{"id":604198,"date":"2026-02-15T07:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/604198\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T07:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:40:30","slug":"devin-booker-goes-cold-late-falls-to-damian-lillard-in-3-point-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/604198\/","title":{"rendered":"Devin Booker goes cold late, falls to Damian Lillard in 3-point final"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, CA \u2013 Phoenix Suns<\/a> five-time All-Star Devin Booker said he wasn\u2019t aware how many points he had on that final rack with all 2-point money balls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just going,\u201d Booker said.<\/p>\n

Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> superstar Damian Lillard certainly knew.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAt the end, I saw I was kind of at his mercy,\u201d Lillard said. \u201cI was like, man, he got to, these shots can’t go in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Booker, they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Booker missed his final three shots to finish second to Lillard, 29-27, in the 2026 NBA All-Star 3-point contest Feb. 14 at Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoooooo,\u201d NBC Sports NBA analyst Reggie Miller screamed during the broadcast. \u201cOh my goodness. Wooow. It was his to lose, and it wasn\u2019t meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Booker last competed in the contest in 2020 when Buddy Hield beat him on the final shot in Chicago.<\/p>\n

He last won it in 2018 when Los Angeles last hosted All-Star weekend.<\/p>\n

1 \/ 5<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (23) grabs the ball during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (23) grabs the ball during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (23) dribbles during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns guard\/forward Dillon Brooks (3) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22)during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

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4 \/ 5<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams (15) goes for a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder center\/forward Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

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5 \/ 5<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns conclude homestand vs. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams (15) dunks the ball during the first half of the game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

Booker was looking to revisit history in his fifth 3-point contest, but came up just short against Lillard, a now three-time 3-point contest champion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019ll sit with me for some time,\u201d Booker said about the final rack.<\/p>\n

Lillard joined Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a great feat for him,\u201d said Booker about Lillard. \u201cDame is somebody I have a lot of respect for. It’s his third time winning it. Somebody I was teammates with in the Olympics. Going into it, I thought it was going to be (Charlotte Hornets rookie guard Kon Knueppel) or Dame or me, and it ended up being the final round. Some good shooting going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old Lillard has missed all season, working his way from an Achilles injury he suffered last season.<\/p>\n

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Booker said days before the contest that he felt Lillard would do well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s been shooting a lot of spot shots through his recovery,\u201d Booker said Feb. 10. \u201cI think it was really cool that they included him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lillard said a conversation with Michael Levine, the league\u2019s senior vice president of entertainment and player marketing, about vacations led to him competing in the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started off kind of a joke,\u201d Lillard said. \u201cI was talking to Levine about vacation, where I going and stuff like that, and I was like, \u2018If you all need somebody to shoot, I\u2019ll shoot, I\u2019m available to do it’ and we laughed about it, and he was like, \u2018It\u2019s full right now. If something opens up, I\u2019ll let you know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Something opened up.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Levine) was like, ‘you know, were you serious about that?’\u201d Lillard said.\u201cAnd I was like, ‘You know that I’m always serious. If there’s a spot, sign me up.\u2019 He was like, \u2018Are you serious?\u2019 I was like, yeah. Then he was like, \u2018Well, what about your plans?\u2019 I was like, \u2018It’s just a detour. I’m going to come in there, shoot and then carry on.\u2019 It was literally that simple. I said I would do it, and the next day I was in the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lillard and Booker finished 1-2 in the field, followed by Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel, who reached the finals. Knueppel scored 17 in the final round.<\/p>\n

\"Feb<\/p>\n

Feb 14, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) competes in the three point contest during the 2026 NBA All Star Saturday Night at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cKind of crapped the bed there in the second round,\u201d said Knueppel, who scored 27 in the first round, as did Lillard. \u201cIt’s a long sit. Went first, and then it was like 30 minutes sitting down. It was tough to get loose again. Yeah, it kind of stinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All-Star guards Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets) and Norman Powell (Miami Heat), along with Milwaukee Bucks big Bobby Portis Jr. rounded out the eight-man field.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I’m up early in the morning, warming up and shooting the ball,\u201d Lillard said. \u201cOff the dribble, catch and shoot, every style of shot you can shoot, I’m shooting them every day, 100s of them. I knew that this would not be an issue for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lillard previously won it in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t say I knew that I would win because you just never know, but I knew I would be able to be strong out there and have a chance to,\u201d he said. \u201cI came in confident. I’m fresh. I don’t have to go out there and play 40 minutes, 35 minutes. I think just having this year to be away, my mind and body is just fresh. So I came out there excited to do it, and that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Have opinions about the current state of the\u00a0Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at\u00a0dmrankin@gannett.com<\/a>\u00a0or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at\u00a0@DuaneRankin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support local journalism: Subscribe to\u00a0azcentral.com<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Devin Booker falls short to Damian Lillard in All-Star 3-point contest<\/a><\/p>\n