NBA All-Star Saturday Night 2015: TNT Reveals Ratings for Skills Competitions
If television ratings are any indication, the NBA's All-Star Saturday night is far from dead. The TNT broadcast reported an overnight rating of 4.4, marking a 19-percent spike over the ratings from last year's event, per Turner Sports PR:
A 4.4 rating ties the second-highest average ratings in history, matching the numbers from 2009 and 2012. The event peaked with a 5.3 rating during the final round of the slam dunk contest.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine, whose boundless leaps have had him trending on Twitter for more than a dozen hours now, defeated Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo in the final. Coming out to a Space Jam theme, LaVine scored a perfect 50 on both of his first-round dunks before defeating Oladipo 94-72 in the final.
The former UCLA star is the second-youngest dunk contest winner in history behind Kobe Bryant, who was 18 when he won the event in 1997.
All-Star Saturday Night also featured Stephen Curry taking home the most star-studded three-point contest in league history. Curry's overall score of 27 was 10 better than second-place Kyrie Irving in the final, which saw fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson in third.
Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley was the victor in a revamped Skills Challenge, coming from behind to defeat Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight in the final. Beverley won the new head-to-head format despite not completing a pass.
The Shooting Stars Challenge, which features one NBA star, one WNBA star and one legend competing together, went to Team Bosh (Chris Bosh, Swin Cash and Dominique Wilkins) for the third straight year.
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