NEW ORLEANS — Kumamada si Andre Drummond ng 30 points at 25 rebounds at tinalo ng Team Hill ang Team Webber, 142-136, sa NBA Rising Stars Challenge, bahagi ng All-Star weekend festivities.
Isang 41 percent free throw shooter lamang sa reÂgular season, nagsalpak ang Detroit Pistons forward ng 6-for-8 clip, tampok dito ang dalawa sa huling 29 seÂÂgunÂdo.
“Drummond had in his mind that he was going to go out and play the game hard,’’ sabi ni head coach Nate McÂMillan, ang assistant ni Indiana coach Frank VoÂgel.
“Every rebound that came off the board, he wanÂted. A few of them he took from his teammates, but I liked his aggressiveness,’’ dagdag pa nito.
Nagdagdag naman si Cleveland Cavaliers star DiÂon Waiters ng 31 points, ang karamihan dito ay sa kanÂyang 1-on-1 duel kay Tim Hardaway Jr. ng New York sa second half.
Tumapos si Bradley Beal na may 21 markers para sa Team Hill ni dating NBA star Grant Hill.
Nag-ambag si Portland guard Damian Lillard, isa ring second-year player, ng 13 points, 5 rebounds at 5 assists para sa Team Hill.
Si Lillard, ang 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year, ay maÂgiging bahagi ng limang events, kasama dito ang All-Star Saturday at ang All-Star game sa Linggo.
Umiskor si Hardaway ng 36 points kasunod ang 17 ni Philadelphia rookie Michael Carter-Williams.
Ang nasabing annual game na nagsimula bilang matchup ng mga top rookies at ginawang rooÂkies konÂtra sa mga second-year players ay pinaghalo ngayon ang mga rookies at second-year cagers.
Sina Drummond at Waiters ay mga second-year plaÂyers at sina Hardaway at Carter-Williams ay mga rookies.