February 18 2011 Last updated at 11:45 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- The 2011 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge started off slowly, with neither team displaying much energy and not too many thrills to be had early. But by the time it was over, Blake Griffin had some thunderous dunks and John Wall handed out a game-record 22 assists in leading the Rookies to a 148-140 win over the Sophomores."I was keeping count through the whole game," Wall said of his assists. "I asked before the game what the assist record was and throughout the game my teammates were telling me, 'it's four away' or 'it's five away'. After I got it, we were just trying to get the win."
The MVP wasn't Wall's going away, however, as both DeJuan Blair and DeMarcus Cousins seemed to be after the prize, especially late in the second half when they seemed to be dueling directly against one another.
Blair was aggressive from the very start, seemingly thrilled to be free of the disciplined and restrictive San Antonio system, and shooting almost every time he touched the ball. Cousins, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of more than one spectacular pass from Wall, his former college teammate at the University of Kentucky.
Blair finished the night with 28 points on 14-of-21 shooting, to go along with 15 rebounds. Cousins finished 33 and 14. But the game's signature highlight belonged to neither of them.
On a play in the second half, Wall found Griffin for an alley-oop slam dunk that, quite simply, brought the house down. Coming down on a fast break, Wall stopped just behind the three-point line, and bounced it hard off the floor to Griffin, who caught it in the air and threw it down with a two-handed reverse.
It was an amazing play from both players, and Wall explained how it developed afterward.
"When I've got the ball, and whenever you see number 32 in the Clippers uniform on the other side, you can basically throw it anywhere in the gym," Wall said. "I just knew if I bounced it high enough that Blake would get it, and it turned into a spectacular play."
Other highlights included two three-pointers from the Thunder's Serge Ibaka -- who has made only one in his career during his first season-and-a-half in the league -- as well as a 30-point performance from Ibaka's teammate, James Harden, who was a late addition to the squad as a replacement for Tyreke Evans.
Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/02/18/john-wall-sets-rookie-challenge-record-with-22-assists-wins-gam/
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