NBA All-Star: Brooklyn Nets’ Joe Harris knocks off Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry in 3-Point Contest

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris defeated Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in the 3-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday Night at Spectrum Center. Harris made nine in a row on the second and third racks and again mopped up on the moneyball rack with all five going in for a 26-point round. He reached the finals with 25 points in the opening round. Curry, who made the three-man finals along with Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield, fell short despite making nine of his first 10 to open the championship round. He finished with 24 points in the finals.

Harris said, “Just fortunate to be here, we were talking about it coming in, some of the best shooters of all-time.” He added that he gained an edge by starting the event as the first shooter.

“I actually thought it’d be an advantage,” Harris said. Hield went 4 of 5 on each of the final two racks and totaled 19 in the finals. Curry brought the crowd to its feet with 27 first-round points, draining all five of his final tries on the moneyball rack and 10 straight. Each shooter had five racks of five basketballs, one in each corner, one on each wing and one at the top of the key. Four of the racks have a moneyball, worth two points, and one rack is positioned at the shooter’s preferred location — with five moneyballs. That rack has a potential value of 10 points.

Curry was the second-to-last shooter in the opening round, before defending champion Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns finished with 23 to bow out, sending Curry, Hield and Harris to the finals. Hield claimed the early first-round lead with 26 points with four made moneyballs on his final rack.

Harris set the bar high out of the gate to open the shooting. He drained all five of his shots on his final rack and made nine of his final 10 to rack up 25 points in the first round. Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green nearly put himself in the finals with 23 points. Seth Curry put up 16 points, sparked by a streak of four splashes in a row on his second rack, before Portland Blazers teammate Damian Lillard was credited with 17 points. Lillard was dropped from the leaderboard by Green.

“It’s like a dream come true coming out here,” said Seth Curry, a Charlotte native who is Stephen Curry’s brother. “I dreamed of being in the 3-Point Contest … and putting on a show.” Hometown favorite Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets had 15 points, getting three of his five from the moneyball rack to go down. Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, a former 3-point champion, ran out of gas and had 17 points.

After making his first three attempts, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton had 11 points.

Celtics’ Tatum wins Skills Challenge

Two days, two wins at 2019 All-Star Weekend for Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum won the Skills Challenge on Saturday night with a game-winning shot two strides over halfcourt, taking down Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young in the finals. “Trae was already ahead of me,” Tatum said. “I just tried to have fun. Threw one up, and it went in.”

On Friday night, Tatum scored 30 points and finished as runner-up in the MVP voting to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma in the Rising Stars game. Both Tatum and Kuzma were part of the winning U.S. team that beat the World team. The All-Star Skills Challenge consisted of an untimed obstacle course covering three lengths of the court. To start, players weave right, then left through five NBA logos — upright steel-frame versions standing about 5 feet. Once they hit the 3-point arc at the opposite end, they must fire a chest pass through a narrow cylinder, then pick up another basketball under the hoop before sprinting the distance of the court to make a layup or dunk.

From there it’s a footrace to the opposite end of the court. The first player to make the top-of-the-key 3-pointer wins. Players didn’t practice the course, and Tatum said the chest pass was the hardest part.

“That’s harder than it looks,” he said. Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic lost to Tatum in the semifinals, missing his 3-pointer as Tatum’s dropped from the left side of the key. Young sprinted ahead of Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic and banged in a winner off the glass before Doncic’s first attempt clanged off the rim.

Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic (Jokic), Memphis’ Mike Conley (Tatum), Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox (Young) and Kuzma (Doncic) were eliminated in the first round.

Thunder’s Diallo defeats Knicks’ Smith for Slam Dunk title

Rookie Hamidou Diallo showed off his imagination and 44-inch vertical leap to claim the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard needed a 43 to win on his second and last dunk of the finals to beat New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. for the crown. Diallo called on rapper Quavo to hold the ball just above his head, sprinted from the right corner of the court and crammed a walk-off, two-hand jam.

The dunk received a 45. “Atmosphere was great,” Diallo said. “I just came out and gave the crowd what they were looking for.” There were props and propellers, guest appearances and perfect 50s, but in the end the night belonged to Diallo, a second-round pick out of Kentucky who was a five-star recruit out of high school.

“I was a little nervous,” Diallo said, adding that he would give the golden basketball trophy to his mom. On his first finals dunk, Diallo was eye-to-rim, taking the ball off a bounce to the right side of the rim and authoritatively flushing it for a score of 43. After a botched first dunk in the finals, Smith brought Dwyane Wade and Stephen Curry to the court. He stationed Wade in the middle of the lane facing the basket and Curry to Wade’s right. Curry lobbed the ball as Smith vaulted over Wade, caught the ball and put down a right-handed windmill for a perfect 50, to the rousing response of boos from the crowd.

Smith missed two dunks on his first turn in the finals and was given scores of seven across the board for a 35. In the opening round, Diallo rolled a ball rack into the middle of the lane preparing for his second dunk. He opted instead to call for “the biggest person in the building.” Shaquille O’Neal was positioned four feet from the basket, and Diallo skied over the 7-footer and finished with his right arm stuffed inside the rim.

Diallo was given a 50, and he had a total of 98 on his first two dunks. Diallo was a stuntman in the first round, too. He pulled teammate Russell Westbrook out of the crowd and charged from the corner down the baseline, caught Westbrook’s lob and stuffed home a lefty windmill to put up a 48, including scores of 10 from three of the five judges.

Smith tallied a 95 total on his two first-round tries. Smith put on J. Cole’s high school number 15 jersey, and seated the performer in a folding chair outside the charge circle. Charging from the right wing, Smith took a lob and reared back with his right hand for a powerful finish and perfect 50.

On his first dunk, Smith started from the right wing and lobbed the ball into the lane, catching the ball on the bounce for a 360-degree slam. After halting on the first and fourth attempts, and missing the second and third throw-downs, Smith completed the dunk on his fifth try. He scored 45, with a 9 from all five judges.

Charlotte Hornets guard Miles Bridges donned a Larry Johnson jersey and made up for a botched first round. All-Star Kemba Walker cameoed, laying the ball off the side of the backboard. Bridges grabbed the ball and flushed a 360 for a perfect 50. On his first try, Bridges lobbed the ball off the backboard on the left side of the rim, caught it and pulled the ball under his right leg before trying a windmill. He missed all three tries and scored 33.

Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins wrapped a towel around his neck, wore an old-fashioned leather pilot’s cap and leapt over a wooden airplane — kicking the tail off going to the air — and was given a 42. Collins opened the competition running on the baseline, grabbing the side of the backboard with has left hand and cramming home a reverse with his right to earn a 40.

Former Boston Celtics guard Dee Brown, former Hornets and Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning, ex-Denver Nuggets guard David Thompson, Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker and reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year A’ja Wilson comprised the panel of judges.