Spencer Dinwiddie Took Home The 2018 NBA All-Star Skills Challenge Title

Spencer Dinwiddie showed off a portion of what makes them such a fascinating basketball player on Saturday night, kicking off the NBA All-Star Saturday Night with a dominant performance in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Dinwiddie managed to take down Buddy Hield in the first round, Jamal Murray in the second round, and Lauri Markkanen in the finals in a matchup of big vs. small.

Here’s how things broke down by round.

Round 1

Joel Embiid def. Al Horford
Lauri Markkanen def. Andre Drummond

Embiid had an issues with his first attempt at the passing station, but came from behind to take down Horford, who struggled to hit a three. Markkanen, meanwhile, was flawless, throwing a perfect pass on the passing station and drilling his first attempt from downtown.

Spencer Dinwiddie def. Buddy Hield
Jamal Murray def. Lou Williams

Dinwiddie had to come from behind to take down Hield, stepping up to the three point line and drilling his first attempt. As for Williams, he couldn’t connect on the passing station, giving Denver’s talented guard a lead he would not relinquish, even though Williams made it interesting at the end.

Round 2

Lauri Markkanen def. Joel Embiid
Spencer Dinwiddie def. Jamal Murray

Embiid and Markkanen were neck-and-neck throughout thanks to an attempt to cheat on the pass by Embiid, but the Bulls’ rookie still held a slight advantage getting to the three-point shot a second before Embiid and by drilling his first attempt he knocked out Embiid. Dinwiddie struggled a bit with the pass, falling behind Murray, but after Murray missed his first three-point attempt, Dinwiddie made a running three to earn the comeback victory and advance to the final round against Markkanen.

Finals

Spencer Dinwiddie def. Lauri Markkanen

Dinwiddie coasted to a win over Markkanen by flying through the pylons and hitting the pass on the first try while Markkanen had to go back on the pass. It took two three-point attempts, but Markkanen never even got a shot off to challenge him.