Los Angeles: Dario Saric will tell you what happened Friday night is proof that ''The Process'' is working. The 76ers power forward along with teammates Joel Embiid and Australia's Ben Simmons not only played in Friday night's Rising Stars Challenge, they all started for the World team.
Simmons – front-runner for rookie of the year and an All-Star Game snub – finished with 11 points, a game-high of 13 assists and four steals in 22 minutes on this night. Saric had 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting in 21 minutes. The World team's Bogdan Bogdanovic was named the game's MVP. He finished with 26 points while making 7 of 13 3-pointers.
"That's showing and improving the sentence like 'Trust the Process', " said Saric, a native of Croatia. "All the things with Bryan (Colangelo) and Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown what they did together for the 76ers organisation … It's a big thing to share the (World team) locker room with those guys."
None of their selections were surprising to the game that pits 10 first-and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year players from around the world. The World team rolled to a 155-124 victory at the Staples Center.
Arguably the best centre in the league, Embiid (Cameroon) will also participate in the NBA All-Star Game and the Skills Challenge.
Embiid had five points in eight minutes.
The Skills Challenge is part of All-Star Saturday, which begins at 8 pm. The All-Star Game will be at 8 pm Sunday. Both events are at the Staples Center.
Embiid was a surprise inclusion in the Rising Stars competition because of a nagging sore right ankle. He missed the Sixers' victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday because of the injury.
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"The last two days, it's been feeling better," he said Friday. "But there was never a (thought) about missing out any of these events.
"This is my first time. So I'm going to have fun."
He was elated to share this year's experience with Simmons and Saric. He talked about the chemistry the trio and the Sixers as a whole are building. At 30-25, the Sixers have the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference.
And the trio have had huge roles in the team's success.
"I love those guys … being with them, I don't feel like I'm by myself," he said.
However, there is some disappointment. Embiid wanted Simmons to join him in the All-Star Game.
"He's not," Embiid said. "So it's now kind of awkward."
But he definitely cherished Friday.
"Being with them here is amazing," he said of the Rising Stars game. "I love it."
Saric said having all three starting for the World shows all of the hard work that team put in the past four years worked.
MCT
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SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
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