Heat's Jones wins Three-Point contest scoring 20

Xinhua, February 20, 2011

?Miami Heat's James Jones scored 20 points to win the NBA All-Star Three-Point contest ahead of Celtics' Paul Pierce at the Staples Center on Saturday.

Jones registered 15 points in the first round, ranked second behind the Celtics' Ray Allen, who marked 20 points along with Pierce's 12 points.

Pierce started first in the second round to have 18 points, but Jones improved his accuracy either, nailing four of his last five shots, but missing the all-important "money ball" on the final rack.

But it didn't matter. Ray Allen flamed out down the stretch, missing most of his shots and finished last in the final round.

Allen had the highest score of the preliminary round by burying all five shots from the middle position on the floor.

Pierce, an Inglewood native in California, was booed by the pro-Los Angeles Lakers crowd at the Staples Center. He somehow managed to stave off elimination by draining the last three balls to finish with 12 points

Golden State Warriors' Dorell Wright finished fourth with 11 points. Daniel Gibson of the Cleveland Cavaliers bricked his first nine shots and finished with a preliminary round score of seven.

Kevin Durant proved a less competitive three-pointer as he finished last with six points.