SAN FRANCISCO – As the seconds ticked off the clock and the bricks piled up, what had been roaring cheers from the hometown Chase Center crowd Saturday night quickly morphed into groans during the final round of the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge.

Draymond Green clanked all three of his chest passes, bricked one of his two 3-point attempts from the wing, missed each free-throw line jumper and only had time to whiff on a single triple from the corner before time expired and the Cavaliers duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley clinched the championship. 

It spoiled what had been a nearly-flawless showing by teammate Moses Moody, who completed six of his seven play-types on his first attempt. 

Players had to make a bounce pass, two chest passes, two kinds of 3-pointers, a free-throw line jumper and a layup.

“I feel so bad for Moses, because that was his first All-Star experience,” Green said before adding, “I might do it again next year.” 

The Moody and Green tandem blew through the first round with the top official time of 1:10, buoyed by Moody making the first 3-pointer attempted from the corner, needing only a couple of shots from the wing and nailing his midrange shot. 

“They know that’s my dog,” Moody said. “He’s going to show up when the lights is on, he’s going to show up when we need him to. I don’t need him in the Skills Challenge, I need him in the playoffs.“

Like Moody, Green excelled at the passing drills early on, but he struggled slightly with his shot, needing two attempts from the wing and free-throw line and missing all three attempts from the corner. 

San Antonio, with sophomore superstar Victor Wembanyama and former Warriors guard Chris Paul teaming up, drew voracious boos from the Chase Center crowd to lead off the night. 

Neither player feigned even the slightest effort in the shooting portions of the event, halfheartedly heaving the balls at the rim at breakneck speed. 

Those jeers turned to cheers when it was announced that Paul and Wembanayama were disqualified for lack of effort. 

“It was definitely cheating,” Mitchell said in between rounds. 

This wasn’t Draymond Green’s first rodeo in the unpredictable Skills Challenge. As a spry 25-year-old in 2016, Green lost to then-Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns in the first round. 

“I don’t even remember it, I don’t remember the format,” Green said. “It was like a blur.”

Almost a decade later, Green was back in the event. This time, he paired up with fourth-year teammate Moody. 

“I just really wanted to be a part of it,” Green said on Saturday morning. “I figured if I’m ever going to do it again, what better place than to do it at home.”

The Warriors defeated the rookie duo of Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr in the first round. Cleveland’s winning time was 1:00.3. 

In other events

Buddy Hield gave the Chase Center crowd something to cheer about after the disappointment of the Skills Challenge. The Warriors guard made the most three-pointers of the first round, ending with a score of 31. Second place Darius Garland had 24, and Oakland native Damian Lillard got 18 and did not advance to the second round.

Hield came up just one make shore of champion Tyler Herro. With the two-point moneyball rack saved until the final corner, the Oklahoma alum needed to make all of his shots. He made the first three, but missed the penultimate shot to give Miami’s Herro a 24-23 victory.

“I thought Buddy was going to run off the last five,” Herro said.