Dirk Nowitzki barely escaped the first round. A few minutes later, he was finally the 3-point champion.

Nowitzki won the title Saturday night after coming close twice before, beating Gilbert Arenas and Ray Allen at All-Star weekend.

With Dallas teammate Jason Terry and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban looking on from the sideline, the 7-foot German finished with 18 points. Arenas had 16 points and Allen, the 2001 champion, had 15.

Nowitzki finished second in the 3-point contest in 2000 and third the next year. He got off to a quick start in the finals Saturday night, making eight of his first 10 shots and going 15-of-25 in the final round.

"That's kind of my game," Nowitzki said. "I'm going to shoot it first and everything else is second."