NBA 3-Point Contest 2015: Winner, Score Results and Twitter Reaction
Stephen Curry fought off Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson in the championship round to win the 2015 Three-Point Contest on Saturday night in Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
He shot a scintillating 27 in the final round to wrap up the victory.
Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk had Curry's thoughts after the contest, saying “I’m very happy right now, I’ve obviously been in it four times, so I wanted to win it and get it done."
This was arguably one of the deepest Three-Point Contests in years.
Kyle Korver is shooting 52.3 percent on three-pointers this season. Curry might be the best pure shooter in the league. Irving and Marco Belinelli are the last two three-point champions. James Harden, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick and Thompson rounded out the loaded field.
Heading into All-Star Weekend, the Three-Point Contest was shaping up to be arguably more exciting than the dunk contest, which has always been the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday.
Given the amount of hype surrounding the event, it was almost impossible that the three-point shootout would live up to expectations. It still managed to be a great showcase for some of the best long-range specialists in the league.
Here's a look at the full results:
| Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 23 | 27 |
| Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 17 |
| Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors | 24 | 14 |
| Wesley Matthews | Portland Trail Blazers | 22 | --- |
| Kyle Korver | Atlanta Hawks | 18 | --- |
| Marco Belinelli | San Antonio Spurs | 18 | --- |
| J.J. Redick | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | --- |
| James Harden | Houston Rockets | 15 | --- |
There was a bit of controversy in the first round during Redick's turn. He appeared to heat up in his final two racks, potentially posting one of the highest scores of the opening frame.
However, the Los Angeles Clippers guard had his foot on the line for a few of his makes, wiping out the points. According to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, Redick lost four points:
The silver lining was that Redick killed it in the long-two shootout this year:
Redick, along with Harden and Korver, was among the bigger disappointments of the first round, as all three failed to make it to the championship round.
The Atlanta Hawks star has been one of the biggest surprises this year, and everything was shaping up for Korver to take center stage in New York City. Bethlehem Shoals felt the worst about Korver not going through:
"I thought Kyle Korver was going to be what made this injury-riddled All-Star Weekend worthwhile. He was going to be the story.
— Bethlehem Shoals (@freedarko) February 15, 2015"
Instead, he had to settle for an 18, which would've been a great opening-round score in most years. ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh thinks Korver will take his aggression out on opposing teams when the All-Star break is over:
Thompson, Curry and Irving advanced to the championship round, with Thompson's 24 being the highest score of the first round.
Teammates Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green were enjoying what they were seeing from the Splash Brothers:
Irving went first to start the final round. The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard couldn't get into a groove, posting a 17. Considering how good both Curry and Thompson are from long range, Irving's chances of picking up a second Three-Point Contest victory were slim to none.
He didn't have to wait long to see his dreams dashed.
Curry stepped up and posted the highest score ever in Three-Point Contest history—of course, Curry was aided by having an entire rack of money balls—per ESPN Stats & Info:
NBA on TNT posted the table of Curry's makes and misses. At one point, he made 13 shots in a row:
Curry probably picked up some tips from watching his dad compete back in 1992, per CBSSports.com's Will Brinson:
Curry's 27 all but doomed Thompson to defeat. Thompson seemed to let the pressure get the best of him, struggling out of the gate and quickly eliminating himself from title contention. He wound up with a 14, the lowest score of the round.
Most have labeled Curry the best shooter of his generation, and he displayed why on Saturday night. It will be interesting to see if he comes back in 2016 to defend his crown.
He'll certainly be the early favorite for next year.
