KD finishes second in 3-point contest, Westbrook fifth in Skills

ORLANDO — Kevin Durant definitely redeemed himself.

So he didn’t win the 3-point contest, but compared to his seven-point, 5-25 performance last year in Los Angeles, Durant certainly bounced back. He finished second to Kevin Love in a shoot-off after the two tied with 16 in the final round.

Durant didn’t see it that way though. He wasn’t happy with the outcome.

“Nah I’m not man. Because I had an opportunity to win,” he said. “I can’t do it three years in a row so maybe sometime down the line I’ll have another chance.”

KD was cooking in the first, scoring 20. He hit 16 and then in the shoot-off, had just 14. He started hot but slowed down at the end. Entering the last rack, he needed to hit all five. He only hit two. Still a quality effort from Durant.

Russell Westbrook finished fifth in the Skills Challenge  thing with a time of 33.8. I was actually pretty surprised Westbrook did not go for a massive dunk on his last finish, and promptly doink it. Which would been so very Russ to do.