So close!
A theme emerged for the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on NBA All-Star Saturday. About an hour after Moses Moody and Draymond Green finished as runners-up in the Skills Challenge, Buddy Hield did the same in the Three-Point Contest, finishing just one point behind winner Tyler Herro.
The contest, which always seems to change slightly in format, had a fun one on Saturday, with 70 seconds and 27 basketballs. Players were awarded five balls at each corner, each wing, and the top of the arc. Four of those spots featured four regular balls (worth one point) and one money ball (worth two points). A fifth spot (chosen by the player) was comprised entirely of money balls. In addition to the racks, two deep threes — in between the wing and the top of the arc, and a few feet back — called “Starry balls” (product placement!) were worth three points.
Eight players participated, with the top three scores advancing to the final round.
Cam Johnson kicked things off and struggled a bit, collecting most of his points on the money rack, and finishing with 14 points. Darius Garland was next, and he caught fire, finishing with four money balls on his final rack, and earning an excellent 24 points.
Cade Cunningham and Normal Powell followed and had some streaky shooting, finishing with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Then it was Herro, who made his second Starry ball, surprisingly becoming the first player to make one. Herro caught fire late, but ran out of time before his final shot. He finished with 19 points, and you could tell he knew it wasn’t a safe score.
That was made apparent when Jalen Brunson followed, and started very hot, making a bunch of early shots and his first Starry ball. But he cooled off by his money rack, and finished with 18 points, just behind Herro.
That brought up Hield, a former champion in the event, who was given the penultimate spot … the “you’re the home team competitor, but not the reigning champ” spot.
With Steph Curry cheering on the sidelines, Hield put on an absolute show. He started in the right corner, where he dropped in four points. He added five more from the right wing, then made both Starry bowls, sandwiched around four points in the middle rack. He had a perfect left wing, scoring the full six points, then made three money balls from the left corner for a sensational 31 points, and a spot in the finals.
That brought up Oakland native Damian Lillard, the two-time defending champ in the event. He started slow, but heated up in the second half. He entered the left corner — his money ball rack — with 14 points. He needed to make three of the five money balls to advance to the finals.
But he only made two. And as such, it was Herro who joined Hield and Garland in the finals … which ultimately doomed Hield.
Because he had the lowest score of the three advancing players, Herro started the final round. It was a slow start for him, but he caught fire in the middle, making all five of his shots from straightaway, as well as both Starry balls. This time he got all of his shots off, including three money balls from the right corner, giving him a strong 24 points.
Garland had that score in the first round, but couldn’t match it in the second. He started slowly and, while he made his first Starry ball, he missed the second one. He was still in it going to the right corner money rack, but he needed to make all five shots. He only made two, finishing with 19 points.
And that brought us to Hield. After his stellar start to the competition, Hield appeared to run out of legs. He looked exhausted at the start, and missed his first seven shots. Despite that cold start, he managed to make it interesting. He made the next three to finish his second rack, then made the first Starry ball. But he put in just three points from straightaway, and missed the second Starry ball, with more than one ball just barely rattling out.
After four points from the left wing, Hield entered his left corner money ball rack needing to make all five shots to win.
He made the first, which brought cheers. He made the second, which intensified the cheers. He made the third, and suddenly the building was buzzing. But he just missed the fourth, as the arena groaned. He made the fifth for good measure, finishing with 23 points to Herro’s 24.
It was weird seeing the Warriors host a three-point contest without Curry or Klay Thompson in it, but Hield sure put on a great show.