Australia's Josh Giddey impressed alongside his rookie teammates as they finished second behind hosts Cleveland Cavaliers in the revamped NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge.
Evan Mobley gave Team Cavs victory by nailing a half-court shot on his first attempt, allowing them to close out the final portion of the contest in 5.5 seconds.
All-Stars Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland were the other members of the winning team.
The rookie squad of Oklahoma City's Giddey, number one pick Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons) and Scottie Barnes of Toronto Raptors was a close runner-up in the contest, which combined tests of shooting, passing and dribbling.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers Thanasis and Alex finished last of the three teams.
Giddey had the third-highest individual score in the shooting contest.
Predictably, he was also strong in the passing contest, tallying 36 points to be behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo individually.
And he was again the best of The Rooks team as they won the dribbling challenge to reach the decider.
In the half-court shot finale between the Cavs and Rooks, Cunningham landed a shot within 9.9 seconds but Mobley was even faster as he clinched the title.
In the weekend's traditional 3-point contest, Australia's Patty Mills was among five players who failed to advance to the three-man final round.
Minnesota All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns will be celebrated by basketball big men everywhere after emerging the surprise winner.
He scored 29 points in his final round to triumph from Luke Kennard of the LA Clippers and Atlanta's Trae Young.
Towns has long considered himself the best-shooting big man in the game and vowed he was going to back up his boasts with a victory.
"I needed this trophy to prove it," Towns said.
AAP
