Robinson upstages Howard's effort

PHOENIX: New York Knicks' guard Nate Robinson made light of defending champion Dwight Howard's Superman act to win this year's Slam Dunk contest at the All Night Saturday fare in the NBA All Star Weekend gala.
Although both Robinson and Howard came up with matching performances, the former was the popular choice of the public with 52 percent of them voting for the diminutive Robinson who made a late but lasting impression on his fans.
Dressed in green coloured Knicks gear from head to toe, Robinson used Howard as a springboard in the final round and flew over the near-seven-foot tall centre to jam a perfect shot in his very first attempt.
"Dwight was a great sport letting me dunk over him," said the 5-foot-9 Robinson, who also won in 2006. Howard, who scored a perfect 50 on both of his first-round dunks, performed one of the most theatrical acts at the All Star Weekend. He disappeared into a phone booth just off the court and emerged with the Superman cape. He then asked a 11-foot high basket to be wheeled onto the floor and jammed a bounce pass from teammate Jameer Nelson.
Robinson responded by jamming his first shot by leaping off the back of teammate Wilson Chandler, who crouched on all fours in the lane.
Cook hogs the show
Earlier, Miami's Daequan Cook led all the way to win the 3-point Shootout contest in a runaway fashion although it went to an extra session. While he led the preliminary round with 18 points and scored 15 in the final where Orlando's Rashard Lewis tied the tally with an identical score, the Heat guard posted the best total of the competition with 19 points in the extra round.
While he got consistently good scores, Lewis failed to maintain the tempo and in fact failed miserably in the tie-breaker by scoring just 7 out of a possible 25.
In the process, the duo shattered the three-peat hopes of Jason Kapono who had won the event at the last editions. While Kapono was eliminated in the second round, Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks, Danny Granger of Indiana and Roger Mason of San Antonio did not make the cut.
Rose blossoms in the desert
Chicago's Derrick Rose took home the Skills Challenge title with a double-pump reverse dunk. Rose defeated New Jersey's Devin Harris in the final round, winning the obstacle course - dribbling, passing and shooting stations - in 35.3 seconds, 4.4 seconds faster than Harris. Cleveland's Mo Williams and San Antonio's Tony Parker were eliminated after the first round, with former taking the third place with a time of 37.5 seconds.
India on NBA radar
NBA Commissioner David Stern evinced keen interest in having a lasting association with the game in India, saying that the game has a great future in the Asian nation. "We realize that there is overwhelming following for NBA in India and therefore we are ready to support all the initiatives taken up by the Indian federation," said Stern.