Detroit Pistons center, Andre Drummond, scored 30 points and grabbed a record-breaking 25 rebounds to lead Team Hill over Team Webber, 142-136, in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge Friday night at the Smoothie King Center (don’t ask) in the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Drummond, who was snubbed from the event last year, was awarded the game’s MVP. Even though the award nearly went to New York Knicks rookie Tim Hardaway Jr., who led Team Hill with a game-high 36 points and led the squad when the game went down the wire.
Down by five with nine minutes left in the second half, Hardaway made four three-pointers from way beyond the line to notch 16 of Team Hill’s next 18 points. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters then rose to the challenge, responding with a good mix of jump shots and acrobatic finishes, giving his team a 116-114 edge.
Hardaway made a couple more three-pointers, but Waiters responded with eight straight points, followed by a huge dunk by Drummond off a Waiters dish. Drummond later dished to Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal for a three-pointer, 131-126, to put Team Hill ahead for good.
Team Webber’s Philadelphia 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams tallied 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Point guard Damian Lillard, representing the Portland Trail Blazers, had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for Team Hill in the first of his five events this weekend. Miles Plumlee, center for the Phoenix Suns, was a late addition to Team Hill to replace injured Atlanta Hawks big man Pero Antic.
As rep from BBVA went to present the MVP trophy of the Rising Stars Challenge to Drummond, he dropped it. It sort of broke and Knicks rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. stepped in to add “ESPN, not top 10″, referring to SportsCenter’s popular blooper segment. The trophy was put back together enough for photos and Drummond seemed unbothered by the accident.
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