LOS ANGELES -- On a night when the NBA wanted to restore a showcase event to its rightful glory, the league's most visible superstar, LeBron James, ignited the team that carried his namesake to a 148-145 win in the most satisfying All-Star Game in years.
The NBA and its athletes have become the most ingenious league in the world at generating buzz and stoking narrative conflict, but after the All-Star rosters are named and hands are wrung over snubs and slights, the game in recent years has been stale toast. To heighten the stakes, the NBA injected some more intrigue -- it assigned the task of divvying up the talent to James and Stephen Curry, the leading vote-getters in the All-Star balloting.