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2017 NBA All-Star Weekend Recap

Before heading home from New Orleans, the Denver Nuggets were this close from making the airplane just a little bit heavier and bringing home a second piece of hardware from NBA All-Star Weekend.

The festivities began on Friday night, where rookie Jamal Murray and second-year big man Nikola Jokić played in the Rising Stars Challenge. Originally slated to also play in the game but sitting out due to a nagging back injury, Emmanuel Mudiay still traveled to New Orleans to cheer on his two teammates and participate in other All-Star Weekend events, such as Basketball Without Borders.

As expected, the Rising Stars Challenge was a high-scoring affair. The World Team squeezed out a 150-141 victory against Team US behind a brilliant performance by Jamal Murray. Murray got hot from long-distance, draining nine three-pointers en route to 36 points and the Rising Stars Challenge MVP award. This is the second time a Nugget has won that award in the game with Kenneth Faried picking it up in 2013. Murray also added 11 assists.

“You never know when I’m going to go off. I just always try to hit every shot I make.”

Nikola Jokić also continued his stat-sheet stuffing, nearly pulling off a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.

On Saturday night, it was Jokić’s turn to try to bring home a trophy for the Nuggets. Jokić took on Anthony Davis in the first-round of the Skills Challenge, where players test their ball-handling, passing, and shooting talents. It came down to the wire with Jokić slightly behind Davis going into the final three-point shot, the last part of the course. Davis missed his first one and gave Jokić a chance to win it. Jokić did just that, knocking down the shot and moving on to the second round.

There, another versatile big man awaited, Kristaps Porzingis. It was a battle right until the end with the final three-point shot again a factor. Porzingis took the lead but missed the first three-point attempt. Jokić saw his opportunity and launched a three from about 30 feet, which banked in just shortly after Porzingis’ shot went in.

At one point during All-Star Weekend, Altitude TV’s Vic Lombardi interviewed Charles Barkley, who now works as an analyst for TNT and is known for his sometimes-controversial opinions.

Barkley praised Murray and Jokić.

“You guys don’t know what you have yet,” Barkley said.

Trust us, Charles… We do know exactly what we have.

Check out our favorite photos from a memorable All-Star Weekend.