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Dame Time Returns: Lillard Dominates 3-Point Shootout in All-Star Comeback
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Despite a season sidelined by an Achilles tear, Portland Trail Blazers’ star Damian Lillard made a triumphant return to the court on Saturday night, not for a game, but to reclaim his throne as the king of the 3-point shootout. In a performance that brought “Dame Time” roaring back to life, Lillard clinched his third title in the event with a masterful final-round score of 29.
Lillard’s sharpshooting prowess edged out Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel, securing his place in history alongside Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time winners of the competition, which began in 1986. His electrifying display proved to be the highlight of All-Star Saturday night, easily outshining a less-than-stellar dunk contest field.
“I came in confident, I’m fresh,” Lillard remarked after his victory. “I don’t have to go out there and play 40 minutes, 35 minutes.
I think just having this year to be away, my mind and body [are] just fresh. So, I came out there excited to do it.”
The 35-year-old Lillard, who suffered a torn left Achilles in April during the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round series against the Indiana Pacers and underwent successful surgery in May, was waived by Milwaukee in July. He then signed a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, the franchise that drafted him and where he spent his first 11 seasons.
Lillard’s decision to participate in the competition while recovering from such a significant injury began as a lighthearted joke with Michael Levine, the NBA’s senior vice president of entertainment and player marketing. “I was like, ‘If y’all need somebody to shoot, I’m available to do it,'” Lillard recounted.
Though initially full, a spot eventually opened up, and Lillard, ever the competitor, seized the opportunity. “You know that I’m always serious.
If there’s a spot, sign me up,” he affirmed.
The final round presented a formidable challenge. Booker initially led the eight-man field with a first-round score of 30, with Lillard and Knueppel advancing with 27 points each.
In the decisive round, Knueppel posted a 17, and Lillard set the bar with 29. Booker, the 2018 3-point shootout champion, had a chance to win with his final “money ball” rack, needing just three points from his last three shots, but agonizingly missed all three.
“That’ll sting me for some time,” Booker admitted.
Lillard’s victory serves as a powerful testament to his rapid recovery, echoing similar progress seen in other high-profile players who suffered Achilles tears last spring, such as Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. “It’s not the injury that it used to be, and I know that from my personal experience and how I feel now,” Lillard stated. “It’s something you can come back and have another prime from, especially if you’re a hard worker.”
The evening’s other events saw the New York Knicks team, featuring All-Star Jalen Brunson, his father and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Knicks alumnus Allan Houston, claim victory in the Shooting Stars competition. The night concluded with the dunk contest, where Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson, a 6-6, second-year forward, bested San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant in the final round with a creative baseline reverse dunk.
“Dunking is an art,” Johnson mused. “Everybody, we done seen crazy dunks.
It’s kind of hard to come up with new stuff each and every way, but don’t nobody really dunk the same. Everybody has their own art that they’re putting it onto something that somebody else has probably done before.
So me, I’m just going out there and putting my own flavor into it.”