Drummond named MVP as Team Hill beats Team Webber in Rising Stars
Team Hill’s Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons (0) dunks the ball against Team Webber’s Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans during the Rising Star NBA All Star Challenge Basketball game, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, in New Orleans. AP
NEW ORLEANS — Andre Drummond had 30 points and a Rising Stars Challenge-record 25 rebounds, leading Team Hill to a 142-136 victory over Team Webber on Friday night.
Besides an impressive tally of dunks and rebounds, Drummond even managed to make his free throws while winning MVP honors.
A 41 percent shooter during the regular season, the Detroit forward went 6 for 8, including a pair with 29 seconds left after chasing down Bradley Beal’s missed free throw to give his team a five-point lead.
Cleveland’s Dion Waiters had 31 points, mostly coming during a 1-on-1 duel with New York’s Tim Hardaway Jr. in the second half. Beal finished with 21 for Team Hill, picked by former NBA star Grant Hill.
Hardaway scored 36 points and made seven 3-pointers for fellow former Michigan star Chris Webber’s squad. Philadelphia rookie Michael Carter-Williams had 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Portland’s Damian Lillard had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in the victory, making him 1 for 1 during the busiest All-Star weekend ever. Last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year will take part in five events, three more on All-Star Saturday and the All-Star game on Sunday.
All-Stars such as Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Kyrie Irving watched the game, with Irving leaping to his feet at one point after watching Waiters, his Cavaliers teammate, try to take over the game with about 8 minutes to play.
Waiters had two baskets and then two 3-pointers, one of them when he stepped back after faking a move to the basket that made Hardaway lose his balance. Hardaway answered back with two 3-pointers of his own as the crowd roared.
Waiters then clinched the duel when he knocked the ball free for a rare defensive highlight in the game, nailing his second straight 3-pointer to give team Hill the lead for good at 126-124 with 2:44 left. Drummond followed with a dunk for a four-point advantage, and Team Webber could never catch up.
The game that began as a matchup of top rookies and later turned into rookies against second-year players now mixes the rosters. That’s probably a good thing, since this year’s crop of kids is so underwhelming.
Only two of the top 10 picks in the 2013 draft, which has been hindered by injuries, were invited to this game, No. 2 Oladipo and No. 9 Trey Burke.
Players were picked to play on Team Hill and Team Webber, which they wore under their numbers on the back of their jerseys.
Drummond 16 points and 10 rebounds in his first 10 minutes and shot 12 of 21 for the game.
