MVP James leads East to comeback All-Star Game win

Cleveland's LeBron James led an inspired Eastern Conference fightback from a 21-point deficit to edge the Western Conference 122-120 in the 55th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Houston.

The Cavaliers forward bagged 29 points, including 15 in the third quarter when the East outscored the West 41-27 to claw themselves back into the game.

Miami's Dwyane Wade put back a missed Allen Iverson jumper with 16 seconds left to break a 120-120 tie and give the East the victory. He finished the game with 20 points.

The East trailed by 21 early in the third quarter before James sparked the comeback in a game that featured little defence and a lot of alley-oop passes and thunderous slam dunks.

The 21-year-old was voted the game's most valuable player, becoming the youngest to win the honour in the All-Star Game, displacing NBA legend Oscar Robertson by one year.

"It feels awesome," James told reporters after the contest.

"It was more impressive that we came back from 21 points down and led ourselves to a win.

"We didn't want to get blown out on national TV," he said after his second All-Star Game appearance.

"I think the first half was just a little too silly," Miami's Shaquille O'Neal said after scoring 17 points for the East. "We knew we just had to play a little bit of defence and play a little bit harder."

Tracy McGrady, the Houston Rockets forward playing on his home court, led the West and all scorers with 36 points.

He praised his team-mates for feeding him the ball all night to assist his chances of picking up the MVP trophy.

"That was the whole strategy," he said. "It was there if we would have won the game."

Rockets centre Yao Ming, the leading All-Star vote getter, had five points and two rebounds.

The East won for the second year in a row and leads the series 35-20.