Rocket lifted by All-Stars

HOUSTON — Even more than when Karl Malone and John Stockton shared MVP honors at the 1993 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Sunday's affair in Houston was largely about taking care of the home guy.

And, oh, did he ever need it.

West starter Tracy McGrady of the hometown Houston Rockets has been dealing with serious tribulations in recent weeks, making the 2006 NBA All-Star Game a brief respite from much heavier matters.

"It was just good to get out and have some sort of (an escape from) all the things I've been dealing with personally," McGrady said afterward, "and, you know, this was just an opportunity for me to have a peace of mind and just go out and have some fun. (I) definitely took full advantage of that."

Ultimately, though, there would be no Hollywood ending to this tale of tragedy.

MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied the Eastern Conference from 17 points down at halftime to a 122-120 win over McGrady's West team, though not before McGrady had the ball in his hands with 9.9 seconds remaining and a chance to force overtime.

After Miami's Dwyane Wade followed his own miss to put the East up two with 16.6 seconds to go, James — who took 21 shots and scored 29 points — appeared to find some ball as McGrady's 20-foot jumper for the tie found nothing but air.

"Yes, absolutely," McGrady said when asked if James had fouled him.

Even James confirmed as much: "Yeah, on his way up I got a piece of his arm and a piece of the ball, which made it short."

No foul was called.

Beyond that alleged injustice, however, McGrady spend most of Sunday on the receiving end of plenty of love.

And, oh, did he ever need it.

McGrady has been stressed of late, so much so he almost skipped out on a mandatory Friday media session promoting the All-Star Game.

Eventually, encouraged by league officials, he did show. The session wound up as cathartic as it was informative.

McGrady bared his soul, touching on a string of deaths over the last several months involving family members and friends — but offering no actual details of the personal tragedies so powerfully affecting him.