assists. Kevin Durant had 5 dimes on top of his 19 points.  

The True Winner of the All-Star Game= the FANS

While the change in the format is generally awkward at first, the players simply did a better job of embracing the change and in effect, the fans are the true winner because they got to witness an exciting game that isn't just filled with those boring dunks and repetitive alley-oop plays. 

Congratulations to the NBA for another successful All-Star Game.