Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr celebrated his 23rd birthday by winning the All-Star slam dunk contest, edging Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon in a memorable showdown that required two tiebreaker jams.
Jones and Gordon each got a perfect 50 on their two dunks in the final, then they got two more perfect scores on their first jam in the dunk-off.
Jones then took off from just inside the foul line and threw down a windmill jam with his left hand, drawing a 48 from the panel of five judges.
Photo: AP
After a short discussion with Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, Gordon brought out 2.26m-tall Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall and positioned him near the basket. He then took the ball from Fall’s hands on his way to a thunderous dunk.
The United Center gasped as the courtside NBA stars celebrated, but Gordon was awarded a 47, giving the victory to Jones.
Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield made a late surge to win the three-point contest.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Hield nailed a two-point money ball from the corner to finish with 27 points, edging Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker by one in the final round.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo won the All-Star skills challenge, narrowly defeating the Indiana Pacer’s Domantas Sabonis in the final.
The NBA has renamed its All-Star most valuable player award in honor of Kobe Bryant.
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