Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Dallas native Chris Bosh hit two free throws with five seconds remaining, boosting the Eastern Conference to a 141-139 victory over the West at the All-Star Game before a record crowd of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium.
The attendance at Jerry Jones' spatial palace set a mark for the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game.
"I think they were expecting 90,000, something like that," Bosh said. "To have 108,000, that's just leaps and bounds more than what we expected. I had a blast."
Miami's Dwyane Wade garnered MVP honors by scoring 28 points, recording 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals. Cleveland's LeBron James added 25 points, while Bosh, who plays for Toronto, finished with 23 points and 10 boards.
Denver's Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but his three-point try at the buzzer grazed the front of the rim as he was defended by Wade.
Dirk Nowitzki of the hometown favorite Dallas Mavericks sank a pair of foul shots with 7.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 139, just after Wade's two at the charity stripe gave the East the lead.
Bosh then drove from the left wing but was fouled by Chauncey Billups, before making the go-ahead free throws.
Nowitzki ended with 22 points, but in the end it was another Wade special performance in Dallas that helped his team to victory. Wade was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals when the Heat won the title in Dallas.
"I've had a little luck in Dallas," Wade said. "Of course, 2006 is very memorable."
Anthony said West head coach George Karl drew up a play for the win, but at the end it didn't work.
"They made just one more play than we did," Nowitzki said. "We had a shot at the end. Carmelo had a decent look, but they deserve to win."
The West didn't have its full arsenal available due to injuries to Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Brandon Roy.
Wade had eight of his points in the last quarter to offset a spectacular last period for Billups, who had 14 of his 17 in the stanza.
In a game that was devoid of defense, the East gained a 37-34 lead after one quarter, highlighted by Dwight Howard's 11 points. Wade and Joe Johnson combined for 15 points in the second, helping the East gain a 76-69 halftime edge.
Howard's slam moved the margin to 90-74, but the West rallied later in the third and trailed 118-109 moving to the fourth when the game really tightened and when defense finally became a more prominent part of the contest.
Zach Randolph's floater tied the game at 124 for the West with 6:40 remaining, but a bevy of West turnovers led the East moving ahead nine with over four minutes left. Wade culminated the push with a two-handed breakaway jam after stealing the ball from Deron Williams for a 135-126 edge.
Later, the West scored seven in a row to forge a tie at 137.
Game Notes
Next year's All-Star Game will be played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles...Howard had 17 points and Johnson 10...Kevin Durant scored 15, Williams 14, and Pau Gasol 13 for the West, which also received 12 points and 10 boards from Amare Stoudemire. Steve Nash finished with 13 assists for the West, which held a 54-40 rebounding edge...A total of 23 West turnovers led to 31 points by the East...Wade finished 12-of-16 from the field...Karl fell to 0-4 as an All-Star Game coach.