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Joe Harris Wins 2019 NBA 3-Point Contest: Scores, Highlights and Reaction

Kyle Newport

There is a new three-point champion after Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets edged Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry in the 2019 3-Point Contest on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Not only that, but Harris managed to outshoot reigning champ Devin Booker, among others, as well.

Below is a look at the star-studded field:

Booker won last year's event by scoring a record 28 points in the final round. This year, though, he had a short-lived night despite a respectable 23 points in the first round.

With All-Star Weekend being held in Charlotte, it gave the Curry family a chance to put on a show in their hometown. As a result, Steph and Seth agreed to a friendly wager for Saturday's competition:

Darren Rovell of the Action Network noted the bet would be worth at least six figures.

Well, it appears Seth's bank account will be the one taking the hit. Seth was eliminated in the first round after recording only 16 points. Meanwhile, Steph put up a contest-high 27 points in the first round by making his final 10 shots, which included the money-ball rack.

That set up a showdown between Steph, Buddy Hield (26) and Harris (25).

Harris—who ranks second in the NBA this season at 47.1 percent from distance—put the pressure on his opponents by starting the final round with an impressive 26 points, besting his first-round performance by one point.

A slow start cost Hield, but a strong finish gave him a score of 19. And that meant only Steph Curry stood between Harris and the trophy.

Early on, it looked like Harris was in trouble, as Curry drained his first nine shots (giving him 19 consecutive makes in the competition) of the final round. However, the 2015 champ cooled off in the middle of the round before picking up steam as he made his way around the perimeter.

Needing to make all five on the money-ball rack, Curry knocked down four...and had one rattle out.

The Associated Press' Tim Reynolds pointed out just how incredible it is that Curry didn't win his second title:

Afterward, Harris let it be known he felt going first was an advantage:

Harris is the first player in Nets history to win the event.

As for Dirk Nowitzki, the 40-year fan favorite came up short in his first 3-Point Contest in 11 years. The Dallas Mavericks star bowed out in the first round with 17 points.

Nowitzki won the contest back in 2006. While the 21-year veteran revealed earlier on Saturday, per the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend, that he has not decided if he will retire at season's end, it's possible this was his last time participating in the event.

And while the highly anticipated field provided plenty of hype, there was a bit of a surprise before the event ever got underway. Former Hornets star Dell Curry, who is the father of Steph and Seth, helped raise $35,000 for charity, with the help of former teammates Ray Allen, Glen Rice and Mark Price:

And that set the stage for what would be an exciting competition.

   

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