NBA Three-Point Shootout Summary: Dame Wins Again
Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks successfully defended his three-point crown by defeating Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks by a narrow margin, 26-24. Known for being one of the league’s most clutch players, Lillard found himself in a precarious situation as his final run came to an end. Before reaching his final rack, Dame had tied Young’s score by going 4-of-5 on his money ball rack. After that, Lillard missed his next four shots in a row before hitting his money shot with 3.5 seconds remaining.
“I didn’t know my exact score when I got to the last rack, but I heard the crowd oohing and aahing when I missed a couple,” Lillard remarked. “I knew I was still alive when they continued doing it, because if it had ended for me, they would have stopped.” I missed the next two balls as well, but I knew I had to grab the next one in order to win.
In contrast, Malik Beasley, a teammate, had a difficult evening in his first three-point contest, scoring the lowest total of 20 points. On his last rack, Beasley had a chance to pass Donovan Mitchell, but he missed two of his three money shots.
With Young, Towns, Tyrese Haliburton, and Lillard all hitting that mark in the opening round, 26 seemed to be the night’s score. A four-way, 30-second tiebreaker round was required due to the tie. Towns scored sixteen, Haliburton eleven, and Young fifteen to lead the way. To get rid of Haliburton in the tiebreaker, Dame needed one more big shot in the closing moments. With 5.6 seconds remaining, Lillard made the Starry three-pointer from 29 feet out, capping a 10-point run that included three more baskets to finish with 16 points in the tiebreaker. In the championship game, Towns and Young scored 24 points apiece before Lillard eliminated them.
In the first round, the tie-breaking round, and the final round, I believed that everyone shot at a fairly high clip. Everyone shot clean, according to Lillard. Because we had to really shoot it in to win, this one was, I think, a little bit more rewarding and fun. Doing it twice in a row is what makes it feel good.
With this performance, Lillard created a great deal of history as the first player to win back-to-back three-point contest titles since Jason Kapono in 2006–2007. He is also the first Bucks player to win the contest since Ray Allen did so in 2001. Additionally, Dame made history by being the first player to win the game while playing for both the Trail Blaz ersand the Bucks.
For the 73rd NBA All-Star Game tonight, Dame will be back with Giannis Antetokoumpo and Doc Rivers. On TNT, tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST.
