The final showdown of the Three-Point Contest was just as thrilling.
Towns went first and continued his stable performance, posting an impressive 22 points in one go.
Under normal circumstances, that score would have been pretty good.
But unfortunately, considering the level of the other two contestants tonight, it might not have been good enough.
And that was indeed the case.
Soon, Trae Young, the second to take the court, firmly crushed Towns' hopes with a final score of 24 points.
Next, the pressure fell on Cousin's shoulders.
But Lillard was famous for thriving under pressure~~
In fact, Cousin's performance that followed was extremely Damian Lillard-esque.
He came out blazing, knocking down shot after shot.
Before he even reached the final rack, he had already secured 24 points, tying Trae Young's score.
At that point, he only needed one more make to claim the Three-Point Contest crown.
Yet at that final spot, Lillard missed four straight shots, forcibly dragging the suspense out until the very end.
From another perspective, perhaps Cousin was simply showing off his margin for error~~
Until the final moment, the final ball from the final rack.
Lillard got off that last shot at the buzzer and buried it cleanly.
In the end, Cousin finished with 26 points and successfully "hit the game-winner" over Trae Young.
A very Lillard-style performance.
After making that final shot, Lillard immediately strode excitedly to center court and performed his signature watch-check celebration for the fans and audience, drawing a huge wave of cheers.
With all the twists and turns of the contest, the atmosphere in the arena finally seemed to have been ignited.
Damian Lillard successfully reclaimed the Three-Point Contest title tonight, becoming the first player since Jason Kapono in 2007-08 to defend the crown.
*You could always trust Lillard's