LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard both enjoyed the new-look format of the All-Star Game and had no problem with the game ending on a free throw.
The revamped event produced a closely contested encounter in which Team LeBron beat Team Giannis 157-155. The fourth quarter, in particular, was as intense as the final moments of a playoff game, with the league's biggest stars holding absolutely nothing back.
The NBA decided, as part of the series of Kobe Bryant tributes, that the winner of the All-Star Game would be the team that added 24 points, a nod to the late Laker icon's jersey number, to whatever the leading total score was after three quarters.
That meant the target score was set at 157. Anthony Davis' free throw ensured Team LeBron were the ones to reach it.
"To me, probably the best All-Star game ever," Team Giannis starter Joel Embiid said. "Guys competed, it came down to basically the last shot, but I don't think you should be able to win (the game) on a free throw."
After the game, James and All-Star MVP Leonard were asked about the manner in which the game ultimately ended.
"It doesn't matter," said James. "Listen, at the end of the day you can win a Finals game at the free throw line. A lot of things happen on the playground that you can't do in our game too, where you can literally foul every single time and not get disqualified.
"I have been in games where you have won games at the free throw line and that's all part of the game. If (Anthony Davis) would have missed both (free throws) no one would have been talking about it. It's all part of the game and it was a hell of a way to end the game."
Leonard agreed with his team captain. "I mean, it's a point so we can't take our free throws out of the whole game, he said.
"(Team Giannis) pretty much made the last six or seven free throws towards the end (the officials) kept giving them. Do you want to minus those points as well?
"The new format was good, felt like it was fun in that fourth quarter."
Opposing captain Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 25 points in his team's losing effort, agreed with Leonard that the revised format had breathed new life into the All-Star Game.
"After the game my brother came down and he said this has been the most fun All-Star he has been a part of," Antetokounmpo said. "I asked him why and he said, 'because you guys were really competitive, you guys were playing to win'.
"We tried to come out and set the tone and play hard. Especially in the fourth quarter, the defense got tighter, guys were hitting one another and every possession counted. It had a little bit of playoff intensity out there so I loved it.
"I hope they can keep the same format for a lot of years and I think people had fun. We had fun so that's what it's all about."
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