Canadian Jamal Murray dropped a game-high 36 points and added 11 assists to lead Team World over Team USA 150-141 in the NBA's Rising Stars Challenge.

The game featuring first- and second-year players helped kick off NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans on Friday.

Murray, a guard for the Denver Nuggets, made nine of 14 three-point attempts en route to the game's MVP award.

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield, a Bahamian native, had 28 points for the World, and Kristaps Porzingis, a second-year New York Knicks forward from Latvia, added 24.

While Hield admitted he had designs on the MVP award since the game was in New Orleans, he eventually deferred to the hot hand.

"When a guy is hot, you can't be selfish and not give the guy the ball," Hield said of Murray. "Hats off to him, man."

Murray said he "was just shooting like I normally shoot. I wasn’t trying to think about MVP or how many points I had, I was just playing."

Serbian Nikola Jokic, Murray's team-mate in Denver, was two assists shy of a triple-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Charlotte Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky led Team USA with 33 points, hitting nine of 13 attempts from long range.

Minnesota Timberwolves centre Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the USA.

This was the third year of the USA versus World format for the Rising Stars game, and the sides split the first two meetings.