Klay Thompson did what barely any
team has done this year. He beat Stephen Curry. The Foot Locker Three-Point
Contest has gone from one "Splash Brother" to another, as Thompson
beat his
Golden State Warriors teammate and defending champion with a
dazzling display at All-Star Saturday night. Thompson finished the final round
with 27 points, four more than Curry managed as once again, the title came down
to the two Golden State sharpshooters.
We love to shoot
against each other, Thompson said. "You know, I've never been on a team
with someone who shoots it better than me, so it's a privilege to work with him
every day. He makes me that much better." Phoenix' Devin Booker was third,
with 16 points in the final round. He beat the Rockets' James Harden and J.J.
Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers to get out of the first round, and the
Raptors' Kyle Lowry, Portland Trail Blazers' C.J. McCollum and Milwaukee's
Khris Middleton were eliminated early. As probably many expected, it came down
to Curry and Thompson.
Curry shot before
Thompson in the final round, making his first seven shots and putting up 23
points -- which, to that point, was the best score of the night. Shooters got
one point for making a conventional 3-pointer and two points for using a
multicolored "money ball." "At the end of the day, you've got to
make shots," Curry said. "Just like in a game." So the pressure
was on Thompson, and he delivered. Here's how good Thompson was in the finals
-- he had two different streaks of eight consecutive makes. Thompson was
19-for-25 in the final round, 18-for-25 in the first, and adding them together
put him at 74 percent on the night. That's what it took to beat Curry, who set
the NBA single-season record with 286 3-pointers last season and is on pace to
obliterate that mark this season. He's already at 245, and the Warriors have 30
games remaining.
And really, the only
title Curry probably really wants to defend is the NBA championship anyway. He and
Thompson have helped the Warriors get off to a 48-4 start this season, making
them the heavy favorites to repeat as titlists. "Back-to-back years for
the 'Splash Brothers,'" Thompson said. "It's pretty cool." Curry
was the event's defending champion. The reigning NBA MVP put together the
second-longest streak of made triples in 3-point contest history with 13,
according to ESPN Stats & Information. Meanwhile, the big men are back at
the NBA's All-Star Weekend. Karl-Anthony Towns showed that. The Minnesota
Timberwolves rookie center beat Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas to win
the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, further validating the evolution of the big man
from a plodding post player to a playmaking force. In the first year that
frontcourt players were allowed to compete against the guards in the event that
puts a premium on ballhandling, passing and perimeter shooting, Towns beat
Golden State's Draymond Green and Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins in the big men
side of the bracket before edging Thomas in the finals.
I'm glad I was able to
help the bigs come out with this trophy," said Towns, the No. 1 overall
pick in the June draft. "This is bigger than me. This is for all the bigs
out there, with the game changing the way it is, to show that bigs can stand up
with guards and skill-wise. It's been four years since the NBA decided to
eliminate the center position on the All-Star ballot in response to the dearth
of talent at the position and the evolution of the game from post-centric
offenses to pace and space. With his ability to handle the ball, shoot the 3
and make the extra pass, Towns is the epitome of the improving big man. But
heading into the competition, there were doubts that the big fellas could keep
up with the small fries. Even Towns' teammate, point guard Ricky Rubio, joked
last week that he had no chance. "I like proving people wrong, so I'm glad
I was able to make a lot of people wrong," Towns said. "I was able to
make critics wrong, Vegas wrong, Ricky Rubio wrong. So I'm just so ecstatic right
now." The course required players to weave through some obstacles, throw a
pass through a target, dribble the length of the court for a layup and then
make a 3-pointer.
After Towns hoisted the
trophy, Green, Davis and Cousins joined him on the podium to celebrate. It's
already been a banner weekend for the young Wolves. Zach LaVine won the MVP of
the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night in a game that also
featured Canadian star Andrew Wiggins scoring 29 points.
