Chicago natives enjoy hometown All-star Game

CHICAGO — Anthony Davis drove by the church down the street from his old high school on Saturday night. That’s where his team sometimes worked out because they didn’t have a gym.

Earlier in the week, he’d made a visit to Perspectives Charter School, and participated in several community events around the city, celebrating the NBA All-star Game in his hometown.

“Glad to be back home, spend time with my family, my friends,” the Los Angeles Lakers forward said. “It’s going to be a great weekend. It’s been very exciting to be back and get a chance to relive some of them high school memories that I had here.”

Clippers guard Patrick Beverley also got a chance to stop by his old haunts. He said he was excited to see his old friends and his high school (Marshall Metropolitan).

“I pinch myself sometimes,” said Beverley, who participated in the skills contest and lost in the first round.

Contest winners

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield won the three-point contest Saturday, narrowly defeating Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker in the final round. Booker scored 26 points in the final.

Hield caught him by making three of four shots, to reach 25 points, and releasing the final one, a ball worth two points, at the buzzer.

“Book said he’s been in it before, and said he already got (a title), and that gave me motivation to get one,” Hield said. “He said coming back every time brings more pressure. As a shooter, you want to win one. Every shooter wants to win one.”

Booker isn’t sure how much longer he will pursue three-point titles.

“I’m getting up there,” the 23-year-old Booker said. “I can’t go too many times. I think this is my fourth time doing this. I can’t do too many.”

Miami Heat players won the other Saturday night competitions. Derrick Jones Jr. won the dunk contest and Bam Adebayo won the skills competition and planned to give the trophy to his mom.

Jones got his dunk title as an exclamation point to a scintillating competition with Orlando Magic guard Aaron Gordon that needed two rounds of a dunk-off to decide a winner.

After each player scored 50 in the first round of the dunk-off, Jones prevailed 48-47 in the second, in which Gordon brushed against the back of 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall’s head. That was enough to sway three judges who awarded Gordon a 9.