Saturday, 16 February 2019:

BEN SIMMONS #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball during a NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Dunks were preferred and defence optional as the Ben Simmons-led Team World fell to Team USA in the Rising Stars game to kickstart the NBA's All-Star weekend.

Simmons had a barrage of dunks on his way to 28 points but it was not enough to beat a US squad fired up by Kyle Kuzma, the Los Angeles Lakers' power forward and the game's MVP.

Kuzma had 35 points and six rebounds in Team USA's 161-144 win in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday.

The game features the NBA's best rookies and second-year players.

Simmons' team of emerging international NBA stars included Dallas Mavericks' Slovenian rookie Luka Doncic and the Chicago Bulls' Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen.

Simmons, whose points largely came from powerful dunks with 14 of his 17 field goal attempts connecting, also had six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Doncic had a quiet game for his high standards with 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds and Markkanen contributed 21 points and six rebounds.

Simmons' main rivals for last year's Rookie of the Year Award, Team USA's Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell, had 30 and 20 points respectively.

Simmons will also play in Sunday's (Monday AEDT) All-Star game alongside LeBron James, James Harden and Kevin Durant against the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led squad featuring Steph Curry, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

AAP