Malik Beasley and Pat Connaughton allege Damian Lillard missed his first four shots on the last rack on purpose

As Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard headed to his final rack in the finals of the 2024 All-Star Three-Point Shootout, he was tied with Atlanta Hawks stud Trae Young with 24 points, and things looked bright for the veteran sharpshooter as it meant he had five chances at breaking the tie.

However, as he stepped up to the rack, something strange happened. Lillard, known for his clutch shooting during crunch time and had earned the moniker ‘Dame Time,’ missed his first shots on that last rack. Fortunately for Lillard, he swished the last one to win the crown, becoming the first repeat winner since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008.

Malik has a theory

Bucks guard Malik Beasley, who bowed out of the first round with only 20 points, had a wild take about Lillard’s “struggle” in the final round. According to Beasley, Lillard had purposely missed his first shots to create a dramatic finish and increase the excitement for the fans.

“He definitely missed those first four on purpose, man, that’s what I think,” Beasley said.

“He wanted to show and prove that he can do ‘Dame Time’ at any given time.”

Bucks forward Pat Connaughton echoed Beasley’s sentiment, posting this on X, formerly Twitter.

Dame didn’t know what his score was

Lillard narrated that as he made it to the final rack, he had no clue what his score was but had an inkling of how the crowd reacted to his subsequent attempts.

“When I got to the final rack, I didn’t know my exact score,” Lillard said.

“But when I missed a couple, I heard the crowd just oohing and aahing, and once they kept doing it over and over, I knew I was still alive. Because I knew they would have stopped if it would have been over for me, and then the last two balls, I kind of looked up and I missed again. And then I grabbed the next one because I knew I needed that one to win it.”

Related: Damian Lillard powers East over West, wins MVP honors in 2024 All-Star Game