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02/13 23:25 CST Philly special: V.J. Edgecombe leads Team Vince to victory at
NBA All-Star weekend's Rising Stars
Philly special: V.J. Edgecombe leads Team Vince to victory at NBA All-Star
weekend's Rising Stars
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) --- V.J. Edgecombe seems quietly confident he'll be at
an NBA All-Star weekend quite soon to play in the main event.
Until that day arrives, the Philadelphia rookie celebrated his first trip to
this midseason showcase with two game-ending scores and an MVP trophy in the
Rising Stars event.
Edgecombe led Team Vince to victory in the kickoff event for the NBA All-Star
weekend Friday night, scoring 17 points in the semifinal before hitting two
free throws to ice the final.
"We all wanted to compete, and I wanted to win," Edgecombe said. "I really hate
losing, and we had a chance to win it all, so why not go out there and win?"
The NBA's rookies, sophomores and G League prospects opened the All-Star
weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers' Intuit Dome with this four-team tournament
of three games played to a set point total.
While Edgecombe was the most impactful player, he didn't have the most
memorable bucket: San Antonio guard Dylan Harper ended the first semifinal by
scoring the game-winner over Ron Harper Jr., his older brother.
Dylan Harper then scored eight more points in the final for Team Melo while
teaming up with his Spurs teammate, Stephon Castle, last season's Rookie of the
Year and Rising Stars MVP.
Castle made a putback dunk off Jeremiah Fears' miss to pull Team Melo within
one point of victory, but Edgecombe drew a foul from Donovan Clingan and coolly
hit both free throws to end it at 25-24.
Edgecombe was motivated by the presence of his 76ers backcourt mate, All-Star
Tyrese Maxey, who watched from courtside.
"He (said) he ain't coming to watch if I ain't going to play hard," Edgecombe
said. "I was like, 'Man, I'm going to play hard so at least it's not a waste of
his time.'"
Indeed, the lackadaisical efforts that have plagued the All-Star Game in recent
years wasn't nearly as prevalent in this Rising Stars showcase, and Edgecombe
said that's largely because of the motivational efforts of the four NBA
veterans who led the teams: Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and
Austin Rivers.
When the vets were picking their teams two weeks ago, Edgecombe told Carter to
choose him if he wanted to win.
"(Carter) was telling us, ?Just go! Just go! Keep playing hard!'" Edgecombe
said. "And we feed off of that. We just started rolling."
Edgecombe scored nearly half of his team's 41 points --- including the last 10
in a row --- while winning the second semifinal. Edgecombe didn't have to carry
his team in the final, but the No. 3 overall pick in last year's draft still
scored its final four points.
Family feud Dylan Harper called game in the first semifinal with a succession of moves that could have been learned on the driveway at home, bullying Ron Jr. into the paint before hitting a step-back jumper. Dylan stuck out his tongue in gleeful celebration of only his second basket in the semifinal, and their famous father laughed heartily at courtside. Ron Jr., a Celtics prospect with 21 games of NBA experience, is six years older than Dylan, the No. 2 pick in last summer's draft --- but the kid brother knew he could do it. "You think I've never beat him one-on-one (before)?" Dylan asked with mock exasperation.
Flagg down The Rising Stars game wasn't a full showcase of the NBA's top young talent because No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg dropped out of the game due to injury, as did Washington's Alex Sarr and Memphis' Cedric Coward. Edgecombe hit three 3-pointers during his scoring barrage in the first semifinal to win his duel with Charlotte's Kon Knueppel, who scored just four points. The two rookies are the only serious contenders with Flagg for the Rookie of the Year award.
Hometown hero The event got off to a rousing start when Clippers prospect Yanic Konan Niederhuser dunked a lob from Ron Harper Jr. for the first basket of the night. The Swiss big man drafted last summer by the All-Star weekend hosts got raucous cheers from the fans in The Wall, an extra-steep supporters' section installed at Intuit Dome by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Niederhuser led his losing team with 11 points in the first semifinal. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Family feud Dylan Harper called game in the first semifinal with a succession of moves that could have been learned on the driveway at home, bullying Ron Jr. into the paint before hitting a step-back jumper. Dylan stuck out his tongue in gleeful celebration of only his second basket in the semifinal, and their famous father laughed heartily at courtside. Ron Jr., a Celtics prospect with 21 games of NBA experience, is six years older than Dylan, the No. 2 pick in last summer's draft --- but the kid brother knew he could do it. "You think I've never beat him one-on-one (before)?" Dylan asked with mock exasperation.
Flagg down The Rising Stars game wasn't a full showcase of the NBA's top young talent because No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg dropped out of the game due to injury, as did Washington's Alex Sarr and Memphis' Cedric Coward. Edgecombe hit three 3-pointers during his scoring barrage in the first semifinal to win his duel with Charlotte's Kon Knueppel, who scored just four points. The two rookies are the only serious contenders with Flagg for the Rookie of the Year award.
Hometown hero The event got off to a rousing start when Clippers prospect Yanic Konan Niederhuser dunked a lob from Ron Harper Jr. for the first basket of the night. The Swiss big man drafted last summer by the All-Star weekend hosts got raucous cheers from the fans in The Wall, an extra-steep supporters' section installed at Intuit Dome by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Niederhuser led his losing team with 11 points in the first semifinal. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
