LOS ANGELES — The last two NBA All-Star games set records for points and indifference.

Sunday’s game was less forgiving: There was more effort, scoring was harder to come by and the exciting final minutes brought the crowd to its feet.

It felt far from the 2017 All-Star Game, in which Stephen Curry lay flat on the court to avoid being victimized by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dunk and the two teams combined for 374 points. After that, the NBA adjusted the game’s format in hopes of making it more competitive.

Instead of dividing the players into East and West teams, two captains — LeBron James and Curry — drafted from a pool of players who had been voted as All-Stars. That route seemed to translate into a more competitive game, as Team LeBron edged Team Stephen, 148-145 — the closest margin since 2012.

“The game was so good, it was so competitive, it was the best one that I’ve played in,” Kevin Durant, who played for Team LeBron, said after the game.

James, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player (his third time winning the award), led all scorers with 29 points and also chipped in 10 rebounds and eight assists. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers tied for the lead on Curry’s team with 21 points. Curry himself had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

In the end it was the swarming defense of James and Durant that decided the game as the former MVPs prevented Curry from getting a clean look at the basket in the final seconds with Curry’s team trailing by 3 points.