One of the most spectacular and highly anticipated activities during the NBA All-Star weekend is, without a doubt, the three-point shooting competition. On this occasion, the competitors were of high caliber but only one could be crowned as the new champion of this exhibition.
The players who took course in the competition were: Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), Kevin Huerter (Sacramento Kings), Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Buddy Hield (Indiana Pacers), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz) and Julius Randle(New York Knicks). The latter took the place of Anfernee Simons (Blazers) who suffered a sprained right ankle.
At the start of the duel, Tatum led the way with 20 points, but Haliburton immediately scored 31 to equal the record of this competition, and that was only in the first round.
Lillard wins in a heart-stopping finish over Hield
Later in the competition, Tatum had 20 points, which was tied by Markkanen, but it was not enough to advance to the final round. For the final round, the three finalists were Haliburton, Hield and Lillard.
In his final round, the Blazers’ Lillard scored 26 points, one more than Hield, who had scored 25 and practically had the scepter in his hand.
Haliburton came in third, so in a fairly close finish, the winner of the three-point shooting contest, the #Starry3PT Contest, was Damian Lillard, who thanked the public for the support and looked pretty funny on the court.
Then, on his social media account, perhaps the best three-point shooter in history, Stephen Curry, sent a congratulatory message to Lillard:
“yessir get you one @Dame_Lillard congrats!!!! Hahaha he said he retiring from it with the trophy in the hand I feel you”.
Thus, with the cold-bloodedness to be able to outplay Hield, Lillard was crowned the new champion.
