CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton made just eight 3-pointers and put up 11 points of a possible 34 during his round in the 2019 NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest. Boston’s Jayson Tatum got his gamewinner from midcourt. Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo went over Shaquille O’Neal to help win his trophy. And Brooklyn’s Joe Harris made all the shots at all the right times to deny Golden State’s Stephen Curry a storybook ending in his hometown. Say this for All-Star Saturday Night: It had flair. Tatum won the skills competition, Diallo put on a show for the league’s annual slam dunk title, and in easily the most anticipated part of the night Harris held off the Warriors’ shooting star for the win in the 3-point contest. Harris made 12 straight shots in the final round and went a staggering 15 for 18 on moneyballs — the shots worth the most — to win the 3-point title. He finished with 26 of a possible 34 points in the final round, beating Curry by two. Sacramento’s Buddy Hield was third with 19 final-round points. “Obviously, it’s incredible,” Harris said. “Steph is the greatest shooter of all time. But, again, shooting off of the rack for a minute is not indicative of being a better shooter than Steph Curry. I don’t want anybody to get it twisted at all.” And the runner-up left a winner, too. Stephen Curry and his brother Seth Curry of the Portland Trail Blazers had a bet where the winner of the 3-point contest — they were both entrants — would have to pay for tickets for the family over the rest of their careers. Seth Curry didn’t get out of the first round. He said that even though his brother didn’t win, he’d pay up. “It stands. He got that 27 in Round One and that’s impressive,” Seth Curry said. “He deserved to win the bet and I have to do what I got to do.” Stephen Curry won the first round with 27 points, making his last 10 shots. Hield was second with 26 points, and Harris finished with 25 to grab the last spot in the finals. And in a weekend where the Curry family — Dell Curry is a former Charlotte star, Steph is a three-time NBA champion, Seth is in the league and mother Sonya beat them all by making an underhand half-court shot Friday — was celebrated, the trophy finish didn’t happen. “I would have loved the storybook ending — Steph comes home and wins in his native Charlotte,” Stephen Curry said. “That’s how I had it in my head anyway.” Stephen Curry went a combined 37 for 50 in the two rounds, the best of anyone in the event. But Harris’ timely makes of the moneyballs put him over the top. “It’s been an honor for me to be here, for me to participate in this weekend,” Harris said. “And it’s certainly something that I’ll remember for a long time.” Same goes for Tatum. The night started with the skills challenge, and Tatum edged Atlanta rookie Trae Young in the final by making a shot from just past the midcourt stripe. Young was ahead of Tatum in the competition where players have to execute some passes, a layup and then a 3-pointer. So fearing that Young would make his 3 before Tatum could even get one off, he let it fly from about 50 feet. “I didn’t want to give Trae a chance,” Tatum said. “I honestly didn’t know I was going to hit the shot, but I had to give myself a chance and throw it up there. It worked out for the best.” When the skills challenge and 3-point contest cleared the floor, that left the dunkers. The slam dunk contest field of four — New York’s Dennis Smith Jr., Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and Atlanta’s John Collins — was pared to Diallo and Smith for the final. Diallo pulled off a dunk that will be talked about for years in the first round — dunking over Shaquille O’Neal, hanging on the rim by his elbow, then tearing open his jersey to reveal a “Superman” shirt underneath. And his first dunk of the final round had the top of his head at basically rim level, putting him in control after Smith failed to make a dunk in his debut try of the final. Smith leapfrogged Miami’s Dwyane Wade and took a lob from Stephen Curry to give himself a chance with his last dunk, getting a perfect score from the judges — and a round of boos from the crowd, many of whom weren’t that impressed. That left Diallo as the night’s final participant. Diallo got rapper Quavo out of the crowd, put the ball in his hands, then grabbed it as he went airborne for the slam that sealed the title. “Atmosphere was great,” Diallo said. “Just came out and gave the crowd what it was looking for.”<doc-sep>The Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton failed to improve upon his 2016 effort as he floundered in Saturday’s 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. It will be a weekend to remember for Milwaukee Bucks wing Khris Middleton, as he’s set to make his All-Star debut on Sunday night in Charlotte. For the second time in his career, though, Middleton participated in All-Star Saturday’s 3-Point Contest, and unfortunately delivered a performance he’d like to forget. With a sorry total of 13 points leading him to an early elimination in 2016, the minimum expectation for most was that Middleton would improve upon that underwhelming score from his previous outing. Even that proved not to be the case, though. With Giannis Antetokounmpo (along with his brothers Kostas and Alex) and Sterling Brown cheering him on from courtside, Middleton set out from the left corner, and made an encouraging start by knocking down his first two attempts. The key question for Middleton was always going to be the placement of his money-ball rack and, on that front, he changed things up from his previous experience in the event. In 2016, Middleton’s money-balls were taken from the left wing, while on this occasion he opted for the top of the arc. With all said and done, it’s fair to say it may not have made a difference where Middleton placed his money-ball rack, as it clearly wasn’t his night. Middleton made two shots from the left corner, one from the left wing, two from his money-ball spot at the top of the arc, one from the right wing, and one from the right corner. That combined for a miserable total of 11 points, leaving Middleton comfortably in last place. The next lowest total was 15 points, while it took 25 points to advance to the championship round. Stephen Curry (27), Buddy Hield (26) and Joe Harris (25) made up the trio of sharpshooters who advanced to the final where Harris claimed the title by edging out Curry by 26-24. Speaking to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the event, Middleton reflected on his second attempt at the 3-Point Contest: “Man, they all felt good,” Middleton said, later joking that he might have needed a hand in his face or something. “Just didn’t fall for me. It’s my second time doing it, definitely would love to do it again. Hopefully, I do better next time, but they all felt good so I’ll live with that.” Considering just how much he’s struggled shooting off the rack on two occasions, Middleton likely shouldn’t hold his breath when it comes to the prospect of a third invite. Having said that, if he can put in a much better showing on Sunday when tasked with shooting over his fellow All-Stars, his weekend will likely still be deemed a success.