Kevin Love pulled off the unthinkable as he defeated Kevin Durant, 16-14, in a shootout to win the 2012 Foot Locker Three-Point contest. Here's how it all went down, round by round:
Heat point guard Mario Chalmers started us off with a pretty solid performance, with a total score of 18 points. Most impressively, he knocked down four of five money balls to take the early lead.
Timberwolves forward Love, the surprise contestant, matched Chalmers step for step, as he too ended up with 18 points and made three of five money balls. He really struggled from the right wing, but was able to make up ground on the final three racks from the left side of the court. The man many had already written off was now tied for the lead.
Nets swingman Anthony Morrow was up next, rocking an old-school Drazen Petrovic Nets jersey. Morrow would have likely been right up there with Chalmers and Love, but he took too much time in between shots and ultimately ran out of time on the final rack. Morrow ended up with 14 points, which was good enough for last place and an elimination from the event.
Thunder forward Kevin Durant stepped up, looking to redeem himself from his poor showing in last year's competition. Durant did just that, as he took the lead away from Chalmers and Love with 20 points in his first round.
Magic forward Ryan Anderson stepped in front of his hometown fans at the Amway Arena, looking to spark the home crowd after Team Orlando fell in the Haier Shooting Stars. Anderson didn't quite make the cut, as he ended up with 17 points, which eliminated him from contention
Durant's lead didn't last long though, as defending champion James Jones stepped in and claimed what was his, scoring 22 points. Jones made four of five money balls and had a perfect final rack and claimed the two-point lead.
Jones and Durant were both safe, but Chalmers and Love were both tied for the final spot in the three-man final lineup.
To break the tie, Chalmers and Love had to go head-to-head in order to determine the third finalist. With a shortened clock of 24 seconds, Chalmers only ended up with 4 points. Love, who wasn't that much better in the tiebreaker, had just enough to eliminate the Heat guard with 5 points.
Love started off the final round with a few bricks, but was able to pick up the pace and end up with a final score of 16 points. Love made his first three money balls, but missed his final two.
Durant started off pretty well, but fell into a bit of a funk and had to make the final moneyball in order to tie Love's 16 points in the final round.
With the title for the taking, James Jones couldn't finish the deed with a woeful 12 points. Therefore, the two Kevins would battle it out for the title.
In a shootout, the final score: Kevin Love 16, Kevin Durant 14. The big man out of UCLA pulled off the unthinkable and upset the natural-born jump shooter takes home the crown of three-point shootout champion.
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