Rookie Damian Lillard continued to wow fans, Kyrie Irving proved his long-range dominance and Terrence Ross was the King of the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2013 NBA All-Star Game to round out the Top Plays of the Week in NBA action.
The stars came out to shine in Houston, Texas this weekend for a jam-packed three nights full of NBA greatness during the weekend of the 62nd NBA Annual All-Star Game.
On Friday, Usain Bolt, the World's Fastest Man, left jaws dropped and cameras clicking when the Olympic champion sprinter took the ball on a fast break and showed off a remarkable hang time as he brought down a two-handed jam for the East team during the Celebrity All-Star Game. But it was comedian Kevin Hart, winner of the game MVP award, who led the way for the West as they beat the East 58-38.
That same night, in the Rising Stars Challenge, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio had a sensational night with a dazzling array of passes as he put on a show with 10 assists to go with his five points as he and game MVP Kenneth Faried, who scored 40 points with 10 rebounds, led Team Chuck past Team Shaq 163-135. Irving, who has 32 points for Team Shaq, put on a phenomenal display including a dazzling crossover dribble on Detroit's Brandon Knight.
Then on Saturday, it was an array of shooting, dunking and all-around skills that dominated NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
First up, in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, rookie sensation Lillard outlasted a field of competitors that included defending champion Tony Parker, Jeremy Lin, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Knight and Jeff Teague to win the point guard skills competition.
Then, Cleveland All-Star Irving netted 23 three-pointers from beyond the arc, beating out San Antonio's Matt Bonner, New York Steve Novak and others to win the Foot Locker Three-Point Challenge.
And finally, to cap the night, in a duel that featured some of the best slam and jams, and even cameos from former NBA 7'4" center Mark Eaton, it took a stunning reverse slam dunk over a young NBA fan for Toronto's Ross to best defending champion Jeremy Evans of Utah to take home the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest championship.
Latinos Post breaks down the highlights and videos from this week’s Top Five Plays from the NBA All-Star Weekend:
5. Usain Bolt Jams it Down
Super-sprinter Bolt, who won Olympic gold in both the 100m and 200m in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, took flight as the 6’5” Jamaican sensation rocked the rim with this amazing two-handed jam in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday.
4. Ricky Rubio Shows Off His Passing Savvy
When Rubio works the floor, it’s almost like magic. And with the lights on bright in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge on Friday with some of the league’s youngest and brightest stars, Rubio dazzled with an array of side passes, bounce passes and amazing lobs to stars like New Orleans’ Anthony Davis. Check out the Spanish superstar’s handles here.
3. Damian Lillard Shows He’s Got Skills
The kid’s got game. He’s been proving that all season, and during the Taco Bell Skills Challenge on NBA All-Star Saturday, Lillard showed he could pass, bob, weave and shoot with the best of the NBA’s point guards, upsetting defending champion Tony Parker and outdueling Jrue Holiday in the championship round to cap his amazing All-Star Weekend by winning the Skills Challenge title.
Check out how he did it:
2. Kyrie Irving Proves He’s Got the Touch…and the Moves
The best thing in Cleveland since LeBron James has had a monster All-Star Weekend so far, beginning with dropping 32 points on Team Chuck in the Rising Stars contest on Friday. But what had more people buzzing was this ankle-breaking crossover dribble that he used on Detroit point guard Knight:
But he wasn’t done yet, as Irving, who will play in the All-Star Game Sunday, showcased his three-point shooting ability, outdueling sharpshooters such as Bonner, Novak, and Golden State’s Stephen Curry to score 23 three-pointers from around and beyond the arc at the Toyota Center to win the Foot Locker Three-Point Challenge.
Watch Irving light it up from downtown:
1. Ross Goes Above the Rim…And Over a Kid
By now, Ross has been well-known by Toronto Raptors fans for his high-flying dunking ability. But never was it more impressive than in the final round in a dunk duel between himself and defending Slam Dunk champion Jeremy Evans on Saturday. In his final dunk on only two tries, Ross leapt over a young child, an avid NBA fan, and performed a reverse jam that impressed the judges enough to crown a new Slam Dunk Contest champion in Ross in the final event of NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
Check out the contest-winning dunk here (you have to see it to believe it):