New Orleans Pelicans' shooting guard Chavano "Buddy" Hield put on a show for his home crowd on Friday in the BBVA Bank Rising Stars Game, one of the newest additions to the National Basketball Association's (NBA) All-Star Weekend.
The game featured the top rookie and sophomore players in the league, and for the second year in a row, it pitted Team USA up against Team World.
Freeport native Hield scored 28 points for Team World, as they knocked off the United States 150-141. Denver Nuggets' guard Jamal Murray, who hails from Canada, led the way for them with 36 points. He was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game.
"It was a lot of fun," Hield said about the exhibition game. "It means a lot to play in New Orleans. Everybody is embracing it, the atmosphere and us. I just wanted to go out and give the fans something good to watch."
Hield had 19 of his 26 points at the half, which allowed his team to take a 77-66 lead at the break. His first half was highlighted by an alley-oop dunk off a three-quarter-court pass from Murray.
"I was just out there having fun," Hield said.
With just over 20 games remaining in the regular season, Hield hopes he can use this game as a springboard to finish the season on a strong note. The Pelicans currently sit with a win/loss record of 23-34 and are in 11th place in the NBA's Western Conference.
"I feel like when you get a lot of confidence and start to shoot the ball well and you start having fun and feel comfortable out there, it will loosen you up a little more. I've just got to keep getting better and use it as a major boost to the second half and continue to shoot the ball well."
Hield is averaging 8.6 points, 1.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game during the Pelicans' first 57 games of the season. He's shooting 39.2 percent from the field, but is knocking it down from three-point land at a decent rate of 36.9 percent.
Since Hield was inserted into the starting line-up in December, his statistics have gone up.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian