GREEN DUNKS COMPETITION KAPONO WINS 3-POINT SHOOTING TITLE.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer LAS VEGAS -- His tooth hurt, his team went over a month without winning a game and for the first few rounds of Saturday night's NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= Slam Dunk contest The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual NBA competition held during the week of the NBA All-Star Game. The Contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, just as the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA. , Michael Jordan just wouldn't give him a break. But in the end, Boston's Gerald Green slammed all his problems with a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. windmill dunk over a table to pull out one of the most lopsided victories in Slam Dunk contest history. Green's final dunk earned him a perfect 50 from the judges -- Kobe Bryant, Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter, Dr. J and Jordan -- and brought the 15,694 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center to their feet. "I'm the undefeated, undisputed champion of the world," Green screamed after dethroning Knicks' diminutive guard Nate Robinson in the finals. "I've never lost a dunk contest." The 20-year-old guard led this one from start to finish, earning the highest score in every round of the competition. He started the night with a high-flying two-handed dunk off an alley-oop pass off the side of the backboard back·board n. 1. A board placed under or behind something to provide firmness or support. 2. A board placed beneath the body of a person with an injury to the neck or back, used especially in transporting the person in such a way from teammate Paul Pierce. His second dunk paid homage to Dee Brown, the only other Celtic to win the dunk competition. Green changed into white Reebok pumps, pulled off his jersey to reveal Brown's No. 7 jersey and jumped over the 5-foot-9 Robinson and slammed it home with one hand while covering his eyes with the other arm. "I wanted to show the respect and do everything the way he did it," Green said. "(Brown) went down and pumped his shoes up, and I tried the best to use his dunk in a different kind of way." His third dunk came off another alley-oop from Pierce, this time from behind the backboard. The fourth dunk -- a windmill over the table -- was a bit anticlimactic an·ti·cli·max n. 1. A decline viewed in disappointing contrast with a previous rise: the anticlimax of a brilliant career. 2. because Robinson missed nine straight times before landing a one-handed spin move off the backboard. Green said he hoped his win in the dunk contest would fire up the Celtics' faithful, who have stuck with the team through its franchise-record 18-game losing streak, which ended Wednesday with a victory over the Bucks. As for the toothache Toothache Definition A toothache is any pain or soreness within or around a tooth, indicating inflammation and possible infection. Description A toothache may feel like a sharp pain or a dull ache. that's bothered him since Friday. "It's killing me," he said. "And we've got a West Coast trip next week so I won't be able to see the dentist until we finish that." Kapono hits the mark: Jason Kapono's 3-Point Shooting Contest started a lot like his NBA career: a couple clanking clank n. A metallic sound, sharp and hard but not resonant: the clank of chains. intr.v. clanked, clank·ing, clanks To make a sharp, hard, metallic sound. off the rim, one air balland then lights-out. The fourth-year pro put an exclamation point on his breakout year -- Kapono leads the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage at 56 percent while averaging 11.1 points for the Miami Heat -- by besting Gilbert Arenas and defending champion Dirk Nowitzki in the 3-point shooting contest. "I had an air ball or two. I kind of heard the crowd saying, 'What the heck is this guy doing out there?' " the former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX star joked. "I felt pretty good after the first round." CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Boston's Gerald Green throws down a dunk during the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday. Green was the runaway winner. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press |
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