HOUSTON — Even down by 21 points, the Detroit Pistons' Fab Four plus LeBron James were still in the game.

A push from the Pistons, an MVP performance by King James and a putback by Dwyane Wade helped the East rally for a 122-120 victory over the West in an NBA All-Star game that went down to the final seconds yesterday.

"We didn't want to get blown out on national TV," James said. "All in all, this is a game and we just want to have fun, but you know we're all competitors and our competitive nature kicked in at one point."

The East pulled it out in a frantic final minute that felt more like a game that mattered than an exhibition.

"I thought, especially for our league, the fourth quarter was a great quarter," said East coach Flip Saunders of the Pistons. "They saw a little bit about what NBA basketball is about: great plays by great players."

With the score tied, Allen Iverson was off-target on a jumper, but Wade darted into the lane for the rebound and the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds left.

Still, the East didn't wrap it up until hometown hero Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets missed a jumper with the clock ticking down. Kobe Bryant then had the ball slip out of his hands for a turnover, and it hardly mattered that Vince Carter missed a breakaway dunk on the other end just before the buzzer.

McGrady led all players with 36 points. The 21-year-old James, in his second midseason showcase, scored 29 and became the youngest All-Star MVP.

"It was more impressive that we came from, at one point, 21 points down and willed ourselves to a win," James said.

Detroit teammates Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton, all selected as reserves from the team with the league's best record, came off the bench together to help the East rally.

"I talked to the guys at halftime and basically said that we were not as competitive," Saunders said. "I thought that the second half they played exceptionally well. In these type of games, it takes a lot of time to get used to playing with guys. Every guy did something in a very positive way."

The West took a 74-53 lead 2 minutes into the third quarter. But the East responded with a 28-13 run over the next 6 minutes as James scored 13 points.

"You could definitely see the game change when (the Pistons) were all out there together," West center Tim Duncan said.

Led by Billups' 15 points and seven assists, the Pistons combined to score 23 points, grab 14 rebounds and dish out 10 assists. Defensive ace Ben Wallace added three steals and blocked two shots.

"They were in sync," West coach Avery Johnson said. "It really shows how great of a team sport basketball can be when you have everybody on the same page."

The East grabbed a 117-107 lead with 3:29 to go. The West made it 120-all on Bryant's fadeaway jumper with 32 seconds remaining.