HOUSTON — The NBA All-Star game is supposed to be an exhibition.

After helping lead the Eastern Conference to a 122-120 victory Sunday night, the Detroit Pistons' four All-Star representatives celebrated as if they'd just won a playoff game.

"We only know one way to play, and that's hard, and that's for the win," guard Chauncey Billups said. "We can't play any other way."

The Pistons' lunch-bucket style might seem out of place in the All-Star game, which often turns into a series of highlight-reel plays by the game's most skilled players. But on Sunday night, Detroit's fundamentals — combined with an MVP performance by Cleveland's LeBron James — proved potent.

"Maybe we're not the most exciting team, but we know what it takes to win," said Billups, whose team has the NBA's best overall record. "That's what we do."

Perhaps that's why the East didn't give up despite falling behind the Western Conference by 21 early in the second half. The East rallied behind James and the Pistons' Fab Four of Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton.

"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 Miami's Dwyane 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.

The Detroit teammates 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.

That set up the final sequence. After McGrady missed, Bryant lost the ball and Rasheed Wallace grabbed it with 5 seconds left.

McGrady claimed he was fouled by James on his final shot.

Had McGrady hit the tying jumper, he might have beaten out James for MVP honors. McGrady thanked his West teammates for trying to help him win the award at home.

"That was the whole strategy," he said. "Obviously, those guys did a great job. First of all, just their kindness to want to get me the MVP. It was there if we would have won the game."

McGrady said the game provided a respite from the undisclosed personal problems that have bothered him in recent weeks.

"This was just an opportunity for me to have a peace of mind and go out and have some fun, and I took advantage of that," he said.

As is often the case, the All-Star game had plenty of subplots. Ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant, no longer feuding, shook hands before tipoff and laughed when O'Neal fouled Bryant in the first quarter. The 7-foot-1 O'Neal, now with Miami, took a spin as the East's point guard for one possession.

The four Pistons, along with Boston's Paul Pierce, entered with 3:38 to go in the first quarter and the East trailing 24-21. After Phoenix's Shawn Marion scored on a layup to give the West a five-point lead, Pierce and the Pistons closed the quarter on a 7-2 run.

Defense, which has long been Detroit's calling card, is rare in the All-Star game. But once the Pistons entered, the West struggled to score. The East limited the West to four points in the final 3:38.

"It was just fun for us," Hamilton said during an in-game television interview.

The four Pistons were the most on one All-Star team since 1998, when Bryant, O'Neal, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones represented the Lakers. The Pistons honored the fifth member of their starting lineup, Tayshaun Prince, by writing '22' on their shoes.

The Pistons were the talk of the East locker room.

"They deserve it — and Tayshaun probably should have been here," said Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who was injured and did not play. "Those five guys are a big reason why they have the best record in the NBA. I think it's a huge thing for the league. I'm for any story that makes the NBA look good."