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RJ Barrett dominates Rising Stars Game with 27 points

Best Rising Stars performance since the epic Tim Hardaway-Dion Waiters duel.

2020 NBA All-Star - Rising Stars Media Availability and Practice Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

No Knick made the big-boy All-Star Game, but that doesn’t mean the orange and blue were without representation this weekend. Rookie RJ Barrett made the Rising Stars Game, playing for Team World. (He’s Canadian, dontcha know.)

The game didn’t start out well for RJ: He got nutmegged by Trae Young in the opening minutes.

But RJ recovered with gusto, finishing with a game-high 27 points on 11-17 shooting (0-4 from beyond the arc, so there’s still some work to be done), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Sadly, our man RJ was robbed — robbed, I say — of the game MVP award, which went to Miles Bridges and his paltry 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Clearly, this is the result of a deeply ingrained anti-Canadian prejudice...or it could be the fact that the World Team lost to Team USA by 20.

But RJ did win in one aspect: He was the only member of the 2019 Draft to complete his dunk in the final minute.

And that’s it for the Knicks this weekend, folks. Hopefully RJ makes the real All-Star Game someday...while still in a Knicks uniform, of course.