CHARLOTTE -- Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets bested a strong field made up of the NBA's best shooters and was crowned 3-point king during Saturday night's festivities ahead of the 2019 NBA All-Star Game at the Spectrum Center.
Harris capped his triumph with a stunning upset over Golden State Warriors superstar and former 3-point shooting champion Steph Curry in a thrilling 26-24 final,that drew ooohs and aaahs from a lively Queen City crowd.
Curry, the hometown hero, looked headed for another triumph when he scored 27 points in the first round, he couldn't hold off Harris, a shooting ace who entered the contest shooting a mind-bending 132 of 280 triples (47 percent) in 54 regular season games. Now in his fifth year in the NBA, Harris is averaging 13.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Nets, who are ranked sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a pleasantly surprising 30-29 record.
Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings finished at third with 19 points while future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki logged 17.
Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Seth Curry and Damien Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Danny Green of the Toronto Raptors, Kris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Kemba Walker of the host Hornets rounded up the competitors.
"I think I was lucky to be the first guy to shoot and I was able to get kind of warm beforehand." said a modest Harris after hoisting the hardware on his first foray in the long distance shootout. (AR)
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