Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana Pacers eliminated in first-round tiebreaker in 2024 3-Point Contest, wants to try again next year
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in his second ever three-point contest on Saturday night during 2024 NBA All-Star weekend. He finished third in 2023 and said at the time he was determined to win the following year.
This season, Haliburton is shooting 40% from long range on 7.9 attempts per game. Very few players match his combination of volume and accuracy, though he was going against some of the best shooters in the league. Malik Beasley, Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Trae Young made up the rest of the field.
"3-Point Contest, just don't choke. Last year I had a legendary first round, and then I think I got iced a little bit," Haliburton said early on Saturday of his thinking regarding the competition. "That might be the reason. But I was terrible the second round. Just some consistency this year, and hopefully I can pull off the W."
Haliburton went third and finished with a score of 26. Between the moneyball racks and the Starry range shots, the score isn't just a simple percentage. Each player takes 32 shots in total.
The Pacers star thought he would have an advantage coming straight from his Skills Challenge victory to the 3-Point Contest. "I thought it was giving me an advantage," he said later in the night. He was still going to have to outperform other shooters despite his perceived freshness.
Of the eight players in the first round, the Pacers guard was among the best. Beasley (20), Mitchell (21), Brunson (24), and Markkanen (25) weren't good enough early, but Haliburton was. He finished ahead of them all, giving himself a chance at reaching the final round.
The finalists would be the three players who finished with the best scores in the opening set. Haliburton finished with 26. Young also had 26, as did Towns and Lillard. Even with his exciting start to the contest, Haliburton wasn't a lock to move on. He had to perform an additional 30 second tiebreaker.
The top-three scores from that would move on past the opening round. All three of Young, Towns, and Lillard finished with at least 15 points. Haliburton only had 12. It was his worst performance of the day in any competition, and he was eliminated.
"Wasn't my day," Haliburton said a few minutes later. He wasn't too beat up after winning the Skills Challenge just a few moments prior. "Try again next year. I think I'm just gonna keep coming back until they don't allow me to, and eventually I'm just going to win one. I'm going to retire after that," he added.
So, you can expect to see Haliburton in the 2025 three-point contest if he is invited. That All-Star weekend will take place in the San Francisco Bay area, and Haliburton will be looking to take down a familiar foe. Damian Lillard has won each of the last two contests and wants to go for a three-peat.
Despite being a great shooter in regular season games, Haliburton wasn't able to get it done Saturday night. His All-Star weekend is not yet over, though, as he will participate in the All-Star game on Sunday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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