From the outside looking in, Cleveland isn’t exactly the most glamorous place to host an NBA All-Star game, but deep within the city lies the region that is more loyal to the industry of sports than almost any in the world.

In 2016 the sports world gave the city of Cleveland the nickname Believeland for its unwavering faith in the Cleveland Cavaliers during the NBA finals. The Cavs found themselves in a position that had been proven over and over insurmountable, down 3-1 to arguably one of the greatest teams in NBA history, but somehow the Cavs found a way and came back to win the title behind a relentless fanbase that never gave up on the team. The city proved then to be more than capable of being the epicenter of the sports world.

Since then the city of Cleveland has served nothing but a memory for most NBA fans. However that changed last weekend as all eyes were on the city as they hosted the All-Star game for the first time since 1997.

Once again this year the game featured Team Lebron vs. Team Durant. Team Lebron featured a starting lineup consisting of James, Antetokounmpo, Curry, DeRozan, and Jokic. Team Durant featured Embiid, Morant, Tatum, Wiggins, and Young.

The game this year had a new format which kept things interesting the whole way through as the winner of each quarter received a $100,000 donation to the charity they were playing for. Team Lebron was representing the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program, and Team Durant was playing for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

Steph Curry stole the show as he put up 50 points, with 16 three pointers, leaving him just 2 points shy of the All Star game record. MVP frontrunner Embiid put up an impressive 36 points, with 10 rebounds, as did Antetokounmpo also with a spectacular performance with 30 points of his own.

The game was tightly contested the whole way through. Both teams seemingly traded baskets from the beginning. The first half saw a combined 187 points giving fans no shortage of offensive action. The game ended up coming down to the 4th quarter, with the format this year being the first to get to 163 would be the winner. The number being calculated by the winning team’s score plus 24 entering the final quarter. Team Durant had the 139-138 advantage entering the 4th quarter.

After numerous missed three point attempts by Curry to end the game and break the All-Star game point record, the hometown hero Lebron James took the game into his own hands hitting a fade away jumper to give Team Lebron the win.

Following the win Lebron told ESPN, “I couldn’t have dreamt it. I could not have dreamed of that moment any better than the actuality that just happened. For me to be back here, like I keep stating, 35 minutes [north] of where I grew up here in Akron, Ohio, to hit the game winner in the All-Star Game where me and my guys back in the back, we used to watch the All-Star Game.”

Lebron continued “For me to be here today, for my best friends to be here, for my wife and my kids and my family, my mom. There are so many people that seen me grow from really a young toddler to who I am today. I couldn’t even — I couldn’t picture that moment any better.”

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland commented on the closing moments of the game saying “He wanted the ball. We all knew that he was going to shoot it. Fade away, you know? He wanted to win for  the school. That’s why he was going so hard in the fourth. That’s why everybody was going hard in the fourth. Just seeing that go in, just seeing the crowd erupt in his hometown, it was cool to see.”

Coming as no surprise the MVP was awarded to Steph Curry for his near record breaking performance. Curry told ESPN, “Obviously I got the MVP; I played well the whole night. He hit the game-winner. All the history of our series and the Akron ties, and all that kind of going into how the night went, so it was pretty — can’t really draw it up any other way.”

This year proved once again a testament to why the NBA all-star game is still alive and well. Whether it be the unconventional format, the celebrities sitting courtside, or just the sheer talent, all were able to appreciate this night of basketball. Cleveland was able to shine on a night where the NBA believed in Believeland as they delivered on a night that will not be forgotten anytime soon.