LaVine falls in first round as Curry blazes to 3-Point crown originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Asked by Kenny Smith in a pre-contest interview what it would take for him to become the first player to win both a 3-Point and Slam Dunk Contest, Zach LaVine shot straight.
"Make more shots than the other guys."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
But the Bulls guard's 22 points wasn't enough for him to get out of the first round of the 2021 3-Point Contest held just in advance of the All-Star game. LaVine finished tied with Donovan Mitchell for fourth in the field, ahead of Jaylen Brown (17), but trailing Steph Curry (31), Mike Conley (28) and Jayson Tatum (25).
LaVine did switch up his moneyball strategy one year after bowing out in the first round with 23 points in the 2020 shootout. He canned 3 of his 5 moneyballs from the left corner, a zone from which he shot 5-for-5 last season (en route to 10-for-10 from the corners, overall) and has made 59.3 percent of his attempts in the 2020-21 campaign.
Tatum burned out with 17 in the second round, while Conley stayed hot to post 27. For a moment, it appeared Curry might come up short, but a torrid tear capped off by a moneyball 3 to close pushed him to 28 and to his second career 3-Point Contest victory.
If LaVine is to make that aforementioned slice of history, it will have to wait for another year. The difference between 2020 and 2021 for the Bulls star: His night marches on with a spot in the All-Star game itself.
Click here to subscribe to the Bulls Talk Podcast for free.
