Of course, this tie for first place in the preliminaries still got him comfortably into the finals.
Before Hansen took his last shot, Harden, Irving, and Booker were already shaking their heads in resignation.
They were destined to play second fiddle this year. Googlᴇ search 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
The trio that had received the most attention before the game all made it into the finals, whetting the fans’ appetites to the fullest.
Curry was the first to take the stage in the finals, and he was taking deep breaths before the start of the match, clearly very nervous.
Under immense pressure, Curry held up and finished with a score of 23 points.
Although it wasn’t as good as his record-breaking 27 points last year, it was still quite impressive.
After his turn, Curry let out a sigh of relief.
But then, Thompson took his turn and managed to make Curry smile in resignation.
Because Thompson scored on every money ball at the last rack, blasting a 27-point round, tying his own historic record from last year!
Curry’s reign as the defending champion came to an early end.
After his performance, Thompson was extremely excited, shouting and pumping his fists in front of the camera.
Even though it was an internal battle within UA, and even within the Warriors, Thompson cared a great deal about this event.
Hansen was last to go, now feeling some pressure as well.
However, once he got hot, his performance was obviously better than in the preliminaries.
By the time he reached the final money ball rack, he had scored 19 points.
This meant that if he made all five money balls, not only would he beat Thompson and take the crown, but he would also set a new record.
The fans in attendance were extraordinarily pumped.
Unfortunately, Hansen’s last money ball shot, after adjusting, was off the rim.
The sound of the ball hitting iron was like the sound of hearts breaking all over the venue.
Of course, the sound of heartbreak quickly turned to one of excitement, because Hansen and Thompson ended up tied!
And it was a tie while simultaneously equaling the historic record, no less.
In this unprecedented situation, Kenny Smith went over to interview the two to see how they would decide the winner.
Typically, it would be either an additional 30 seconds or another round.
But it was at this moment that Hansen put forth a very constructive suggestion.
Why not shoot together!
Meaning, both players would shoot at the same time, one at each half of the court!
Generally, the three-point contest doesn’t involve head-to-head confrontation, but Hansen’s proposal made the contest even more thrilling.
Thompson accepted the proposal.
After all, having come this far, if there had to be a way to give more weight to this year’s three-point contest champion, there was no better way than what Hansen had suggested.
And so, when everything was ready at the venue, the fans’ hearts were racing at top speed.
As the whistle blew, Hansen and Thompson started their match, one on each side.
At this point, fans quickly fell into a conundrum, as it was impossible to watch both baskets at the same time.
But this was precisely the most thrilling part, because you had no time to pay attention to anything else.
After two racks, both players had 9 points, an extraordinarily high level of performance.
There were already some uncontrollable cheers starting in the crowd.
By the end of the third rack, the only difference in their scores was 1 point.
But as the fourth rack began, the tide of the match shifted.
Thompson started missing shots consecutively, while Hansen, once completely in rhythm, turned into a remorseless shooting machine.
Before the last rack, Thompson was at 16 points, while Hansen had already reached 20 points!
There was still suspense, but it seemed like there was no longer any suspense in the outcome.
Thompson was the first to finish, locking in his score at 24 points, still an outstanding result.
But this time, Hansen did not miss his chance; he made all the money balls, ending with a final score of 30 points!
Hansen, who had been practicing three-pointers in contest style, who had pushed "[Blessings of the Elementary Schoolers]" to its limit, single-handedly ushered the three-point contest into the 30-point era!
He was right when he spoke before the game; he had indeed fooled Curry because... the future was his too!
① The East starters: Irving, Hansen, Paul George, Durant, Big Gasol
Subs: Lowry, Isaiah Thomas, Wade, Derozan, Jimmy Butler, Horford, Drummond
The West starters: Curry, Kobe, Leonard, James, Anthony Davis
Subs: Westbrook, Paul, Harden, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Alderich, Chris Bosh
② Hansen first participated in the three-point contest in 2010 when the perfect score was 30 points, but since 2014, the contest added an all-money ball rack, raising the maximum score to 34 points.