Both of last year's finalists were back in the 3-Point Shootout, but one of them didn't get back to the final round. Milwaukee's Ray Allen, a big favorite to win again, came up with only 14 points in the first round, but that was one short of Steve Nash, who advanced to the final along with Peja Stojakovic and Wesley Person. Sacramento's Stojakovic and Cleveland's Person, the first two competitors to shoot, had the high scores of the night with 20 in the first round, then each got 19 points in the final. Finally, in the first ever extra session, Peja hit five straight shots in abbreviated time to win his first title.
He might be the league's top shooter, but Allen struggled on this night. He made more than three shots on only one of the rotations, and hit only one money ball -- which counts for two -- the entire time. Allen did make six in a row over the third and fourth sets, but his final score of 14 belied his ability. There would be no successful defense of the title. Grade: C
A rhythm shooter who never found it in his inaugural chance to compete, Miller missed his first nine shots, and things barely got better. Miller's first two successful shots were money balls, but he hit a competition-low five shots total in getting to 10 points. Of course, in his second year in the league, he'll probably get more chances. Grade: D
The man with the mop on his head didn't look like he had any chance of advancing past the first round when he hit only three of his first 12 shots. The shortest fella in the competition, Nash seemed to be using too much energy to get each shot off. But then, two days after his 28th birthday, he got hot, made nine of his final 13 (with two airballs) and made the final, where he hit for 18 and fell one point short of the eventual winner. A solid performance. Grade: A-
We called him the darkhorse going in, and we were right. The league's third-ranked 3-point shooter hit all five shots on the middle rack in round one, culminating it with 20 points. In round two, knowing he had to beat Stojakovic's 19, he hit three shots in the final rack to get to 19 and had one last shot to win, but the ball rimmed out. That was his highpoint. Stojakovic hit for nine in the extra session, Person was cold by then, making only four of 11 shots to finish second. Grade: A.
Would he become the latest Celtic to win this event, following in the legendary footsteps of Larry Bird? Not even close. Pierce hit his first shot, then his high-arcing rainbows started clanking all over the rim and backboard. Fans were ducking. No, this wasn't Antoine Walker shooting the ball. Pierce missed the entire middle rack and went on to finish with eight points. Grade: C-
Richardson started quickly, hitting seven of his first 11 shots, for eight points before the halfway mark, but either he got tired or he didn't get the bounces. We say he got tired. Among the league leaders in threes but not percentage, Richardson hit only four of his final 14 and a few of his misses weren't close. Grade: B-
Leading the NBA in 3-point percentage has some privileges, like getting you to the competition, but Smith did very little with the opportunity. Smith hit eight shots, no money balls and ended with only eight points, not coming close to expectations. A streaky shooter who has been on one all season, Smith didn't seem comfortable with his shot. Grade: D
What is it with Peja on All-Star Saturdays? Last year he finished as runner-up in this event, and was on the winning 2-ball team. This time he won the 3-point shootout and still gets to play Sunday in the big game. Stojakovic was the first shooter this year, and his first-round 20 tied for the best round. It was a consistent round, as he made three or more shots in each stanza. In round two he looked to be in trouble after Nash hit for 18. Peja started relatively slow by missing the first three money balls, then hit nine of his final 10 shots to edge Nash. In the extra session with Person, he hit five in a row and seven of 12 overall to win it all. Grade: A+
