Rising Stars Glory Denied to Knicks' Quentin Grimes, Team Joakim

Despite the best efforts of the New York Knicks' sophomore, Team Joakim fell just short of All-Star Weekend glory.

After giving Jericho Sims a slam dunk seminar in the first round, Quentin Grimes offered his three-point expertise to another New York Knicks teammate, Julius Randle.

With Randle a late addition to the annual 3-Point Contest, Grimes paid homage with four three-pointers that kept the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars competition in Salt Lake City close to the very end. Alas, Grimes' 14 points, a game-high for the team led by former Knick Joakim Noah, weren't enough to top the group repped by Pau Gasol, as the latter reached the target score first in a 25-20 victory at Vivint Arena. 

Quentin Grimes is the best player on the court. pic.twitter.com/WieeXYnq0k

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) February 18, 2023

Grimes was a one-man scoring machine for Team Joakim, accounting for 14 of their 20 in defeat. The loss perhaps cost Grimes a chance to become the first New York-based MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge, which hasn't been won by a Manhattanite since David Lee in 2007. Team Joakim was 1-of-7 from the field beyond Grimes' 5-of-8 effort, the lone outlier hit by Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City). Grimes' showcase was preceded by a 13-point tally in the first-round win over Jason Terry's group of G League stars, a haul punctuated with the game-winning triple.

Jose Alvarado (New Orleans) sank the game-winning triple for Team Pau after earning 13 in a win over a team repped by local legend Deron Williams. Those combined efforts earned Alvarado, the lone undrafted player in the competition, the MVP award. 

Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana) was the leading scorer in the championship game for Team Pau, earning seven in the final triumph. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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