Enthusiasm for the NBA’s All-Star festivities has ebbed and flowed over the years, but tonight’s competitions have been a lot of fun. First there was a battle of the bigs in the finals of the Skills Challenge, with Heat center Bam Adebayo knocking out Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis in a matchup that came down to the final shootout.
Bam Adebayo defeats Domantas Sabonis in the Finals to win the #TacoBellSkills challenge! #NBAAllStar
WATCH #StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/jLtuRx0wSl
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
The 3-Point competition was adjusted this year to feature two 29-foot shots worth three points apiece. Combined with one rack of their choice made up entirely of two-point moneyballs, we had some very high scores, with Dame Lillard-replacement Devin Booker, Davis Bertans, and Buddy Hield making the cut to the championship round. Bertans couldn’t find a groove there, but Booker put up a very solid 26 points.
That left Hield, and Hield left it late, entering his final rack needing to make four out of five moneyballs for the win. Here’s his round in full:
Buddy Hield wins the #MtnDew3PT contest by hitting 7 of his last 8 shots and finishing with a final score of 27! #NBAAllStar #SacramentoProud#StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/0KOrXN6hC3
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 16, 2020
A buzzer beater to win the 3-Point Contest is pretty awesome. Dwyane and Reggie were pumped:
https://twitter.com/_MarcusD3_/status/1228869196693606400
It ended up being a ton of fun, which is the whole point of these competitions. Hard to complain about that at all.
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.