Suns guard Chris Paul comes up just short in NBA Skills Competition
Mar 7, 2021, 5:16 PM | Updated: Mar 8, 2021, 7:55 am
Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns competes in the 2021 NBA All-Star - Taco Bell Skills Challenge during All-Star Sunday Night at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Chris Paul came up just short in the NBA Skills Competition, his fifth attempt to win the contest.
A familiar foe haunted Paul in the semifinals, the layup.
Nikola Vucevic with the upset over Chris Paul. 💪
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 8, 2021
While he quickly raced through the dribbling and passing portion of the contest, Paul squandered his lead over Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic by missing his first layup attempt.
That mistake allowed Vucevic to catch up to Paul and hit the final three point shot before the Suns guard, knocking him out in the semifinal round.
In the 2011 Skills Challenge, Paul missed the layup portion of the event, which was the first skill of the competition back then.
Paul and All-Star starter Luka Doncic both received byes in the six-person in this year’s version.
Vucevic beat Robert Covington of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round to earn a spot against Paul.
Doncic lost to Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals after Sabonis beat Julius Randle of the New York Knicks in the first round.
Sabonis went on to win the competition over Vucevic in the finals after finishing runner-up last year.
