HOUSTON - NBA basketball is a big man's game. Don't tell that to 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson. The New York Knicks' rookie won the NBA All-Star slam dunk competition Saturday night, beating out 6-foot-6 Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, 6-9 Hakim Warrick of Memphis and 6-9 defending champ Josh Smith of Atlanta.Tonight, Bode is back in the men's giant slalom. Robinson, who earned a $35,000 first prize, electrified the Toyota Center by taking a bounce pass from Spud Webb, the 1986 champion, and leaping over the 5-7 Webb to jam. The stunt earned a perfect 50-point score to force a dunk-off against Iguodala, who had received two perfect scores.
In the dunk-off, Robinson jammed on the 14th try, catching his own pass off the backboard. He earned 47 points, edging Iguodala by a point.
"This is something I dream about," Robinson said before the contest. "Hopefully, kids go out there and one day want to be like me. Hopefully I can just go out there and just send a message to some of these kids that, even though you're small, you can mean so much more to yourself and your friends and family and to people all across the world."
Each player dunked twice in the first round, with a panel of five judges awarding composite scores between 30 and 50 points. The top two scores advanced to the finals.
The dunk contest highlighted All-Star Saturday, which included the three-point shootout, the skills challenge and the shooting stars.
In the 20th three-point shootout, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-footer, outshot Seattle's Ray Allen and Washington's Gilbert Arenas in the final round to win the $35,000 first prize. Nowitzki scored 18 points, topping Arenas' 16 and Allen's 15. Players circle the three-point arc, pulling balls off racks and hitting as many shots as they can in 60 seconds.
In the dunk-off, Robinson jammed on the 14th try, catching his own pass off the backboard. He earned 47 points, edging Iguodala by a point.
"This is something I dream about," Robinson said before the contest. "Hopefully, kids go out there and one day want to be like me. Hopefully I can just go out there and just send a message to some of these kids that, even though you're small, you can mean so much more to yourself and your friends and family and to people all across the world."
Each player dunked twice in the first round, with a panel of five judges awarding composite scores between 30 and 50 points. The top two scores advanced to the finals.
The dunk contest highlighted All-Star Saturday, which included the three-point shootout, the skills challenge and the shooting stars.
In the 20th three-point shootout, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, a 7-footer, outshot Seattle's Ray Allen and Washington's Gilbert Arenas in the final round to win the $35,000 first prize. Nowitzki scored 18 points, topping Arenas' 16 and Allen's 15. Players circle the three-point arc, pulling balls off racks and hitting as many shots as they can in 60 seconds.
