NBA All-Star: Suns’ Devin Booker wins 2018 JBL 3-Point Contest
By Mike Dyce
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker put on a clinic in the championship round of the JBL Three-Point Contest to win and beat out Klay Thompson.
The second event of the festivities at the NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday night was the JBL Three-Point Contest. This contest specializes perimeter shooters and featured some stars.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker got the win with an all-time record in the contest with 28 points out of a possible 34. In the first round, Booker scored 19 and tied for the highest total alongside Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
In the championship round, Booker caught fire and just barely put the game out of reach. Thompson had saved his moneyball rack till his last, but when he got there he had just 17 points and sinking all five would’ve left him one point shy of a tie.
Devin Booker catches fire in the final round of the #JBL3PT competition to score an all-time record 28 PTS! pic.twitter.com/NsXjSCgpEd
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 18, 2018
Thomspon finished with 25 points, making the gap look tighter than it was in reality. Los Angeles Clippers star Tobias Harris was the third contestant in the Championship Round and put on a show for his new hometown fans after arriving in LA earlier this month in the Blake Griffin trade.
The most embarrassing performance came from Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George, who failed to reach double digits. George’s score was salvaged from beyond pitiful on the final rack. He had four points going to the final rack and sunk four including the money ball. Two of the first four points also came from a money ball.
Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon was the defending champion and failed to advance past the first-round, scoring just 12 points.
Here is a round-by-round breakdown of the scoring.
Round 1:
Tobias Harris (Clippers) – 18
Wayne Ellington (Heat) – 17
Paul George (Thunder) – 9
Devin Booker (Suns) – 19
Kyle Lowry (Raptors) – 11
Bradley Beal (Wizards) – 15
Klay Thompson (Warriors) – 19
Eric Gordon (Rockets) – 12
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/965045306244190208
Devin Booker turned it on to tally a score of 19 in the 1st round! #JBL3PT pic.twitter.com/8Bkz9uVoiH
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2018
#KlayThompson beats the buzzer to tally a score of 19 in the first round of the #JBL3PT competition!
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 18, 2018
Watch on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/4Tes8VYHSa
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Championship Round:
Tobias Harris (Clippers) – 17
Devin Booker (Suns) – 28
Klay Thompson (Warriors) – 25