A particularly attractive board for this 3-pt competition, as has often been noted for several years now.
The first to pass is none other than the sophomore of the Grizzlies, Desmond Bane (42% at 3-pts this season). A fairly complicated passage, but he still finished with 18 points on the clock. Score that CJ McCollum (39% at 3-pts this season) exceeds in the wake of a short header, since the new rear of the Pelicans points to 19 points, at the end of his career.
It is then Luke Kennard (45% at 3-pts this season) who shows up on the shooting range and the Clippers player proves that he is not there by chance, scoring a whopping 28 points! Behind, one of the four All-Stars of the contest, namely Zach LaVine (40% at 3-pts this season), ends up with half as many points as his predecessor. And his 14 units eliminate him automatically.
After a short break, Patty Mills (42% at 3-pts this season) relaunched hostilities by achieving a decent run, nothing more: 21 points. A total that had no trouble surpassing Karl-Anthony Towns (41% at 3-pts this season), the self-proclaimed best inside shooter in history, who planted 22 points.
To conclude this first round, two All-Stars. The first is called Fred VanVleet (40% at 3-pts this season), who is holed up at the very beginning and only has 16 points. Trae Young (38% at 3-pts this season), he does not need to be asked to do better and qualify for the final, with 22 points!
But the Hawks point guard was hot because he needed his last shot to eliminate Patty Mills.
“KAT” releases the claws
Karl-Anthony Towns opens the ball in this last round. Furious, and that’s the least we can say, the pivot of Wolves demonstrates that he does not consider himself the best inside shooter in history for nothing, accumulating 29 points on his second pass! A record in a final.
The bar is high, very high even, and Trae Young thus fails to overtake his opponent’s score, since he cannot do better than 26 points. Which leaves Luke Kennard as the only obstacle to the coronation of “KAT”, yet far from being a favorite among the bookmakers…
Under pressure, the Clippers shooter has very little room for error in this final. Unfortunately for him, he struggled to find his rhythm and he finished with 26 points.
Consequently, it is Karl-Anthony Towns who succeeds Stephen Curry on the list of winners of this “Three-Point Contest”! Becoming, at the same time, the third interior (but the first pivot), after Dirk Nowitzki (2007) and Kevin Love (2012), to triumph in this competition.
Luke Kennard (LAC) – 28 points
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) – 22 points
Trae Young (ATL) – 22 points
Patty Mills (BKN) – 21 points
CJ McCollum (NOLA) – 19 points
Desmond Bane (MEM) – 18 points
Fred VanVleet (TOR) – 16 points
Zach LaVine (CHI) – 14 points
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) – 29 points
Trae Young (ATL) – 26 points
Luke Kennard (LAC) – 26 points
