Chapter 70: The Final Two Minutes! All-Star Game Reaches Fever Pitch

As Paul George's dunk brought the score to 135–127, the West was closing the gap, now only down by eight points. Embiid was visibly frustrated—his last shot, which he thought was a sure score, had been blocked by Tang Lei. Still unsettled, he demanded the ball again, determined to redeem himself.

This time, though he avoided another block, Embiid rushed his shot to prevent another rejection, causing him to miss. Tang Lei quickly grabbed the rebound, drawing astonished looks from the crowd. Here was this tall, lean, yellow-skinned young man defending and outplaying the dominant Embiid in back-to-back plays.

Curry took the ball up the court but, seeing the East had retreated into position, opted to pass to Tang Lei at the three-point line. Tang Lei wasted no time, executing a seamless pump fake that tricked Embiid just enough to open a window for his shot. Tang Lei released a perfect, high-arching three that sailed over Embiid and swished through the net. The West was now down by only five points, 135–130.

Eastern coach Mike Budenholzer called a timeout to regroup, especially since Embiid's missed plays were becoming a liability. Yet, being a star player, Embiid remained on the floor. In the NBA, star players often wield more influence than the coaches, especially in high-profile games like this. Only the most iconic coaches could dare bench their stars, but this was the All-Star Game, where balancing egos was just as important as winning.

Coming out of the timeout, the East focused on Giannis, who delivered three consecutive unstoppable plays, scoring six points. The West managed only a three-pointer from Tang Lei, widening the gap to 141–133.

As the clock ticked down, both sides continued to score, but the West struggled to make a significant dent in the East's lead. With only two minutes remaining, the scoreboard read 157–150, the East maintaining a seven-point lead. Both teams had broken the 150-point mark, a common sight in recent All-Star Games, and the cumulative score had surged past 300.

Seeing the urgency, West coach Mike Malone called another timeout. Tang Lei took a few deep swigs of energy drink, eyes blazing with determination. He sensed that Curry, LeBron, and Durant were giving him the chance to seize the MVP. He'd already notched up 26 points, the highest in the West, while Giannis led the East with 31.

Originally, Embiid had been the East's top scorer, but after Tang Lei's fourth-quarter defensive standoff, Budenholzer had increasingly run plays through Giannis. With 11 points in the fourth quarter alone, Giannis had taken the scoring lead. Yet, everyone knew that simply scoring the most points wasn't enough; the MVP would go to whoever's team won.

As the game entered its final moments, both sides braced themselves, knowing that the MVP title was within reach—if they could bring home the victory.