Team LeBron stages All-Star Game comeback after attending J. Cole's halftime show

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rapper J. Cole may be partly responsible for Team LeBron rallying for a 178-164 victory over Team Giannis Sunday night in the NBA All-Star Game.

Michael Malone, head coach of Team LeBron, said LeBron James approached him at halftime with the team trailing 95-82. James wanted to know if he and his teammates could watch J. Cole’s halftime show at the Spectrum Center.

"If you get your ass back in transition," Malone said he replied. "And so LeBron made my words known. They watched the concert and they came out and played great."

In the second half, Team LeBron outscored Team Giannis 96-69. And Damian Lillard, who helped propel Team LeBron with 18 points, made it clear watching J. Cole was a priority.

"That’s my favorite rapper," Lillard said. "So I knew he was performing at halftime. I was planning on getting out there either way. But I heard 'Bron say, 'Coach, we going to head out there and watch it,’ and we just went right after him. So it was an easy decision."