Nets’ Harris knocks off Warriors’ Curry in Three-Point Contest
CHARLOTTE – Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris defeated Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry in the Three-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday Night at Spectrum Center.
Harris made nine in a row on the second and third racks and again mopped up on the money-ball rack with all five going in for a 26-point round. He reached the finals with 25 points in the opening round.
Curry, who made the three-man finals along with Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield, fell short despite making nine of his first 10 to open the championship round. He finished with 24 points in the finals.
Harris said, “Just fortunate to be here, we were talking about it coming in, some of the best shooters of all-time.”
He added that he gained an edge by starting the event as the first shooter.
“I actually thought it’d be an advantage,” Harris said.
Hield went 4-of-5 on each of the final two racks and totaled 19 in the finals.
Curry brought the crowd to its feet with 27 first-round points, draining all five of his final tries on the money-ball rack and 10 straight.
Each shooter had five racks of five basketballs, one in each corner, one on each wing and one at the top of the key. Four of the racks have a money-ball, worth two points, and one rack is positioned at the shooter’s preferred location – with five money-balls. That rack has a potential value of 10 points.
Curry was the second-to-last shooter in the opening round, before defending champion Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns finished with 23 to bow out, sending Curry, Hield and Harris to the finals.
Hield claimed the early first-round lead with 26 points with four made money-balls on his final rack.
Harris set the bar high out of the gate to open the shooting. He drained all five of his shots on his final rack and made
nine of his final 10 to rack up 25 points in the first round.
Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green nearly made the finals with 23 points.
Seth Curry put up 16 points, sparked by a streak of four splashes in a row on his second rack, before Portland Blazers teammate Damian Lillard was credited with 17 points. Lillard was dropped from the leaderboard by Green.
“It’s like a dream come true coming
out here,” said Seth Curry, a Charlotte native who is Steph Curry’s brother. “I dreamed of being in the Three-Point Contest... and putting on a show.”
Hometown favorite Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets had 15 points, getting three of his five from the money-ball rack to go down. Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, a former three-point champion, ran out of gas and had 17 points.
Thunder’s Diallo defeats Knicks’ Smith for Slam Dunk title
Meanwhile, rookie Hamidou Diallo showed off his imagination and 44-inch vertical leap to claim the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard needed a 43 to win on his second and last dunk of the finals to beat New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. for the crown. Diallo called on rapper Quavo to hold the ball just above his head, sprinted from the right corner of the court and crammed a walk-off, twohand jam. The dunk received a 45.
“Atmosphere was great,” Diallo said. “I just came out and gave the crowd what they were looking for.”
There were props and propellers, guest appearances and perfect 50s, but in the end the night belonged to Diallo, a second-round pick out of Kentucky.
On his first finals dunk, Diallo was eye-to-rim, taking the ball off a bounce to the right side of the rim and authoritatively flushing it for a score of 43.
Smith missed two dunks on his first turn in the finals and was given scores of seven across the board for a 35.
In the opening round, Diallo rolled a ball rack into the middle of the lane preparing for his second dunk. He opted instead to call for “the biggest person in the building.” Shaquille O’Neal was positioned four feet from the basket, and Diallo skied over the 7-footer and finished with his right arm stuffed inside the rim.
Diallo was given a 50, and he had a total of 98 on his first two dunks.
NBA, FIBA to launch African league
The NBA’s first professional basketball league outside of North America will begin in Africa next year, the NBA and the sport’s global governing body announced on Saturday.
Basketball Africa League (BAL) will feature 12 club teams from across Africa and will launch next January, the NBA and the International Basketball Federation said.
The NBA has a long history in Africa and 13 African-born players were on opening-night rosters.
More than 80 current and former players from Africa or with direct family ties to the continent, including Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) and Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of Congo), have competed in the NBA.
The NBA and FIBA said they plan to conduct qualification tournaments later this year to identify the 12 teams that would represent several African countries, including Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
No more than two teams from the same country will play in the league.
(Reuters)