Second chance points tell tale
HOUSTON — If at first you don’t succeed, then you would fit right in at the NBA’s dunk contest.
The first two rounds of the competition Saturday night at Toyota Center involved more do-overs than actual dunks.
New York’s James White missed five attempts in the allotted 90 seconds in the second round. Given another untimed attempt, he missed that one too.
“I’m glad everybody trytried again,” said Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe, who missed four attempts in the first round before simplifying his approach and making a spinning dunk after touching the ball against the backboard. “It happens.”
Toronto’s Terrence Ross missed his first six attempts in the first round before recovering to win the event in fan voting via tweets and texts.
Wearing a Vince Carter jersey as a tribute to the former Raptors dunk champion, Ross took a pass off the side of the backboard for a reverse 360-degree dunk in the final round. Ross also jumped over a ball boy in his last attempt, shifting the ball between his legs and dunking with one hand.
“When I first grabbed him he said, ‘You’re not going to hit me, right?’ ” Ross recalled.
Given the way things were going, there were no guarantees.
Defending champion Jeremy Evans was runnerup after making a left-handed windmill dunk over an easel cloaked in black cloth. He removed the cloth and signed a painting of himself
executing the same move.
Players vote Hunter out as union chief
Billy Hunter was ousted as executive director of the union in a unanimous vote by players who said they will “no longer be divided, misled, misinformed.”
“This is our union and we have taken it back,” said
Derek Fisher, president of the players association.
In brief remarks, Fisher said that a new executive committee had been elected and he will remain as president. San Antonio’s Matt Bon
ner is vice president, Miami’s James Jones is secretary-treasurer and Brooklyn’s Jerry Stackhouse the first vice president. The Clippers’ Chris Paul, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, New Orleans’ Roger Mason Jr. and the Clippers’ Willie
Green are vice presidents.
Preliminary competitions
After making 17 of his first 18 shots in the final round, Cleveland guard Kyrie Ir
ving edged the Spurs’ Bonner, 23-20, to win the threepoint competition. Portland’s Damian Lil
lard won the skills competition, an obstacle course in which players race to make a chest pass, bounce pass, top-of-the-key shot and dribble around imaginary defenders.
The team of Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash won the Shooting Stars contest, in which players try to make shots from various spots on the court as quickly as possible.
All-Star memories
Commissioner David
Stern, presiding over his 37th and final All-Star game before his retirement next February, said his favorite memory at the league’s mid- season showcase was presenting former Lakers great
Magic Johnson the mostvaluable-player trophy in 1992 in Orlando, Fla., only months after Johnson had been diagnosed with HIV.
“Giving sweaty Magic Johnson a big hug right after he hit the last three and still being able to hug him, because he’s alive every time I see him,” Stern said. “That is at the top of my list.”
See you in Seattle?
Stern said it was “plausible” that Sacramento could make an offer compelling enough to keep the Kings from relocating to Seattle under the proposed ownership group led by hedgefund manager Chris Han
sen. “I expect that the owners have a very open mind on this,” Stern said.