Nate Robinson tugged on Superman’s cape—and won. Robinson of the New York Knicks captured the NBA’s All-Star Saturday Night's Slam Dunk Competition. Listed at 5-9, Robinson sprung over the top of 6 foot 11 defending champion Dwight Howard, who stood in front of the basket as his counterpart leaped over his head electrifying the crowd.
Dwight Howard, who donned a Superman cape en route to last year's title, kept that theme this year. This time, Howard rolled out a 12-foot basket then disappeared into a phone booth just off the court, emerging with a Superman cape. He then took a bounce pass from Orlando Magic teammate Jameer Nelson and tomahawked a dunk as U.S. Airways Center exploded.
Nate Robinson then entered the finals wearing all-green including a lime green ball. The green jersey represented Robinson as kryptonite - or KryptoNate - to Howard's Superman.
Earlier, Miami Heat’s Daequan Cook connected over and over again when the 3-Point Shootout went to an extra session cruising past Orlando’s Rashard Lewis to win the title.
Chicago Bull’s Derrick Rose capped his Skills Challenge victory with a double-pump reverse dunk defeating New Jersey Net’s Devin Harris in the final round, navigating the obstacle course consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations in 35.3 seconds, 4.4 seconds faster than Harris.
In the H-O-R-S-E competition, Kevin Durant capped his All-Star weekend with an amazing comeback to beat O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson. Durant started slow then began to hit from long range, just as he did Friday when he won Most Valuable Player after he scored a Rookie Challenge-record 46 points to lead the NBA’s sophomores to a 122-116 victory over the rookies.
Team Detroit—former Piston Bill Laimbeer, present Pistons guard Arron Afflalo and Detroit Shock star Katie Smith—won the Shooting Stars competition, in which players shoot from six locations of increasing difficulty.
Nate Robinson could face an even tougher field if he decides to defend his title in Dallas. LeBron James tentatively placed himself into next year’s contest during the television broadcast.
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