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All-Star History

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The Bridge: All-Star EP

Tom Dowd

There were superstars and photo shoots, media circuits and community events, trophies and national television shouts-outs; but for the Brooklyn Nets players at NBA All-Star Weekend, the best part of it all was ... the guys they already see every day?

The Nets were five strong in Charlotte, with Joe Harris in the 3-Point Contest, Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs in the Rising Stars game, and D'Angelo Russell making his All-Star Game debut. Spencer Dinwiddie didn't get the opportunity to defend his Skills Competition title because of thumb surgery, but he made the trip and joined the TNT broadcast crew during the event.

"It was fun just being down there with the number of people that we had in Charlotte," said Harris. "Spencer would have been the fifth guy had he been in the Skills Competition, then we had the rest of the staff, the Nets PR team, a lot of other familiar faces. So it was a fun weekend."

"D'Angelo, I said, 'Well, who impressed you?' I thought he was going to say LeBron," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. "He goes, 'It was just cool, hanging around, being around our guys, being there with my teammates.' I think that was neat. I thought he was going to mention a guy from another team. I thought that was cool."

Atkinson didn't make the trip, but he did his best not to miss anything either. With the Nets involved in all three nights of action, he tuned in in a way he normally doesn't, beginning with Allen and Kurucs on Friday night.

"Every time those guys touch the ball, you're like, man, there goes another Net," said Atkinson. "It was great. And then D'Lo too, the whole thing. We watched all of it intently, where most of the time during the All-Star Game, check in, check out, get a snack. It was like, man, I've got to watch all this."

In Saturday night's 3-Point Contest, Harris stole the show in outshooting a star-studded field to take home the trophy.

Harris may have been unheralded going into an event that featured past champions, current All-Stars and hometown favorites — Steph Curry managed to check off all three of those boxes — but he shouldn't have been a surprise. He went to Charlotte as the NBA's No. 2 3-point shooter this season at 47.1 percent.

That's a continuation of a big finish from last season, when Harris elevated his shooting after New Year's. Since Jan. 1, 2018, Harris is shooting 46.9 percent from 3-point range over 98 games, more than a full season.

For good measure, he'd even made 11 of his last 13 in game action against Toronto and Cleveland before departing for Charlotte.

"I was hot going in, but I don't think that shooting off the rack, I don't think that there's really any sort of correlation to be honest," said Harris. "I was even talking to Danny Green about it. Me and him are both jump shooters, so we changed up a little bit, shooting more of a set shot just so you could get through it quick enough, because if you jump on every single one, you're just going to get to the last rack and be a little bit crunched for time. I guess in some regards you do have to change it up a little bit. But you're not shooting the same way that you do in a game. I'm coming off screens most of the time, shooting some spot-up shots, but I'm not just standing still and reaching to my right side to shoot."

Harris squeezed in one practice session off the rack with assistant coach Jordan Ott a week earlier in Brooklyn, then got in another at UNC-Charlotte, where his former Virginia assistant coach Ron Sanchez is the head coach. Harris even promised the 49ers he'd send them the trophy if he won, and followed up, though he figures the Nets are going to want to see it back in Brooklyn eventually.

To take home the title, Harris swept the money ball rack that he left for last in each round, even making his last eight shots in the first round to get the crowd going. That put him in the finals with Curry and Sacramento's Buddy Hield.

After Harris shot his 26 in the final round, Curry went last and opened up by making his first nine. But he got to the final money ball rack needing to make all five to tie Harris, and missed on No. 3.

"To be honest, I was just feeling like even that I had made it to the championship round, I was feeling good that I was at that point to be honest, and whatever happened, happened," said Harris. "If he had made every single shot I wouldn't have been surprised. He ended up cooling off a little bit, but he started off hot and I was kind of thinking that he wasn't going to miss."

Harris was pretty even-keeled before, during and after the event. Back home in Brooklyn, somebody else was a little more excited.

"I was on the couch with my wife and two kids," said Atkinson. "We jumped up and down. I get emotional about these things, man. I didn't cry, but I was overly, you get that tingly feeling. I just love how he walked off. He wasn't (Larry) Bird, he didn't put the finger up, he just kind of, I don't know if he was in a state of shock, but awesome, it was awesome."

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Brooklyn Nets Brought a Team Vibe to All-Star Weekend

Brooklyn Nets

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All-Star Weekend Off-Court Photos

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D’Angelo Russell’s All-Star Debut

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Gallery: 2019 NBA All Star Game

The Brooklyn Nets left their mark on 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend, turning the NBA's in-season celebration into an emphatic return to the national stage.

No NBA team sent more players to Charlotte than the Nets' four-man contingent: D'Angelo Russell for the All-Star Game, Joe Harris for the 3-Point Contest and Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs in the Rising Stars game. Spencer Dinwiddie, denied the chance to defend his Skills Competition title due to thumb surgery, made the trip as well and he helped his teammates get the word out about the Brooklyn revival by making the media rounds on Thursday.

