The final quarter of today’s All-Star game looked a lot more like the old days, where the players really went hard against each other and cared a lot more about the competition than the glitz and glamor.

We got to see Giannis Antetokounmpo go hard on the perimeter and block LeBron James, Joel Embiid get attacked by four defenders after grabbing an offensive rebound, and Kyle Lowry take charges in crunch time.

I can’t remember the last time an All-Star game felt so tightly contested. It really felt like everyone that took the floor had Kobe Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ in mind.

We got to see some vintage performances too, from Chris Paul shooting 7 of 11 from beyond the arc, Rudy Gobert putting up 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kemba Walker dropping 23 points.

The battle between the captains was captivating too, with James putting up 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Antetokounmpo had a bit of a more superior game, affecting both ends of the floors with 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three blocks.

The final score of 157-155  did not come easy.

The score was 146-143 after Joel Embiid split a couple of free throws, which quickly got tied at 146 after a James Harden three.

The final race to 11 felt as tense as Game 7 of an NBA Finals series, and you could feel the tension in the air. The two sides traded baskets again to get it to 148-148 until Harden fouled Lowry, who made both of his free throws to push the lead to 150-148.

Kawhi Leonard went to his trademark midrange jumper to tie the game again at 150. Both teams bricked threes before James went to Anthony Davis for an alley-oop. Joel Embiid then tied the game again at 152.

The pace was frenetic with everything left on the line, and every whistle was argued against. A foul was challenged with the game down to the last five point, which led to a foul overturned and turned into a jump ball.

Kawhi Leonard was, in my opinion, the best player on the floor. He led all scorers with 30 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. His offensive rebound after a LeBron James miss led to the extra possession that turned into a pair of Harden free throws that put team James a three away from a victory. He deserved to be the first one to win the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP.

The signature defensive play of the game came between the two captains, with Antetokounmpo racing down to block a James layup. The referees had to review whether it was goaltending, and it was unbelievably close. They finally called the block to bring the score back down to 154-153.

Kyle Lowry AGAIN picked up a charge when it really mattered, giving team Giannis possession and another chance to cut the lead and put themselves in position to win. He unfortunately got called for an offensive foul in the next possession. James took advantage and pushed his squad to a 156-153 lead.

Embiid came close to a travel while backing James down, but got bailed out by the refs. His free throws pushed it to a 156-155 scoreline, making it a ‘next basket wins’ situation. Almost anti-climactically, there was foul called in a battle under the post between Lowry and hometown boy Davis, who bricked the first free throw to add a little tension to the game. He regained his composure to sink his second to win the game.

The true winner of the game was all of us NBA fans. We got to see hard defense and passion from every player that took the floor, which isn’t something you can say for a lot of recent All-Star games. Even the players on the bench agonized over every call and wanted to will their teammates to the W.

I hope every future All-Star game is played like this. This was a historic game, and one that will not be forgotten for decades. I think it would be great if they also added a large charity donation for players to battle for each year, because I think that also helped inspire the players to work even harder.