Warriors’ Curry wins 3-point title
ATLANTA — Stephen Curry shot his way to another 3-point title, and Domantas Sabonis made sure the Skills Challenge still belongs to the bigs.
Curry, the Golden State Warriors superstar, provided a dramatic preview for his seventh All-star Game appearance when he sank his final 3-pointer to edge Utah’s Mike Conley for the title Sunday night. Curry also won the 3-point contest in 2015.
Conley had the lead with 27 points before Curry was the final shooter of the contest. Curry had 26 points before sinking his final shot from the corner for 28 points and the win.
“I could hear the temperature rise a little bit,” Curry said of the reaction from the small crowd allowed in State Farm Arena.
“It was some awesome competition. I’m glad I got it done.”
After a runner-up finish to 2020 Skills Challenge to winner and fellow big man Bam Adebayo of Miami, Indiana’s Sabonis returned to win the title.
The 6-foot-11 Sabonis did not miss a pass or 3-point shot in elimination wins over Julius Randle of the New York Knicks and Luka Doncic of Dallas in the test of passing, ball-handling and shooting ability.
Doncic fell behind by missing in his first two tests of his passing accuracy.
Sabonis beat Orlando’s 7-foot Nikola Vucevic in
the matchup of big men for the skills title. Each missed two 3-point shots before Sabonis sank his third attempt and then clinched his fist in victory.
“It was fun,” Sabonis said. “I wanted to come out and make sure I got it done this time.”
Curry had 31 points in the first round to lead the contest. Also advancing were Jayson Tatum with 25 points and Conley with 28.
Tatum led off the final round with 17 points while making only one shot from the “money ball” rack. Conley nearly duplicated his first-round total, and it appeared it might be enough until Curry solidified his reputation as one of the top shooters in NBA history.
The slam dunk contest was scheduled for halftime of the All-star Game.
76ers duo sits out of All-star Game
Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were ruled out of Sunday’s NBA All-star Game after being flagged by coronavirus contact tracing, prompting some players to question again why the exhibition was being played during a pandemic.
The 76ers and the NBA learned of the situation with Embiid and Simmons — which stemmed from getting haircuts — on Saturday night and made the decision Sunday morning that neither could play about nine hours before the scheduled tipoff.
The game in Atlanta is going forward as scheduled.
A person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Embiid and Simmons have both tested negative for COVID-19, and that their barber has tested positive for it. Both players saw the barber a day or two before before flying to Atlanta, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because those details were not released publicly.
Embiid would have been a starter for Team Durant, which will be coached by Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers. Simmons would have been a reserve for Team Lebron. New Orleans’ Zion Williamson started in Embiid’s place, the NBA said, and both teams will have 11 players on the active rosters instead of the usual 12.
Embiid and Simmons are in Atlanta, though it was not immediately clear if they would have to remain there and quarantine or if they could leave and resume their All-star break elsewhere.
In past cases where contact tracing has detected an issue that was eventually confirmed as a positive case, players have typically had to sit for a week. That means Embiid and Simmons potentially could miss at least two games.
No other All-stars or members of the 76ers’ coaching staff in Atlanta were affected, because they “were not exposed to the individual in Philadelphia,” the NBA said.