CLEVELAND, Ohio – After the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game kicked off the weekend festivities, the new, tournament-style format of the Clorox Rising Stars Game did not disappoint. The future of the league looked bright as Team Barry defeated Team Isiah to take home the hardware.
The new format included four teams coached by NBA legends James Worthy, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton, and Rick Barry. There would be a total of three games played – a first-round for each team and a championship game between the winners of each first-round matchup.
Each of the first two games would be a race to 50 points, with the winner moving on to the final. An intermissive Clorox Clutch Challenge followed, won by Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies and Tyrese Halliburton of the Indiana Pacers. Then, a championship game would be played in which each team races to 25 points.
“I like it,” Bane said of the new format. “I think playing to 50 points makes it a little more competitive. At first, I didn’t really know what to expect – you know, just read off other guys and see how they were playing… It was cool for sure.”
Game 1
Team Worthy’s Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons put up 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in Game One. Team Worthy’s Jalen Green, rookie from the Houston Rockets, was aggressive in his approach, scoring 20 points of his own. However, it was Team Isiah that would take a 50-49 win in dramatic fashion.
Team Isiah held control of Game 1 for the majority, but Team Worthy made things interesting late. Down 43-46, they went on a 5-0 run before Jalen Suggs, rookie of the Orlando Magic, was fouled for an opportunity to win it at the line for Team Worthy. Suggs missed the second of two free throws, giving Team Isiah life.
Bey came up huge down the stretch. The sophomore scored the next bucket for Team Isiah before shutting down Green from a potential game-winning basket. In a next-basket-wins situation, Bane, a Most Improved Player candidate, was fouled and sent to the line. He wouldn’t fold under pressure, and his team moved on to the title game.
Game 2
Last season’s Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball headlined the second game, which was coached by Payton and Barry. In another wild finish, Team Barry came out on top with a 50-48 victory to face Team Isiah in the championship.
The matchup also featured this year’s No. 1 draft pick Cade Cunningham as well as the favorite for Rookie of the Year Evan Mobley, the latter of which leads all rookies in blocks and rebounds.
Game 2 had a much more back-and-forth feel than the game preceding it. Cunningham orchestrated a versatile offensive attack for Team Barry. However, Team Payton lived up to the gritty reputation of their Hall-of-Fame coach, also known as “The Glove.” They took a five-point advantage that wouldn’t last long.
Knotted at 48 apiece after a free throw by Ball, sophomore Jae’Sean Tate of the Houston Rockets attacked the paint relentlessly and finished strong to move his team on to the final round.
“I just saw an opportunity to get downhill,” Tate told reporters after the game. “You know, once I get in there on that left side, I do what I do.”
Championship game
The intensity of the final game was all the way up from the tip. Yet, it was a determined Team Barry that withstood any friction on their way to a 25-20 victory.
After trailing by six, Team Barry displayed resilience and went up by two for a 20-18 advantage. However, Team Isiah’s Precious Achiuwa tried to take matters into his own hands. Achiuwa tied the game at 20 all and, on the very next possession, looked off an open Bane off to shoot a three-pointer. Despite leading his team with 12 points, Achiuwa was pulled after the attempt failed to touch the rim.
Cunningham seized the opportunity to bring Team Barry home and capitalized with a pull-up three-pointer to pull within one point of the 25-point goal. Franz Wagner, a rookie for the Orlando Magic, sealed the deal with a free throw on the next possession.
It was clear winning meant a lot to Cunningham, who scored 18 total points and took home the MVP award.
“[My goal was] to win,” Cunningham told Chris Haynes after the game. “I feel like we had the team to do it, so we had to come out and prove ourselves and get the chip. So, I’m glad we did that.”
As Team Isiah’s fortune fell short, the loss stung for some who felt they had more than a puncher’s chance. For Bey, one word stuck out as he described the feeling.
“Damn,” Bey said after expressing how the loss hurt. “I’m a sore loser. I don’t like losing.”
Still to come
Cunningham will compete in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge Saturday. This event will be followed by the Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest, then the AT&T Slam Dunk. The action begins at 8 p.m. EST.
Earlier Saturday will be the All-Star Practice and NBA x HBCU Classic. Coverage will start at 11 a.m. EST.
The All-Star Game will take place as the final event Sunday at 8 p.m. EST.
