Kyrie Irving is a bit off the map playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he more than made his mark on the national stage tonight in the 2012 NBA Rising Stars Challenge. Irving scored 34 points on Friday night to along with nine assists, but the real stunner was his 8-8 shooting from three-point range which helped Team Chuck (the team drafted by Charles Barkley) to a 146-133 victory over Team Shaq (the team drafted by Shaquille O'Neal).
Team Chuck shot 64.5% from the field and 55% from three, which easily bested Team Shaq, who was especially dismal from three, going 12-41. Team Shaq was led by Irving's teammate in Cleveland, Tristan Thompson, who shot 10-11 from the field in scoring 20 points. New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin scored two points on 1-4 shooting for Team Shaq in only 8:55 seconds of play.
Blake Griffin, who will take tomorrow night off before joining the big boys in the All-Star game, scored 10 points in ten and a half minutes of play.
For All-Star weekend updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more coverage of the All-Star festivities, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.
Kyrie Irving is a bit off the map playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he more than made his mark on the national stage tonight in the 2012 NBA Rising Stars Challenge. Irving scored 34 points on Friday night to along with nine assists, but the real stunner was his 8-8 shooting from three-point range which helped Team Chuck (the team drafted by Charles Barkley) to a 146-133 victory over Team Shaq (the team drafted by Shaquille O'Neal).
Team Chuck shot 64.5% from the field and 55% from three, which easily bested Team Shaq, who was especially dismal from three, going 12-41. Team Shaq was led by Irving's teammate in Cleveland, Tristan Thompson, who shot 10-11 from the field in scoring 20 points. New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin scored two points on 1-4 shooting for Team Shaq in only 8:55 seconds of play.
Blake Griffin, who will take tomorrow night off before joining the big boys in the All-Star game, scored 10 points in ten and a half minutes of play.
For All-Star weekend updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more coverage of the All-Star festivities, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.