WATCH: Karl-Anthony Towns stuns competition with record final-round to win NBA 3-point shootout
Karl Anthony-Towns won the 3-point shootout at NBA All-Star weekend on Saturday in Cleveland. The Minnesota Timberwolves center used a torrid second-round to beat out Atlanta’s Trae Young and the Clippers’ Luke Kennard.
Anthony-Towns’ 29 points set the record for most scored in the final round, surpassing Devin Booker’s previous record of 28. It was the first appearance for Anthony-Towns in the NBA 3-point shootout. He is shooting 40.9% from deep in his seventh NBA season to go along with 24.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
“I told you the only way I’m going to lose is if someone outshoots me,” Towns said on TNT after the NBA 3-point shootout win. “I’m up there with the best shooting big men of all-time and I needed this trophy to prove it.
Kennard led all players with a first-round score of 28. The former Duke guard made four of the five shots on his final money ball rack to advance to the finals. Trae Young joined him after hitting his final money ball to score 22 and narrowly edge out the Brooklyn Nets’ Patty Mills (21). Anthony-Towns also scored 22 in the first round to advance to the finals.
Fred VanVleet, Desmond Bane, Zach Lavine and CJ McCollum failed to advance past the first round along with Mills.
The 3-point shootout was first introduced in 1986, eight seasons after the NBA added the 3-point line. Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry set the record for most points in a round with 31 in last year’s contest. He went on to claim his second 3-point title that year, but was not one of the eight participants this season. He is one of just seven NBA players to win the 3-point shootout more than once, including Larry Bird.
The NBA All-Star Game is set to tip off at 8 p.m. ET Sunday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.