LeBron James (L) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (R) tussles with each other in the NBA All-Star Game at the United Center, February 15, 2020. (Photo: VCG)

The 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend came to an end on Sunday as Team Lebron defeated Team Giannis 157-155 at the United Center. Kawhi Leonard who dropped 30 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two teals for Team LeBron was named the first-ever winner of the Kobe Bryant trophy.

Though the first two days of this year's All-Star Weekend were either disappointing or controversial, the All-Star Game on the last day was good enough to make up for all of it, thanks to the fierce competition in the last quarter.

The last time an All-Star Game ended like this happened 17 years ago in Atlanta when 24-year-old Bryant "ruined" the farewell All-Star event for 40-year-old Michael Jordan. Back then, Jordan was the one standing on the stage, passing the torch to the young blood – Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming…

This time, the All-Star was all about Bryant. Though he was not able to speak in front of the attendants, Mamba Mentality was there, right on the court, shining in the hard work of every player both offensively and defensively.

Sunday's All-Star Game began pretty much like usual. Neither side cared much about defense at the beginning. Team LeBron, with better physical talents and more playmakers, gained the upper hand in the first quarter leading 53-41. Rudy Gobert delivering two straight blocks under the rim in the second quarter sending a message that Team Giannis were getting serious. Antetokounmpo's team won Q2 back 50-31.

Since this is still the All-Star Game, entertainment was necessary. For example, 34-year-old, 1.83-meter-tall Chris Paul finished an alley-oop assisted by Russell Westbrook – usually it's the other way around. Trae Young buried a half-court 3-pointer while Pascal Siakam lied down before the ball fell into the net to make it look more fun.

When the third quarter began, both sides abandoned at least some of their leisure mindset. Gobert continued to make dunks one after another while James led Anthony Davis and Leonard to strike back. Moreover, All-Star new members including Luka Doncic, Young, Domantas Sabonis began to see their time on the court reduce – this stage is still too early for them. At the end of this quarter, both teams called for a timeout to set up their last attack, totally unimaginable in the past.

The league made some new rules for this year's All-Star Game to honor Bryant: there's no time-counting in the fourth quarter. Instead, the leading team of the first three quarters will win once they score 24 points in Q4. The trailing team, on the other hand, will need to get "score difference + 24 points" first to win the game.

The score of Q3 was 41-41, Team Giannis leading 133-124 over Team LeBron. Therefore, both teams needed to reach 157 to win the game – 24 points for Team Giannis and 33 for Team LeBron. By the way, 33 was Bryant's jersey number in Lower Merion High School.

In the following 30 minutes or so, the two teams together committed 21 fouls which led to 26 free throw attempts. The field goal rate was only 36 percent.

No wonder former NBA Champion of the Boston Celtics Kendrick Perkins tweeted: "Is this the NBA Finals I'm watching?

Because only in the finals might you see the following scenes: Antetokounmpo continuously denied shots by James and Davis; James Harden defended different players from Kemba Walker, Kyle Lowry to Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid; Kyle Lowry tricked Harden to commit offensive foul; James tussled with Embiid in the paint; Antetokounmpo chase-down blocked a layup by James; Siakam kept Leonard from advancing; Leonard, James and Davis surrounded Antetokounmpo.

Yet, this could not be the finals because no team was able to send either of the following squads – Team LeBron: James, Leonard, Paul, Harden Davis. Team Giannis: Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Walker, Lowry and Siakam. Only the All-Star Game made it possible for these guys to play on the same court.

Since most of these players didn't have time to build chemistry with each other, the game in Q4 came back to the old-school form of basketball: defense, dishing out and isolation.

The game was not pretty because everyone had to buckle down and prepare to get elbowed. The ball could switch between the two sides for multiple times with nobody scoring anything. There's no easy opportunity because the defenders would ball pressure you in the 3-point line while there were big men setting up no-fly-zone in the paint.

Do you know who enjoyed basketball like this? Bryant did. And in Q4, his Mamba Mentality influenced everyone on the court so they turned the All-Star Game into the win-or-go-home competition of the NBA Finals.

It was Davis's made free throw game that put an end to this battle.

"It's very special. Like I said, I had a relationship with him (Bryant). Words can't explain how happy I am for it. Able to put that trophy in my room, in my trophy room, and just be able to see Kobe's name on there, it just means a lot to me. He's a big inspiration in my life. He did a lot for me," said Leonard after the game.

"I didn't know what to expect. But throughout the whole fourth quarter everybody was like, 'That was pretty damn fun,'" said James.

"We definitely felt his presence. Growing up, watching Kobe in those games, I felt like he was always competitive, and he was kind of the one who got the game going. I think we kept that going tonight. I think he definitely would have loved to watch the way we went out there and competed tonight," said Walker.

"The best way we could honor Kobe, (his daughter) Gigi and everyone involved is to play like we played," said Paul.

For Kobe, and for the way basketball should have been, let's remember the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.