Just before the halftime buzzer of Team USA’s 151-131 win vs. Team World in the Rising Stars game Friday, Luka Doncic casually launched a 3-pointer from halfcourt, with Trae Young watching alongside him as the shot somehow perfectly banked in.
A wide-eyed Young laughed and halfway hugged, halfway collapsed in exasperation into a smiling Doncic’s embrace. It’s All-Star weekend, after all — there’s much less intensity and much more camaraderie between opponents. Apparently, Young got such a kick out of it because the shot was actually his idea.
“I was the one who told him to shoot the half-court (shot),” Young said, even though it ended up putting Team USA down by 10 to Team World, 81-71, at halftime. “I think he was about to pass, and I said, ‘You'd better shoot that half-court shot.’ He did, and it went in. That was just a crazy moment. So that was fun.”
In his second appearance in the Rising Stars game, which pits first- and second-year NBA players from the U.S. against those from around the world, Young added a team-high seven assists, to go with 18 points and four rebounds. He pulled out one of his staple moves, nutmegging the Knicks’ RJ Barrett (who had a game-high 27 points) about two minutes into the game before finishing with a floater, another go-to for Young.
He went 4-for-8 from 3-point range, showing off his usual range from beyond the arc.
He’ll get to show it off even more Saturday, as this was the first of three events Young will participate in during All-Star weekend. Saturday, he’s got the 3-point contest, and Sunday, in his second year in the league, Young will make his first appearance in an All-Star game, starting for Team Giannis alongside Boston’s Kemba Walker, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
Since Young obviously wants to avoid injury and still has two events to go, he wanted to play smart, but still put forth effort.
“I just want to come out, play hard, compete, but at a rate where it's smart. ... I wasn't taking it easy or anything like that,” Young said. “It's just being smart and honestly knowing I have a long weekend, especially with these next two days with the 3-point (contest) and the All-Star Game. It's being smart about how I approached it.”
Team USA got down 37-24 in the first quarter and trailed for most of the first half, finally retaking the lead, 104-103, late in the third quarter after back-to-back 3’s by Charlotte’s Devonte’ Graham. At the 8:48 mark in the fourth, Young pulled up from 3 on a fast-break to make it 121-105.
“Obviously, every All-Star Game it always starts out, I mean, guys kind of messing around, taking bad shots and just trying to make some highlights plays, and then once you get more towards the end, people start to play more serious,” Young said. “I think that's kind of what happened today. Obviously, they got into a lead, up by ten at halftime, and we were just kind of more locked in late in that game.”
With 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, Team USA’s (and Charlotte’s) Miles Bridges was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, adding three 3’s and two dunks during a crucial stretch in the third quarter to swing the game. For Team World, Doncic added 16 points and five assists.
In last year's Rising Stars game, Young added a double-double of 25 points and 10 assists in Team USA's 161-144 win over Team World.
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