Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Pacers’ Robinson wins dunk contest
Gordon is 3-point big shot; Porzingis wins skills challenge
NEW ORLEANS — Glenn Robinson III is the NBA’s new dunk king, with an assist to Indiana teammate Paul George, the Pacers’ mascot and a Pacers cheerleader.
Robinson leaped over all three, snagging the ball from George along the way before finishing with an emphatic, two-hand, reverse jam, giving him a perfect score — and the title — on his final dunk.
“I know I’m a jumper. Like I said, I’m a guy that stays out of the way, but when it’s time to shine, that’s my thing,” Robinson said. “I knew all along I had some things planned and I just wanted to show the world.”
Robinson edged out Phoenix’s Derrick Jones Jr., who was done in by his failure to complete his difficult first dunk of two in the final round.
Jones still managed a perfect score on his second dunk, when he received a bounce-pass in the paint, put it between his legs and threw down a left-handed jam. But Robinson made sure it wasn’t enough.
In the 3-point contest, Houston’s Eric Gordon dethroned Golden State splash brother Klay Thompson. Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks won the Skills Challenge.
Both dunk finalists delighted the crowd with soaring slams over teammates and others that showcased the explosive spring in their vertical leaps.
“I thought I would go up against Derrick in the finals,” Robinson said. “I’ve seen the things that he can do. That guy can jump.”
Robinson’s first dunk was one of his best. He leap-frogged one man sitting on another’s shoulders, grabbed the ball from the elevated man’s hands and slammed it home. He said 2000 dunk champ Vince Carter was one of his primary influences, along with Michael Jordan, of course.
“Vince Carter did one of his best dunks first, and it kind of intimidated people. That’s what I wanted to go out and do,” Robinson said. “Who knows if it worked, but they missed some of their dunks and it gave me a little more room.”
Afterward, he couldn’t take his hands off of the trophy — a gold basketball.
“I know I’m not letting go of her right there,” he said. “She’s following me everywhere I go. It’s Mardi Gras. We’re going to have a good time.”
Jones jumped over four teammates, including Devin Booker and Marquese Chriss in the first round. The dunk that cost him was a bold one. He tried to leap a friend and the Suns’ gorilla mascot, grab the ball on the way over, put it between his legs and then finish with a windmill. But he couldn’t get the dunk to go down in his allotted three attempts.
Eric Gordon got his win in New Orleans, where he played the previous five seasons before leaving last summer as a free agent.
Gordon’s score of 21 in a final-round tiebreaker defeated Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, the 2013 winner who had 18.
Thompson was eliminated in the first round, missing a final shot from the corner.
Big men reigned supreme for a second straight year in the skills competition, with the 7-foot-3 Porzingis beating Utah’s Gordon Hayward in the final round.
“It’s a good feeling that I’m able to showcase my skill with my size and show to the kids that you’re capable of doing that even if you’re tall and lanky like me,” Porzingis said.
Porzingis and Hayward were neckand-neck until the end of the course, but Porzingis hit his 3 first to end it.
The three-round, head-to-head obstacle-course competition tests dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills.
HALL OF FAME
Former UNLV coach Rollie Massimino was one of 14 finalists unveiled for this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction class.
Massimino coached the Rebels from 1992 to 1994, going 36-21 in his two seasons after replacing Hall of Fame coach Jerry Tarkanian.
Massimino, now an 82-year-old cancer survivor who is still coaching at NAIA school Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Florida, is a finalist for the first time.
Also among the finalists are former Michigan and NBA star Chris Webber, Connecticut women’s star Rebecca Lobo, two-time NBA scoring king Tracy McGrady and fivetime All-Star Sidney Moncrief.
Inductees will be announced at the Final Four on April 3. Enshrinement ceremonies in Springfield, Massachusetts, are Sept. 7 to 9. Finalists need 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee to be enshrined.