During his first-career All-Star weekend appearance, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was eliminated in the first round of the 2024 Three-Point Competition on Saturday night in Indiana.
Brunson was the only southpaw competing in the event and he put up 24 points during his turn, falling just two shy of advancing to the second round.
The star point guard started out a little cold, missing five of his first six shots from the right side, before he finally started settling into a groove. Brunson drilled the money ball on the second rack, before advancing to the top of the key, where he went on a run and knocked down six consecutive shots to give himself a chance.
He looked to be sitting nicely with 20 points heading into the final rack, his chosen money ball rack, but Brunson ran out of gas and missed his last three shots of the night. It was a valiant effort from the Villanova product, who has been having a career-year from behind the arc, but he fell just short against the top sharpshooters in basketball.
Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks became the first player since 2007-08 to take home the title for the second straight year after he drilled his final shot to defeat Atlanta’s Trae Young.
Brunson became the ninth player in franchise history to compete in the three-point contest. The others include his teammate Julius Randle, Steve Novak, Danilo Gallinari, Quentin Richardson, Allan Houston, Charlie Ward, Hubert Davis, and Trent Tucker.
Brunson will still have a chance to shine on the brightest stage when he participates in the All-Star Game on Sunday night.
Source Agencies
