NBA All-Star Friday: Team USA defeats Team World in rookie game

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Team USA claimed victory in this year's NBA All-Star Rising Stars Challenge by defeating Team World 161-144 on Friday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Kyle Kuzma scored a game-high 35 points for Team USA while taking home MVP honors.

Jason Tatum was second on the team in scoring with 30 points, followed by Donovan Mitchell, who had 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Trae Young came off the bench for a 25-point, 10-assist double-double. De'Aaron Fox finished with just two points, but added 16 assists.

Ben Simmons (C) of Team World dunks in the 2019 NBA All-Star Rising Stars Challenge on February 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

On the World side, Ben Simmons made 14 of 17 shots to claim 28 points, five rebounds and six assists. Lauri Markkanen had 22 points and another seven players dropped double-digit points for the game. Luka Doncic put down 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

Unlike their counterparts in the All-Star Game, the young men did not really know how to make the game fun to watch without turning it into a two-hour mashup of the skills, 3-pt and slam dunk contests. Since, understandably, no one wanted to get hurt, the Rising Stars Challenge usually went on with zero defense.

De'Aaron Fox of Team USA dunks in the Rising Stars Challenge on February 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

Friday's game was no exception, at least not in the first half. As coach Dirk Nowitzki was determined to keep big men on the court, Team World committed more turnovers, which led to easy points for their opponent via dunks and three-pointers in transition. Team USA, which played a smaller squad with better athleticism, led 83-71 after the first half.

Simmons, who looked like an MVP candidate early on, was the first to pay more attention to defense in the second half. Affected by his spirit, Team World's other players began to get physical and managed to narrow the score, even gaining the lead twice.

OG Anunoby of Team World dunks in the Rising Stars Challenge on February 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

Nonetheless, Team World still could not find their target from the three-pt line (overall 31 percent). Neither could they speed up the pace with big men on the court. Both were essential for catching up but World had neither, making their loss inevitable.

As the game became a foregone conclusion in the last two minutes, some entertaining scenes took place. First, Luka Doncic missed a three-pointer. Then Fox failed to make an easy layup. Marvin Bagley III of Team USA got the rebound but missed the open dunk. Five seconds later, World's OG Anunoby returned the favor by missing his dunk.

Since the NBA chose the USA vs. World format for the Rising Stars Challenge in 2015, the latter has won three of four contests. In 2018, Team USA lost by 31 points (155-124). The dismal record had some USA fans worried that the series wouldn't be competitive. Hopefully the victory in Charlotte will ease their concerns.

Comedian Famous Los of the Home Team holds the MVP trophy for the 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on February 15, 2019. /VCG Photo

In the Celebrity Game that ended earlier, the Home Team, led by Jay Williams, beat the Away Team, led by Ray Allen, 82-80. Though the NBA's all-time three-point leader scored a game-high 24 points, Allen could not seal a win for his side. Comedian Famous Los scored 22 points for the Home Team and was named MVP.