Buddy Hield won the NBA 3-Point Contest last night after outscoring Devin Booker by one point, a victory he secured with the final shot.
"I felt great," the Sacramento Kings guard told ESPN. "Like I said earlier, as a shooter, this is on your bucket list. You have to come in, and you want to win a 3-point shootout. With a stacked field like that, it makes it even better."
Both Hield and Booker led the pack going into the final round, dropping 27 points to start. Davis Bertans followed in close pursuit to lock down his spot as the last finalist with 26 points. Booker then dropped 26 points to set the bar for the final round.
When Hield reached his final rack, he needed to land four of five buckets to win it. He dropped three in a row, but rimmed-out on his fourth: He would need to make his final shot to win.
"I think I heard the guy on the PA, the announcer, and I had 25 or 26 or something like that," Hield said. "I know Devin had 26, so I knew I had to make one more to top him. I was focused. I was locked in on that part."
The poised shooter buried it and locked down the 3-point contest victory.