If the Rising Stars Challenge was a best-of-seven series, Team USA would be on the brink of elimination. Behind Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 26 points, six rebounds and four assists, which landed him MVP honors, Team World defeated its rookie and sophomore counterparts 155-124 in the 2018 NBA Rising Stars Challenge. Bogdanovic’s backcourt partner, Buddy Hield, scored a team-high 29 on 12-of-22 shooting, adding five 3-pointers along the way.
For Team USA, Boston Celtics sophomore Jaylen Brown led the way with 35 points, including multiple highlight-reel jams, and 10 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown goes between-the-legs ?#Celtics pic.twitter.com/jr8Sxi1ylC
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 17, 2018
Jaylen Brown trying to bring Team USA back all by himself ? pic.twitter.com/PunP5ALmJ7
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 17, 2018
Team World jumped out to a 40-32 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 21-point margin in the second period before entering intermission up 78-59. Bogdanovic poured in three of his game-high seven 3-pointers during a 35-second span in the second quarter, two of which were 32-foot bombs:
BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC HITS THE 3 FROM SACRAMENTO ? pic.twitter.com/ZzTVPtyfjH
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 17, 2018
The international youngsters stretched the gap to 30 by the end of the third quarter, a period in which Ben Simmons dished out five of his game-high 13 assists, fitting for a player who ranks sixth in the league with 7.3 dimes per night.
Jamal Murray followed up his MVP performance of a season ago with 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and one long-range snipe from beyond the Canadian border:
Another Rising Stars Game, another shooting display from Jamal Murray ??? pic.twitter.com/nWSQpFFNfc
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 17, 2018
The lead ballooned to 39 midway through the fourth as Hield threw down a trio of dunks en route to a 13-point quarter, highlighting the lack of defense as the second-year pro traditionally finds work behind the perimeter. Ultimately, Team World cruised to victory as it never trailed past the 3:45 mark of the first quarter. Rookie wings Kyle Kuzma (20 points) and Jayston Tatum (15 points) packed a scoring punch off the bench for Team USA, who fell to 1-3 in the latest rendition of the rookie-sophomore game.
