Team USA fell 121-112 to Team World in Friday night's Rising Stars Challenge inside Brooklyn's Barclays Center.Throughout most of the event's history, the rookies were pitted against the sophomores, which usually made for one-sided affairs since the sophomores owned a significant experience advantage. The NBA tweaked with the format over the last three years, using a draft system to fill out each team's squad.This year, the league opted for a more international flavor, which made a lot of sense given the continued influx of foreign stars into the NBA.As the World's performance would also attest, the gulf between American stars and their counterparts from abroad continues to shrink with each season.The U.S. team learned early on that it wouldn't be able to coast in this game. The World players were committedby All-Star Game standardsat both ends the floor.Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic led the World team in scoring in the first half with 14 points. His perfect 5-of-5 start from the floor was only 60 percentage points better than his season average, per ESPN Stats & Info:ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell wasn't all that surprised by Mirotic's hot hand, as the forward's style is perfectly suited to an event like the Rising Stars Challenge:Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Andrew Wiggins added 13 points of his own to help give the World team a slight 69-67 edge going into the break.Shaquille O'Neal remained unmoved by the deficit and was confident the U.S. side would put it together in the second half, per NBA on TNT:Although Team USA started the second half strong, the World team failed to cede much ground. It's hard for any All-Star Game to have much drama, but watching the Americans try to claw their way back added a fun dynamic to this year's Rising Stars Challenge.In the end, Team USA couldn't keep pace offensively with the World.Wiggins finished in a three-way tie with Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo and Minnesota's Zach LaVine as the game's leading scorer. All three scored 22 points. Wiggins scored his 22 on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists.Those numbers were good enough for the rookie to earn MVP honors, per the Minnesota Timberwolves:Some might feel that Team World's Rudy Gobert was robbed. Gobert had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey wasn't alone in his belief that the Utah Jazz big man deserved MVP honors more than Wiggins:In the hierarchy of perceived slights, though, losing out on Rising Stars Challenge MVP is way down on the list.The Rising Stars Challenge is always one of the bigger highlights of All-Star Weekend. The defense isn't quite as blase as in the All-Star Game, so it's a little bit more than a glorified alley-oop and three-point contest.In addition, for many of the participants, this is the first time they've been featured prominently on a national stage since entering the league.Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to relish the chance early on, especially on the defensive end of the floor. He chased down Mason Plumlee on a breakaway, fouling the Brooklyn Nets center before he could flush home a thunderous jam.John Henson, a teammate of Antetokounmpo's on the Bucks, got a kick out of the play:Perhaps Antetokounmpo had an eye toward the Slam Dunk Contest when he was tracking Plumlee, who will be one of Antetokounmpo's opponents in the competition. It's never too early to gain that psychological edge.The Rising Stars Challenge was an opportunity for all four of the dunk contest participants to make an early statement before Saturday night.Oladipo didn't spill the beans on what he has in mind, but he let fans know he's got something special in store, per NBA on TNT:Meanwhile, LaVine let his actions speak for themselves. The fourth Slam Dunk Contest competitor threw down a nice right-handed slam that demonstrated his seemingly unending athleticism.He then followed it up with an impressive alley-oop jam in the second half:After those dunks, it's easy to see why so many are favoring the Timberwolves rookie to be crowned champion Saturday night.Luckily, LaVine never encountered the 7'1" Gobert. About halfway through the second half, the Frenchman swatted Nerlens Noel and then stood triumphantly over the Philadelphia 76ers rookie:Gobert also denied Plumlee a chance close to the rim:Who says they don't play defense at All-Star Weekend'Nobody will have confused either team for the 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs, but it was nice to see some players actually exerting an effort at the defensive end.Although the All-Star Celebrity Game preceded the Rising Stars Challenge, the latter is arguably when All-Star Weekend truly begins. These three days collectively are always one of the biggest highlights of the NBA season, and the Rising Stars Challenge was a great start to what should be an exciting weekend.
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