Utah Guard Deron Williams Captures Skills Challenge in All-Star Weekend
By Lori Ewing, THE CANADIAN PRESS
NEW ORLEANS – Toronto Raptors sharp-shooter Jason Kapono continues to rule from three-point range.
Kapono captured the three-point shootout on an entertaining NBA All-Star Saturday Night in a repeat performance of last season, scoring 25 points in the final to tie Craig Hodges’ all-time single-round record, set in 1986.
“It was a good competition,” Kapono said. “Obviously I knew coming in the field was going to be stiff. Thank goodness for Kevy (Raptors equipment manager Kevin DiPietro). He built me five racks (to practise) and I felt pretty good out there.”
Kapono, whose 50.1 per cent shooting from three-point range leads the league, missed his first two shots in the final, but then with the crowd at New Orleans Arena on its feet and the music blaring, the Raptor calmly poured in 10 in a row. He had already clinched the title before he even started on the final rack of five.
After draining the final shot – one of five money balls he made – Raptors teammate Chris Bosh grabbed Kapono in a huge embrace, while the Raptor mascot danced behind the players’ bench.
“(Bosh) was on the sideline telling me to shoot it,” Kapono said. “That’s what he always tells me. It was good because a few of the other guys were over there trash-talking me. So it’s always good to have one guy sitting on the sideline keeping you focused.”
Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson was second with 17 points, while 2006 champion Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks scored 14 in the three-player final.
To cap one of the most entertaining Saturday night shows in recent memory, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic won the slam dunk contest in spectacular fashion, beating Minnesota’s Gerald Green in the final. Raptors rookie Jamario Moon was eliminated in the first round.
Howard wowed the crowd with a variety of imaginative dunks, scoring a perfect 100 in the two-dunk final. In perhaps his best, he tugged off his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt and then tied on a cape. He caught a long pass and took off from just inside the free throw line, soaring to the net.
“Before the dunk contest we all decided that we’re going to try to add as much flair and glare and personality as we could into the dunk contest this year,” Howard said. “We first got out there and the fans were kind of iffy, they didn’t really cheer. We just tried to do something to hype them up and loosen them up.
“I think the dunk contest is back.”
In Green’s most creative dunk, he placed a cupcake with a lit candle on top of the rim. Replays showed the T’Wolves forward blowing out the candle as he dunked the ball.
Moon, who was the first Raptor to participate in the dunk contest since Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady took part in 2000, had a decent first dunk, a one-handed 360 off his own bounce pass. On his second dunk, he taped off a mark two feet outside the free-throw line. Kapono tossed him the ball, but he ended up taking off from at least a foot from inside his marker.
“I’ve been happy since the day they invited me to be in it, I was just happy to be a part of it,” Moon said after.
“It was great, it was fun, Dwight was well-deserving of that trophy. That boy’s a clown, man,” he added. “He’s a kid at heart.”
Kapono, meanwhile, collected US$35,000 for the win.
The first-year Raptor, who earned the title last season when he was with the Miami Heat, said the key was getting off to a decent start.
“It’s so weird because you’re sitting out and you’re cold and you have to come in there and catch fire quickly,” Kapono said.
Asked if he would keep his trophy in the Raptors locker-room he replied: “I think it’s going to upset a few guys. Because we’ve got a very talented team that can shoot threes, so I don’t want to always have them staring at my trophy and stuff, because it might screw them up a little bit.”
Kapono scored 20 points in the first round to easily beat the rest of the field.
Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash of Victoria struggled to a score of nine points in the opening round, while two-time champ Peja Stojakovic of the New Orleans Hornets (15) and Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton (14) were also eliminated.
Deron Williams captured the skills challenge, speeding to a record time of 25.5 seconds through the course that tests dribbling, passing and shooting.
Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets was second in 31.2 in the two-player final, to the dismay of the hometown crowd.
Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets and Miami’s Dwyane Wade were eliminated in the opening round.
Williams pocketed $35,000 for the win.
“I was nervous coming into the competition because all three of the guys had done the event before,” Williams said afterwards. “And I had to go first too. So that put a little bit of pressure on me. The second round I didn’t make any mistakes, and that’s ultimately why I won.”
San Antonio captured the shooting stars contest, which pits teams of three – a current NBA player, an NBA veteran and a WNBA player – against each in a timed shooting drill. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon had a time of 35.8 seconds to beat Chicago in the final. The Chicago team had Chris Duhon, B.J. Armstrong and Candice Dupree.
Team Phoenix and Team Detroit were both knocked out in the preliminary round.
Canadian recording artist Lamont Hiebert sang O Canada to kick off the evening’s festivities, while jazz musician Christian Scott performed the U.S. anthem.
The one negative on the night was the crowd. The Saturday night events usually draw sellout crowds and numerous celebrities, but significant sections of the New Orleans Arena were empty.
Comedian Chris Tucker, actress Alyssa Milano, movie producer Spike Lee and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were among the celebrities in attendance.