Mac Mcclung stuns with dunk
SALT LAKE CITY>> Mac Mcclung might have single- handedly restored the shine on a dunk contest that has been widely panned in recent years.
And Damian Lillard represented his school and his brand, doing them both proud.
Mcclung, the 6- foot- 2 Philadelphia guard on a two- way contract, defeated New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III in the finals of the dunk contest, culminating an NBA AllStar Saturday that may have finally answered the question as to whether what used to be the league’s signature event can be glitzy again.
Mcclung had the answer: Absolutely.
“I’m truly blessed and grateful for the NBA giving me this opportunity,” Mcclung said.
A 540- degree dunk — not a 360, a 540, him doing one- andahalf rotations in the air — was his third perfect score of the night out of four dunks, but by the time the judges’ scores came up it was already decided. Everyone in the building knew he’d already won.
“It’s over,” Mcclung said.
It was.
And he immediately committed to defending his title at Indianapolis at All- Star Saturday next year.
“If you guys will have me, I’ll be back,” Mcclung said.
His is an unbelievable story: Mcclung has played mostly in the G League. Philadelphia would become his third NBA team, and he hasn’t even played for the 76ers yet. He played in one game last season for the Chicago Bulls, one other game for the Los Angeles Lakers.
He has three NBA baskets. He had four dunks on Saturday night.
Mcclung set the tone for the night with a dunk that had NBA superstars in disbelief — he leaped over two people, took the ball out of the hands of one of them, tapped it on the backboard and then threw down a reverse slam.
3- POINT CONTEST>> Lillard, the Portland star, won the 3- point contest by topping Indiana teammates Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton in the final round.
Lillard wore a Weber State jersey with “Dolla” on the back. Weber
State is his college; he performs music under the name Dame D. O. L. L. A. And when he got the trophy, he had a Blazers warmup shirt on for that moment.
“They say the third time’s the charm,” said Lillard, who got his first 3- point title in his third try at the event. “And I’m happy that it happened here. It’s a perfect situation. I’m happy that I did it in my home, coming back here to Utah.”
Lillard won the final round with 26 points. Hield had 25 and Haliburton scored 17.
Lillard played his college games in Ogden, Utah, about a half- hour outside of Salt Lake City.
SKILLS CHALLENGE>> The Jazz — a roster composed of Utah players Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton — won the Skills Challenge on Saturday night, prevailing in the passing and Team Shooting three competitions.
“It feels good, especially to do it in front of the home team,” Sexton said.
The Rooks were second, with Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, Detroit’s Jaden Ivey and Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. getting 100 points. They won the team relay.