Klay Thompson pulled off the upset. In a thrilling ending, he edged out Stephen Curry to become the new three-point contest champion.
NBA 3-point Contest 2016: Klay Thompson dethroned Stephen Curry in thrilling ending
Thompson got hot late to edge out Curry.
The event had a great field this year, after featuring a murderer's row in 2015. Curry was back to defend his crown and 2015 participants James Harden, Klay Thompson and J.J. Redick decided to return to challenge him. Devin Booker, Khris Middleton, Kyle Lowry and C.J. McCollum, who replaced the injured Chris Bosh, rounded out the participants. Curry was considered a prohibitive favorite, but his teammate proved to be just as deadly from beyond the arc.
The Splash brothers stole the show from the start. Thompson led all players with 22 points while Curry made 11 in a row. He also had to hit his last two shots in the moneyball rack to advance and swished them both. Thompson’s reaction to the last shot was priceless.
Five of the eight contestants were eliminated in the first round: Middleton (13), C.J. McCollum (14), Kyle Lowry (15), James Harden (20) and J.J. Redick (20). Booker advanced after beating Harden and Redick in a tiebreak, getting 12 points in 30 seconds.
The 19-year-old Suns rookie went first and felt the pressure in the final round. He scored only 16, which Curry beat with 23 points, making his first 10 straight and then seven. Thompson went last and bested him with 27 points after connecting on 16 of his last 19 shots. He made great use of the moneyball cart, which all the shooters placed in the final corner.
Curry might be the best shooter in league history, but his backcourt mate is not far behind, as he proved Saturday.
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