Another All-Star Saturday night is in the books.
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who has burst onto the scene this season, took home the Skills title, bringing the trophy back to the guards with a victory over Lauri Markkanen.
The Three-Point Contest, unfortunately, was a bit lackluster. The first round featured far too many bricked shots, but Devin Booker did put together a record-setting performance in the final round. His 28 points were an all-time high and gave him the trophy.
Donovan Mitchell and Larry Nance Jr. turned things up in the Dunk Contest, closing the night out with a fantastic final round. In the end, Mitchell's Vince Carter tribute helped him get a narrow win, though Nance Jr. had perhaps the best dunk of the night.
Skills Challenge results: Dinwiddie outlasts Markkanen for title
Three-Point Contest results: Booker catches fire to set all-time record in win
Slam Dunk Contest results: Mitchell beats Nance Jr. in a closely contested final
Recap all the night's All-Star Saturday action below in our live blog.
DONOVAN Mitchell paid tribute to one of the greatest dunkers of all time to take out the NBA’s slam dunk contest, but that was only after his teammate, Joe Ingles, took a sly shot at the three-point contest participants.
Mitchell, a rookie for the Utah Jazz, capped off his successful contest with an homage to Vince Carter, wearing the famed Raptors jersey of the shooting guard, before throwing down one of his signature dunks: a 360 windmill.
That was enough to see Mitchell best Cleveland Cavaliers big-man, Larry Nance Jr., who earned a 50 on his final dunk attempt, which saw him throw it off the backboard twice — once while airborn — before throwing down the slam.
Nance Jr. used his father, Larry Nance Sr., as a prop, during the course of the contest, while Mitchell pulled comedian, Kevin Hart, from the crowd in order to jump of him and his son.
Victor Oladipo’s ‘Black Panther’ mask wasn’t enough to see him get through to the final round, while Dennis Smith Jr.’s 360 windmill with his off hand — arguably one of the dunks of the evening — also wasn’t enough for him to advance.
Slam Dunks go next level 1:27
Devin Booker finished with an extremely impressive 28 score to take out the three-point contest, defeating Klay Thompson and Tobias Harris in the final round.
That was only after a sub-par first round by, effectively, all of the participants, and Joe Ingles — someone who shoots more than 45 percent, and wasn’t invited to the contest — to chime in:
😏 — Joe Ingles (@Joeingles7) February 18, 2018
Amazing.
What’s even more interesting, is the impact Ingles has on Mitchell:
Donovan: “Joe Ingles has obviously been huge for my confidence down the stretch” — Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) February 18, 2018
The evening began with the Skills Challenge, which saw four big-men and four guards battle it out on the event-specific circuit, going through dribbling, passing, and shooting drills.
The ‘big’ in the final was Lauri Markkanen, and he went up against the guard, Spencer Dinwiddie.
The Brooklyn Nets rookie got the best of the Chicago Bulls power forward, winning the Skills Challenge in impressive fashion.
Nance Jr re-enacts dad's dunk 0:50
Slam Dunk Contest
Victor Oladipo
Larry Nance Jr.
Dennis Smith Jr.
Donovan Mitchell (WINNER)
Three-Point Contest
Eric Gordon
Klay Thompson
Bradley Beal
Paul George
Kyle Lowry
Devin Booker (WINNER)
Wayne Ellington
Tobias Harris
Skills Challenge
Joel Embiid
Al Horford
Buddy Hield
Lauri Markkanen
Spencer Dinwiddie (WINNER)
Jamal Murray
Andre Drummond
Lou Williams