<doc-sep>Associated Press Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has returned to compete in the Three-Point Contest on Saturday night during the NBA's All-Star Weekend. Curry ranks as the third-leading three-point shooter in the history of the NBA, and he will headline the competition at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the NBA All-Star Weekend. However, it will be anything but a walkover, as he will face serious competition from nine other competitors. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns will attempt to defend the title he won last year in Los Angeles, and Curry's brother, Seth Curry of the Portland Trail Blazers, will try to earn the crown as well. The Three-Point Contest will commence at 8 p.m. ET, and it will be televised by TNT. Participants Video Play Button Videos you might like Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: +175 (bet $100 to win $175) Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings: +450 Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: +450 Seth Curry, Portland Trail Blazers: +550 Joe Harris, Brooklyn Nets: +900 Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: +900 Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets: +900 Danny Green, Toronto Raptors: +1,200 Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks: +1,200 Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks: +1,500 Odds per OddsShark. Stephen Curry won the Three-Point Contest in 2015, and he has often shown off his brilliant long-distance shooting in the Warriors' most important games. He is connecting on 44.4 percent of his three-point shots this season, while Seth Curry is hitting 46.5 percent of long-distance attempts. Veteran Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is competing in the event, and the 40-year-old could be making his final appearance in the shooting contest. He joked that he may need more than the minute the shooters get to fire up all of this three-point shots, because of his size and age, per Marc Stein of the New York Times and the SteinLine Newsletter. Prediction This Three-Point Contest looks like it belongs to Stephen Curry. There are a number of reasons for this, and the most important is that he is the best outside shot in the game. There may be others with better numbers, but the belief here is when the game is on the line—and the bigger the game the better—he is the player any coach, teammate or fan would want taking the shot. The other factor is his brother's inclusion. He will not want to lose to his younger sibling, and that will bring about his best effort. With the All-Star weekend in North Carolina, the Curry brothers will want to put on a show for the fans from their home state. Stephen Curry wins an exciting Three-Point Contest. Look for Seth Curry to come in second and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets to put on a strong showing as well.<doc-sep>
Always one of the highlights of All-Star Saturday, this year’s NBA 3-Point Contest will feature the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, among various other stars. After Marc Lasry and Ray Allen helped to get All-Star Weekend started on Friday night in Charlotte, the Milwaukee Bucks’ connection will continue into Saturday as Khris Middleton will get his first action of the weekend. Of course, Sunday will give Middleton the chance to make his first appearance in the All-Star Game, but before the weekend’s main event comes around, the 27-year-old will first look to have a much better showing in his second appearance in the NBA 3-Point Contest. Middleton previously appeared in the event in 2016 in Toronto, where a score of 13 points left him comfortably eliminated at the end of the first round, and well short of that year’s qualifying total of 20. A career 38.9 percent three-point shooter, Middleton has certainly increased his volume since that point, something which may help him when it comes to the quickfire, barrage-like format the event takes on. Beyond that, Middleton will be hopeful that his existing experience of the event will help to take away any of the nerves he had to deal with on the previous occasion. In the state neighboring his native South Carolina, Middleton will also be eager to put on a show for his family and friends in attendance. If Middleton is to go on to be successful and bring home a trophy for the Bucks on Saturday, he’ll have to upset the odds against a stacked field of competitors. Firstly, the 10-man field contains three past champions in the form of Dirk Nowitzki (2006), Stephen Curry (2015), and Devin Booker (2018). Beyond past winners, Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker join Middleton as current All-Stars who’ve previously competed in this event, while the first-time participants are sharpshooters Danny Green, Buddy Hield, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry. On the whole, the field takes in an incredibly capable group of long-range shooters, albeit they’re currently enjoying vastly different seasons in terms of percentage and attempts per game, as you can see below: Player Name 3PT% 3PTA/G Joe Harris 47.1 5.2 Seth Curry 46.5 2.8 Buddy Hield 44.9 7.6 Stephen Curry 44.4 11.5 Danny Green 42.1 5.3 Khris Middleton 37.8 6.0 Damian Lillard 37.3 7.8 Kemba Walker 36.2 9.1 Devin Booker 32.5 6.6 Dirk Nowitzki 30.9 3.1 If Middleton was to overcome the odds to reign supreme over the field on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center, he’d become just the second player to win the event while representing the Milwaukee Bucks. It could prove to be a good omen, too, as the only previous Bucks success belongs to Ray Allen in 2000-01. In other words, if the Bucks are to end their drought of playoff series wins that dates back to 2001 this season, why not also add a second 3-Point Contest success along the way? NBA All-Star Saturday gets underway from 7pm CT on TNT, and the 3-Point Shootout will be sandwiched between the Skills Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest as the second event of the night.