All-Star Saturday brought three electric competitions to fans this year, making for a memorable evening.
Next on deck was the Three-Point contest, featuring the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and his younger brother Seth from the Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to starting the competition though, the Curry brothers were met on the court by their father Dell, who played for the Charlotte Hornets for 10 seasons. The all-time leader in points and three-point field goals made had a challenge for his sons: donate money to charity based on how many shots he made. The challenge was accepted, and then Dell showed he had a little trick up his sleeve: help from former players Ray Allen, Glen Rice, Mark Price.
The competition got underway with a hot start from Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets putting up 25 points. Stephen Curry would make his presence known early though; he made his last 10 shots in a row, including his entire money ball rack, for a total of 27 points to take the lead. Buddy Hield from the Sacramento Kings finished the first round in second with 26. That meant that among those who did not qualify to advance were Seth Curry and Devin Booker, last year’s Champion.
In the Championship round, Joe Harris led off and continued his hot shooting, finishing perfect on his money ball rack shots for a total of 26 points. Buddy Hield was a little flat with his shot and only came out with 19 points. All eyes were on Curry as he came to the court to potentially reclaim his Three-Point Competition title. He made his first nine shots in a row, but would struggle on the next few racks. Heading into the final rack with his money balls, he needed to be perfect.
Curry looked like he was locked in, but one of his final shots rolled around the rim and popped out, costing him the chance to tie Harris. It was all smiles in the end though, as Curry congratulated Joe Harris on an amazing shooting performance.
Fans in Charlotte then got treated to some high-flying fun in the slam dunk contest. It ultimately came down to Dennis Smith Jr. and Hamidou Diallo in the finals. Diallo thrilled with athletic dunks, including his own variation the classic Vince Carter arm-through-the-hoop dunk. How did he one-up it? By going up and over the 7’1” legend Shaquille O’Neil. Diallo’s performance awarded him the 2019 Slam Dunk contest title.
Be ready for the 68th All-Star Game from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina Sunday night! Curry will return to the court on Team Giannis to compete against Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson from Team LeBron. Tune in on TNT at 5 p.m. PST to watch it live.