Dinwiddie and Allen appeared on ESPN's The Jump with Rachel Nichols and Scottie Pippen, then Harris joined the pair for an interview on Sirius NBA Radio. There was plenty more to come.

Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs all took part in the NBA's community service events during the afternoon, and then Allen and Kurucs got their turn on the court Friday night.

Allen and Team USA came away with a 161-144 win with Allen registering two blocks, including a denial at the rim of Philadelphia All-Star -- and former D'Angelo Russell high school teammate -- Ben Simmons. The second-year center also grabbed five rebounds in 14 minutes.

The surprise rookie Kurucs played for Team World and scored 10 points with five assists and four rebounds.

Spencer Dinwiddie helped tip off All-Star Saturday night, joining Reggie Miller, Chris Webber and Kevin Harlan to broadcast the Skills Competition. As the winner of last year's competition, Dinwiddie was in line to return and defend his title until thumb surgery sidelined him a few weeks ago.

He gave the trio a quick breakdown of the event experience before getting started.

"The first chest pass is important, just because you can get down on yourself a little bit, you'll lose a little bit of time," said Dinwiddie. "But the place where I won the challenge was the shot, because I was behind in my first couple and came down and hit the shot the first time, whereas the other guys missed."

It was Dinwiddie who urged players to heave that 3-pointer from halfcourt if they were trailing, and that's how Boston's Jayson Tatum won the event over Atlanta's Trae Young, with a 45-foot straight on bank shot.

Considering he didn't have the opportunity to defend his title, Dinwiddie left the stage with a challenge to Tatum to face off in next year's event. And with that, it was Joe Harris' turn.

With D'Angelo Russell cheering him on from courtside, Harris stole the spotlight with a clutch performance. In the opening round, more than half of Harris' point total of 25 came from knocking down the final eight of his 25 shots, including six money balls and the entire final rack.

That was enough for him to edge Danny Green and defending champion Devin Booker for the final spot in the finals with Steph Curry and Buddy Hield. Just as he did the opening round, Harris went first and maxed out the money ball rack on his final five shots, doing himself one better with a total of 26 points.

Hield never challenged that, leaving it all up to Steph Curry. The two-time MVP went into the final rack needing to equal Harris' feat of draining all five money balls, but he missed on No. 3 and the trophy went to Harris.

The Nets are not lacking for feel-good stories and young players with promising futures. In earning his first All-Star Game selection, D'Angelo Russell a week shy of his 23rd birthday, D'Angelo Russell stepped into the spotlight as a symbol of the Brooklyn revival.

Russell is the 15th Net to be named to the All-Star Game, but the first since Joe Johnson in 2014. He made his All-Star debut in the final minute of the first quarter.

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Russell knocked down two 3-pointers and assisted on Steph Curry's four-point play to help Team Giannis moved back into the lead after Team LeBron's big third-quarter run.

Russell finished up his first All-Star Game with six points and three assists in 12 minutes, though Team Giannis came up on the short end of a 178-164 final.

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Brooklyn Nets: All-Star Weekend Wrapup

Joe Harris was the first man up and the last man standing.

Making his 3-Point Contest debut against a star-studded field, Harris walked away with the trophy after a clutch shooting performance in which he drained all five shots from his money ball rack to close out each round.

"Just fortunate to be here," said Harris after the win. "We were talking about it coming in, obviously the field was stacked. You've got some of the best shooters of all time in Dirk and Steph. Great shooters in their own regard. Just honored to be here, honored to compete with everybody."

Harris was facing a heavyweight field in the 10-man competition. Three of the four active players currently ahead of him on the career 3-point shooting list -- Seth Curry, Steph Curry and Buddy Hield -- were in the field, plus former champs Dirk Nowitzki and Devin Booker and hometown favorite Kemba Walker.

Players can place their money ball rack in any of their five shooting positions, and Harris left his for last -- then he made it count.

In the opening round, Harris opened the contest and knocked down his last eight shots to earn his spot in the finals with Steph Curry (27) and Hield (26). Harris edged out Danny Green and Devin Booker, each with 23, for the third spot in the finals.

The finals followed a similar arc. Again, Harris opened and again, Harris swept the money ball rack on his last five shots to finish with 26. Hield was up next, but didn't threaten Harris in scoring 19.

That brought up Curry, the two-time MVP who is fifth in career 3-point shooting (.4371), just a thread behind former Net Drazen Petrovic (.4374) and is shooting 44.4 percent on 531 3-point attempts this season.

Harris sat back and watched Curry make his first nine and then go to the money ball rack with the same 16 points that Harris did. Curry needed to make all five to tie, but when money ball No. 3 rattled off the rim, it clinched the title for Harris, with Curry finishing with 24.

Harris gave the Nets their second All-Star Saturday Night champion in two years, following Spencer Dinwiddie's Skills Competition win last season.

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