Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant tallied a record-setting 46 markers as the Sophomores won over the Rookies 122-116 in the NBA’s annual Rookie-Sophomore Challenge game.

Jeff Green, Durant’s teammate in Oklahoma, added to the Sophomore cause with 13 points. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young also scored 13 for the second-year men.

Durant eclipsed Amare Stoudemire’s Rookie-Sophomore Challenge performance with a blistering 17-of-25 performance. He complimented his scoring performance with 7 boards.

“I see him [Durant] do it every night,” described Green. “He’s a tremendous player. He knocked it down from everywhere; he went on a streak and hit about four threes in a row. He really gave us that push to win the game.”

The Rookies were led by Miami’s Michael Beasley who had 29 points and LA’s Eric Gordon who had 19 points.

Portland’s Greg Oden was supposed to join the Sophomores on the floor, but he suffered a sore left knee injury last Saturday.

With the win, the Sophomores extend their six-game winning streak in the annual contest to seven.
 
In the celebrity game, the East beat the West 60-57. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens led the East with a 17-point performance, which included an alley-oop dunk. The Western team was top scored by Harlem Globetrotter Kevin “Special K” Daley with 16 markers.

The NBA All-Star festivities continue on Saturday night with Shooting Stars competition, Skills Challenge, Three-point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest. The weekend will be capped by the 58th NBA All-Star game, which is scheduled on Sunday night.