All-Star Saturday started off great with the H.O.R.S.E. competition presented by Geico. OKC Thunder forward Kevin Durant successfully defended his H-O-R-S-E title on Saturday night against Boston's Rajon Rondo and Sacramento's Omri Casspi. After Casspi was eliminated in the shooting competition, Durant and Rondo went to sudden death on TNT as the pair attempted three-pointers from the top of the key where the Oklahoma City star outlasted Boston's point guard.
The night continued with the Haier Shooting Stars event that was very enjoyable to watch. Team Texas won the Shooting Stars Competition. Texas defeated Los Angeles in the finals after Atlanta and Sacramento were eliminated following the first round. The team was comprised of Mavericks All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, TNT analyst and former Rockets guard Kenny Smith and WNBA star Becky Hammon.
The competitiveness continued in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, which has become one of the more fun events to watch. Steve Nash of the Suns won the Skills Competition by defeating Utah's Deron Williams (2008 winner, and my pick to win) in the finals on Saturday night. Nash finished the course in just 29.9 seconds after taking just 35 ticks in the opening round. He won the competition in 2005 as well. Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings (35.7 seconds) and Thunder second-year guard Russell Westbrook (44.1) were eliminated in the first round. Westbrook filled in for Derrick Rose (defending champ), who skipped the competition with a hip injury.
Then it was time for the Foot Locker 3-Point Shootout which has usually been a fan favourite and it did not disappoint. Celtics captain Paul Pierce won the Three-Point Shootout after lobbying so hard to get in. Pierce had 20 points in the final round, beating Golden State rookie Stephen Curry (my pick to win) and Denver point guard Chauncey Billups. He is the first Boston star to win the contest since Larry Bird. Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari, Suns big man Channing Frye and defending champion Daequan Cook of Miami didn't make it past the first round as they all scored 15 points.
The night would wrap up with the marquee event of All-Star Saturday night, the Sprite Slam Dunk contest. It was one of the most hyped dunk contests ever and it was a huge disappointment and close to being one of the worst dunk contests ever. Knicks guard Nate Robinson took home his third Slam Dunk Title over Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan, who had the best dunk of the night. Robinson is the first player in history to win the competition three times. He received 51% of the fan voting in the finals. Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace (78) and Lakers guard Shannon Brown (78), who was the favourite, didn't make it to the championship round after their first two dunks.
All in all it was a pretty fun All-Star Saturday night, the Dunk Contest was a huge dissappointment but hopefully DeRozan will be back next year to take the crown. As for my predictions I fared pretty well, I had 2 wins and the other 3 picks in the finals of their respective events.
Peace and Much Love to Ya :)
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