Indiana Pacers guard Glenn Robinson III on Saturday night won the Slam Dunk title over Phoenix Suns forward Derrick Jones Jr by leaping over teammate Paul George, the Pacers mascot and a Pacers dance team member for a reverse slam that merited a perfect 50 in the final round.
In the final round of the crowd-pleasing event of the NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans, Robinson faced off against the Phoenix rookie, who advanced from four original competitors. The Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan and the Magic’s Aaron Gordon were eliminated in earlier rounds.
After Jones scored a 50 on his final dunk, giving him a two-dunk total of 87, Robinson needed only 44 points on his second dunk of the finals to win the title.
Photo: AP
He did it with flair. George set up near the basket, placing the ball behind his head. In front of George were the Pacers mascot and a member of the Pacers dance squad.
Robinson came in from the right wing, grabbed the ball, leaped over the three people, ducked his head from hitting the rim and completed a spectacular reverse slam. The perfect 50 gave him a two-dunk total of 94 in the finals.
“My head was at the rim,” Robinson said. “I’m an explosive player.”
Photo: AFP
THREE-POINT CONTEST
Earlier, Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon, the NBA’s leading three-point shooter this season, defeated Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving in the overtime round of the All-Star Three-Point Contest, scoring 21 points to Irving’s 18 in the extra period.
Gordon nailed several important jumpers, including a final shot in the second round to send the contest into overtime.
“It’s all about getting hot,” Gordon said. “All of us know, as shooters, anybody can get hot on any given night. Tonight was my night. As shooters, it’s all about being consistent.”
The Three-Point Contest went into overtime after Gordon and Irving scored 20 points each in the second round, eliminating the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker, who had 17.
The shocker in the first round was reigning champion Golden State guard Klay Thompson, who was knocked out after scoring just 18 points.
SKILLS CHALLENGE
New York Knicks 2.21m center Kristaps Porzingis won the Skills Challenge by defeating Utah Jazz 2.03m forward Gordon Hayward in the final. The Latvian won by nailing a three-pointer from the left side of the key on his first attempt.
“Before we started doing it, while I was doing the walkthrough, I knew that the pass and the shot on the three-pointer was the most important parts of that,” Porzingis said. “And I was able to make the pass on the first try all three times. And then in the final, that last shot just went in. So just a little bit of luck.”
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