Bulls' LaVine returns to 3-point contest; Dosunmu out with concussion
Zach LaVine will return to the 3-point contest during All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, the NBA announced.
LaVine is in the contest for the third straight year. In 2020 at the United Center, he scored 22 points in the first round and fell 1 point shy of advancing to the Finals. Last year in Atlanta, he also scored 22 and missed the finals by 3 points.
Earlier in his career, LaVine won the slam dunk contest twice while playing for Minnesota.
The other 3-point contest participants are LaVine's former Timberwolves teammate Karl Anthony Towns, Rockford native Fred VanVleet from Toronto, Atlanta's Trae Young, Memphis' Desmond Bane, Brooklyn's Patty Mills, the Clippers' Luke Kennard, and C.J. McCollum, who was traded from Portland to New Orleans on Tuesday.
The slam dunk contest participants were confirmed to be Orlando's Cole Anthony, New York's Obi Toppin, Houston rookie Jalen Green and Golden State's Juan Toscano-Anderson.
Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. won the dunk contest two years ago in Chicago when he played for Miami. He's currently sidelined with a broken finger.
The NBA announced a team format for the skills contest. One team features the three Antetokounmpo brothers - Giannis, Thanasis and Alex. Another team includes three players from the host Cavaliers - Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. The third team is rookies Cade Cunningham (Detroit), Scottie Barnes (Toronto) and Josh Giddey (OKC).
Dosunmu out:
Bulls rookie Ayo Dosunmu is listed as out for Wednesday's game in Charlotte due to a concussion. The injury most likely happened during a collision with teammate Matt Thomas while the two dove for a loose ball in the second half of Monday's loss to Phoenix.
Of course, the Bulls were already missing starting point guard Lonzo Ball, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports