After the Western Conference All-Stars scored 88 points in the first half and held a 19-point lead, their Eastern Conference counterparts came back strong with hot three-point shooting from Deron Williams, who finished with 20 and LeBron James who tied Kevin Durant with a game high 36.

At the end, the game became all about the Nets' All-Star. With 1:30 remaining, D-Will had a steal and then a layup to bring the East the closest they had been since the first quarter, 148-147. But with 8.9 seconds left, Williams missed a three-pointer that would have put the East ahead and the West won, 152-149. Williams continued his recent hot shooting, going 8-for-11 and 4-for-7 from deep. He also had four assists and a steal...all in 18 minutes of play.

Williams and Dwight Howard didn't hook up for an alley oop, but did play significant minutes together.

• Boxscore - NBA.com
• Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
  
• Bryant, West hold on to win NBA All-Star game - Brian Mahoney - AP
• 2012 NBA All-Star Game Scorecard: East All-Stars - John Hollinger - ESPN
  
• Howard’s Magic tricky stance - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Deron’s late 3 ‘All’ wrong Fred Kerber - New York Post
• Rapid Reaction: NBA All-Star Game - Jared Zwerling - ESPN New York
• Kevin Durant wins NBA All-Star Game MVP as West beats East 152-149 - Frank Isola - New York Daily News
• ASG Edition: All-Star Opinions - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets