Who won the NBA HORSE competition? NBA stars Mike Conley, Zach LaVine in intense showdown

The NBA HORSE challenge concluded on Thursday night (Friday IST) bringing a close to some exhilarating action of hoops to an end. The final was played between Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley Jr. and Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine. Eventually, Mike Conley Jr. came out on top beating LaVine.

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Who won the NBA HORSE Competition? Rules & Prize

The NBA HORSE Challenge was introduced by the league in association with ESPN to provide some entertainment to the fans during the coronavirus pandemic. After the success of the NBA 2K tournament, the NBA HORSE challenge was brought back after a 10-year hiatus. The rules remained the same, where a player would try to make audacious shots that an opponent would be unable to replicate. The first to collect the letters 'H-O-R-S-E' would be eliminated. The prize pool of $200,000 will reportedly be donated for coronavirus relief.

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NBA HORSE Tournament bracket

A host of current and former NBA stars like Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade and Donovan Mitchell were all reported to be interested in participating in the entertaining challenge. Finally, the eight-man bracket was released by NBA which has Hawks star Trae Young facing former Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, Mike Conley facing former WNBA star Tamika Catchings, Zach LaVine going up against former Celtics star Paul Pierce and OKC Thunder's Chris Paul vs Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley.

The quarterfinals saw Allie Quigley, Zach LaVine, Mike Conley and Chauncey Billups win their respective match-ups and moving into the semifinals. The semifinals saw Conley beat Billups and LaVine trump Quigley to move up for the final showdown.

Who won the NBA HORSE Competition? Mike Conley beats LaVine 

Jazz point guard Mike Conley Jr. eventually beat Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine in a comfortable match-up. Participating from an indoor court, Conley pulled off some great shots which LaVine failed to replicate, eventually falling to a defeat. Zach LaVine could only manage to get two letters on Conley before saddling himself with H-O-R-S-E. 

Speaking to ESPN after the win, Conley said, "It was a fun environment to be a part of. This gave us all something to do at a time we’re all sitting around the house.” Meanwhile, LaVine was also all praise for Conley after his finals loss. "You deserve that championship, I’ll let you know that,” LaVine said after the final. “I did everything I could. I got a real tough opponent in the championship game, and he had some tricks I hadn’t seen before."

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Who won the NBA HORSE Competition? Best shots from the tournament

With the tournament officially concluded, here are some of the best shots from the HORSE challenge:

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