Pacers electric three-point contest performance pushes Lillard to edge

It has been, at times, a magical season for the Indiana Pacers. And the fact that they are so well represented during All-Star weekend indicates that the team is doing all of the right things during their rebuild. With two players in the Rising Stars Challenge, two players in the Three Point Contest, and one player in the All-Star Game, the league is noticing the elite talents that are currently playing in Indiana.

The first round of the three-point contest

During the first round Tyrese Haliburton might have had one of the most electric starts in three-point shooting history. Haliburton locked in right away, making both of his Starry shots (special new 3 point three point shots, confusing I know). He also killed it on the Money Ball rack. The announcers talked about how Haliburton’s shot, given how little motion it uses, was a great advantage for a competition like this where you need to put up a bunch of shots quickly.

Hield on the other hand, started extremely slow, but was able to pick it up on the backend of the first round. It looked like Reggie Miller’s prediction could be coming true given a Pacer has never won the 3 point contest:

After all of the shooters took aim, the final was set. Haliburton, Hield, and Lillard were in the final of the 3-point contest. The Pacers had a 66 percent chance of winning the competition.

Was it meant to be? Would a Pacer take home the hardware?

Buddy Hield started off the finals strong with a score of 24. It looked like Lillard wouldn’t be able to catch him due to starting slow, but unfortunately Lillard sunk 4 of the last 5 to overtake Hield. It was then up to Haliburton to try and keep the Pacers on track to win the 3 point contest.

Unfortunately, Hali had used up all his magic in the first round of the contest, and dropped a bit of a dud in the finals, making Lillard the 3-point shooting champion. It was unlikely, but the Pacers were unable to win the contest and take home the hardware.