LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The World Team took a 155-124 victory over the Team USA Friday night at Staples Center in the Rising Stars Challenge of 2018 NBA All-Stars weekend.
The Boston Celtics Center Jaylen Brown, who played for the Team USA in the game, scored the game high 35 points, while Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield took 29 points for the Team World.
However, Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, teammate of Hield Friday night and this season, was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2018 Rising Stars. He received 5.5 of seven possible votes from a six-member media panel and the fans, who counted as one vote.
Bogdanovic, who shot 26 points in only 22 minutes, told reporters after the game that he knew relax is a key point to play the All-Stars game and he just played the way he played usually.
"I approach every single game the same way. Try to compete to be the best version of myself that day. It just happened tonight. You never know when it's going to happen," the 25-year-old Serbian said.
The Los Angeles Lakers two young forwards Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram combined for 28 points in 31 minutes for the Team USA, after two exhausted back-to-back games in Minneapolis Thursday and Dallas in Wednesday, but they gave their hometown fans something to cheer about.
Kuzma agreed that he really need a break during the All-Stars week, saying, "I feel like we need to cleanse after winning a lot and taking a couple steps back. So I think it's a good thing all around. You always need time to rest. We come back into the workplace Wednesday, so I'll be on the beach somewhere chilling."
