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Rookie Challenge

Sophomores 92, Rookies 100

MVP: Javaris Crittenton

The young met the younger in the annual Rookie vs. Sophomore game in New Orleans, and this time the younger prevailed. Both teams showed just how bright the future of the NLL looks, and any owner with one of these players has to be excited.

The game started off fast with both teams finding the bottom of the net and shooting a scorching percentage from the floor, partly due to the lack of defense. This would later change in the game as the players became more serious (At stake for the winning team was a larger paycheck at the end of the weekend). Brandon Roy scored 14 first quarter points to help the Sophomores get out to an early lead. These 14 points came against his normal teammate, Kevin Durant.

In this much anticipated battle, it was Roy who had the upper had most of the night. Durant finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds. Once Roy eventually cooled off, the game's MVP took over. Javaris Crittenton, possibly reponding to criticism he's received by some GMs around the league, played like a man on a mission. He scored 29 points and dished out 4 assists to pick up the MVP trophy. Roy and the sophomores had few answers for the hot-shooting PG.

Another standout for the game was Lamarcus Aldridge for the sophomore squad. Aldridge scored 24 points, the majority of which came on dunks that went over top of Luis Scola or Yi Jianlian. Aldridge's dunks brought the crowd to their feet, and by the fourth quarter they were standing as soon as he caught the ball.

Brandon Roy finished with 28 points for the sophomores, while Andrea Bargnani had 12 and Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 8 assists. The rookies were lead by Crittenton's 29 points, 12 from Jeff Green, and 13 points and 9 rebounds from Al Horford.