LOS ANGELES -- The Haier Shooting Stars competition at All-Star Saturday Night always seems to come down to the half-court shot. And perhaps the real winner this year was the law of averages.

Defending champion Team Texas had the competition's best first-round time, 31.8 seconds, because TNT analyst and former Rocket Kenny Smith hit the team's first half-court shot. But in the final round, Texas didn't hit any of its 18 attempts from half-court before the 1:20 time limit was reached.

That gave Team Atlanta, which had a final-round time of 1:10 while making the half-court shot on its 18th attempt, its first Shooting Stars title in the 10-year history of the competition.

Atlanta looked like it was going to go home with second place, especially when Texas, led by Mavs All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, took just five attempts to make the first four shots of its round. But sometimes you win because the other team fails.

In the end, the Hawks' Al Horford was the hero for Atlanta. He hit the half-court shot on his team's 18th attempt in the final round after hitting it on his team's sixth try in the first round. Horford was joined by Atlanta Dream guard Coco Miller, who hit three of her four shots on the first try, and former Hawk (and NBA TV analyst) Steve Smith, who shot 2-for-5 from the top of the key.

Team Los Angeles (55.8 seconds) and Team Chicago (1:06) were each eliminated in the first round because they struggled with the half-court shot. L.A. took nine attempts to make it, while Chicago took 16 attempts. Each of their times would have won in the final round.

Texas' Roneeka Hodges of the San Antonio Silver Stars may have been the best shooter of the night. She hit four of her five shots from the right wing and right corner. But as always, how well a player soots from the first five spots on the floor doesn't matter much.

It always comes down to the half-court shot.