[event_details 4129]
- For the second time in the NBA All-Star Weekend history, Rookies and Sophomores shared teams in the Rookie Challenge. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal served again as the general managers of TEAM CHUCK and TEAM SHAQ.
- On February 7 they drafted 20 players to form their respective teams, including Ricky Rubio and Isaiah Thomas, who were late additions by Kenny Smith. You can watch the draft at nba.com. Fans voted online to pick the starters for each team.
- Team Chuck got an easy win and a couple of records: most points scored by a team (163) in a ‘rookie game’, improving the 155 mark that made the Sophomore team in the 2007 game, and also tied the record for most 3 points made with 17, the same number that scored the Sophomore team in 2008.
- Kenneth Faried (40 points, 18-22 FG and 10 rebounds) played as hard as usual and the MVP trophy was the gift for his great effort. Besides the regular ‘dunk-show’ and no-defense game, one of the brightest moments happened at the end of the game, when Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight went one-on-one about 8 consecutive possessions, winning Irving clearly the battle. After his 2012 MVP, Kyrie Irving was again the best player of his team with 32 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
- In the first half Chuck Team scored 90 points! Including an incredible 12-18 on 3-pointers. Reserve Isaiah Thomas (14 points and 7 assists) was perfect 4-4 on threes, and Tristan Thompson was his only teammate who didn’t scored a 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes. Kenneth Faried was Chuck’s best scorer with 19 at halftime. Kyrie Irving was Shaq Team’s best scorer with 14 points.
- Watch Game Recap from NBA.com
- Watch the best plays at NBA.com:
- Coaches: David Fizdale (Team SHAQ) and Mike Budenholzer (Team CHUCK)
- MVP: Kenneth Faried (Team CHUCK)
[event_performance 4129]
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