INDIANAPOLIS — NBA All-Star Saturday Night is underway at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The first of four events is in the books as Team Pacers topped Team All-Stars in the Skills Challenge.
Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin represented Indiana in the three-round event, while the Hawks’ Trae Young, Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey and Raptors’ Scottie Barnes made up Team All-Stars.
Team Pacers easily won the first leg, a relay as Haliburton finished in style passing off the glass to himself for a dunk for 100 points. Indiana needed extra time to top Team All-Stars in round two, a passing drill for another 100 points. Team All-Stars dominated the shooting portion for 200 points to force a tiebreaker to determine the winner.
The team that made a half-court shot the fastest won the tiebreaker. Team All-Stars made one in 58 seconds, while the Pacers made one in 40 seconds as Haliburton connected from deep.
Team Top Picks, consisting of the Magic’s Paolo Banchero, Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama failed to win a round.
The Bucks’ Damian Lillard won the Three-Point Contest for the second straight year beating the Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns in the finals. Lillard’s the first player to repeat since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008.
The top three of eight shooters advanced to the finals. Haliburton, Young, Towns and Lillard each had 26 points in the first round, forcing a tiebreaker. Haliburton had the lowest score in a 30 second shootout and was eliminated.
Still to come is the Stephen vs. Sabrina Challenge and Slam Dunk Contest.
