(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Zach LaVine and Team USA are on top of the World. The high-flying LaVine had 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists, as Team USA held off Team World 157-154 on Friday in the Rising Stars Challenge to tip off the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
Team USA exacted a measure of revenge in the wildly entertaining shootout after bowing to the Team World 121-112 last season, in a match-up of promising first and second-year international stars against an American squad boasting the same blend.
LaVine was named the game's most valuable player and kept the trophy in Minnesota after Timberwolves teammate Andrew Wiggins won it last year.
"I'm glad we got the win because we lost year," LaVine said. "We got into it and we all had a good game."
LaVine will look to defend his crown in the Slam Dunk Competition on Saturday against other high flyers including Denver's Will Barton, Detroit's Andre Drummond and Orlando's Aaron Gordon. "I'm going to go out there, put on a show again and get that trophy," he said. "I definitely have to respect my competition."
Jordan Clarkson (LA Lakers) netted 25 points, Devin Booker (Phoenix) had 23, D'Angelo Russell (Lakers) added 22, while Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 to pace Team USA, which shot 56 per cent from the field, including 21 dunks and 19 triples.
Team World was led by Latvia's Kristaps Porzingis (New York) and Republic of the Congo's Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver) with 30 points apiece while Canada's Wiggins (Minnesota) added 29 on 13-of-15 shooting, including 10 dunks.
"It was a high-scoring game with not much defence but it was about having fun," Porzingis said.
"It got more competitive in the second half as both teams wanted to get the win but we fell short. It never feels good to lose."
The wide-open 40-minute run-and-gun exhibition contest was an offensive display with more than 40 crowd-pleasing dunks and fast break layups enjoyed by the 18,298 fans at sold-out Air Canada Centre.
Team USA led 88-79 at halftime and opened up a 14-point cushion early in the second half but Team World refused to go away.
Trailing by eight with 1:57 left, Wiggins ran off five consecutive points to pull the World within 151-148 with 49 ticks to go.
But Clarkson sandwiched four free throws on two trips to the foul line around a dunk by Wiggins at the other end, opening up a 155-150 advantage for the Americans with 23 seconds left.
Mudiay's uncontested layup pulled the World to within three but Jabari Parker (Milwaukee) threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk over the 7-foot-3 Porzingis for a 157-152 lead to seal the win before Canadian Dwight Powell's meaningless basket ended the game.
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