For the second year in a row, the NBA’s Rising Stars game featured a tournament format with a target score. This year, that meant a team led by Pau Gasol and a team led by Joakim Noah squared off in the final. By the time the dust settled, Gasol’s team came out on top, 25-20, thanks to a three hit by New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado that got his squad to the target score.
Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers got the ball in the corner and found himself in a spot of bother. Instead of try to hoist up a triple, he passed the ball over to Alvarado, who launched an off-balanced three where he nearly collided with his teammate. It ended up being a perfect jumper, as the ball did not touch the rim as it went through the cylinder.
In a fun twist, a conversation between Alvarado and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers showed that he predicted that he was going to knock down the game winner. As a result, Mitchell showed Alvarado some love and told him that he now owes him a dinner.
Alvarado won MVP on the night, as he scored 13 points in his team’s semifinal win over Deron Williams’ squad before scoring five in the final game.
