Pacers’ Robinson III wins slam dunk contest
Glenn Robinson III of the Indiana Pacers is the All-Star slam dunk champion.
Robinson beat Derrick Jones Jr. of the Phoenix Suns in the final round. Robinson clinched the win with a perfect 50 on the final dunk of the night — going over three people for a reverse dunk and nearly touching his head on the rim in the process.
Robinson and Jones embraced when it was over, and Robinson went over to shake hands with judges.
“This is just the beginning for me,” Robinson said.
Robinson started with a dunk where he leaped over Indiana teammate Paul George, grabbing the ball from the All-Star before his slam that merited 44 points.
DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic were eliminated in the first round.
3-point contest
Houston’s Eric Gordon dethroned Golden State splash brother Klay Thompson as the NBA AllStar 3-point champion. Gordon’s score of 21 in a final round defeated Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, the 2013 winner who had 18. The two each finished with a score of 20 in the final round, meaning they each had to shoot 25 more balls to decide it.
Skills contest
New York Knicks 7-foot3 forward Kristaps Prozingis won the skills competition, beating Utah’s Gordon Hayward in the final. Those vanquished in earlier rounds included guards John Wall of Washington and Isaiah Thomas of Boston, both because they couldn’t make their initial 3-pointers required to close out the course before Hayward did. The three-round, obstaclecourse competition tests dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills.
Hall of Fame
Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to the 1985 NCAA championship, and Chris Webber are among the 14 finalists for this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction class. Others include NBA referee Hugh Evans, Connecticut star Rebecca Lobo, two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady, five-time All-Star Sidney Moncrief, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, Kansas coach Bill Self and two-time NBA champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich. Enshrinees will be announced April 3 at the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.