Indiana's Fred Jones won the NBA dunk contest practically by default, dethroning two-time champion Jason Richardson when both missed their final jams.
Jones made two impressive dunks earlier in the contest Saturday, including a cool one-handed reverse after throwing a bounce pass to himself from the 3-point line. But two misses on his clever final attempt -- on a pass from a friend in the stands -- should have made it easy for Golden State's Richardson to become the contest's first three-time champion.
But Richardson also missed his final dunk, handing the title to Jones.
PHOTO: AP
"It was an honor to be out here, because Jason Richardson is one of the greatest dunkers ever," Jones said. "I was just trying to be creative and do something different."
Boston's Ricky Davis and Denver's Chris Andersen were eliminated in the first round. Davis made only one dunk, and Andersen got more cheers for his elaborately spiked hair than his jams.
Jones is a longtime fan of the dunk contest who admired Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins before he was tall enough to slam. He was ready for his first crack at the contest: He got a 50 for his first dunk -- a long bounce pass finished off with a hard slam -- and another 50 on his one-handed reverse in the finals.
PHOTO: AP
And in the second round, he brought the crowd to its feet with a leaning, one-handed reverse following a similar pass. Jones rattled the champ, who needed three false starts before making a lackluster 360-degree slam.
Jones needed only a 46 to win, but he went for a difficult original dunk. He passed the ball into the stands to a friend, who threw a high-arching bounce pass toward the basket.
It was a beautiful, unique idea for a slam -- except Jones missed it twice, fumbling good passes. Jones shook his head, while his friends howled their disapproval.
It was the 20th anniversary of the NBA's revival of the contest, which was a cult favorite in the ABA in the 1970s. Phoenix's Larry Nance won the first contest in 1984.
A panel of Lakers greats judged the contest: Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. The crowd didn't care much for their idols' judgments, booing several scores.
Denver's Chris Andersen was eliminated in the first round despite an impressive two-handed slam following a pass off the backboard. He was the tallest dunker in the competition, and the Nuggets' utility player drew the attention of Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson with his heavy gel and spiked hair.
Three-point shooting
Denver's Voshon Lenard denied Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic from a third consecutive victory in the NBA All-Star 3-point shooting contest Saturday night.
Lenard edged Stojakovic 18-16 in the final round.
The Denver Nuggets guard hit all five red, white and blue money balls (worth two points) in the one-minute final. Stojakovic needed to hit the last money ball to force a tie, but it bounced off the rim as the clock expired.
Philadelphia forward Kyle Korver also made the three-man finals. He scored 15 points after hitting all five shots from the left corner. He missed all five attempts at another of the five shooting stations.
Lenard earned US$25,000. Stojakovic received US$15,000.
Players had a minute to shoot as many balls as they could from five spots around the 3-point line. The four orange balls at each station were worth one point.
skills challenge
Baron Davis, the New Orleans Hornets' star who used to wow the crowd across town at Pauley Pavilion, was a winner at Staples Center on Saturday night -- in the NBA All-Stars skills challenge.
The team of Magic Johnson, Derek Fisher and Lisa Leslie won the Shooting Stars contest.
Davis, a former UCLA standout, defeated Stephon Marbury, Earl Boykins and Fisher in the timed test of passing, dribbling and shooting.
Davis finished the course in 28.7 seconds in the first round, then wrapped up the win with a time of 31.6 in the second.
Fisher, filling in for Lakers teammate Gary Payton, had a time of 31.6 in the first round, but a missed jump shot cost him in the second and he was clocked in 37.6.
Johnson, Fisher and Leslie each won US$10,000, with the second-place Spurs getting US$7,500 each.
Davis got US$25,000 for winning the skills contest, and Fisher received US$15,000 to run his total for the evening to US$25,000.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS