The new changes to All-Star Saturday made the traditional events like the skills and dunk contests much different, but nonetheless the NBA crowned winners of four events on Saturday. Changes to the dunk contest were met with great displeasure.
In the shooting challenge, Team Bosh, led by Chris Bosh won the 2014 challenge with a time of 31.4 seconds in the final round. Bosh was joined by Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash, and clinched the victory after he nailed a half-court shot. Team Durant finished second with a time of 43.6 in the final round.
Damian Lillard defended his skills challenge title, but per the new set-up was joined by a teammate, Trey Burke. The two actually just nipped Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Olidipo by a tenth of a second. Carter-Williams cannot catch a break this year.
The three-point shootout caught a lot of people by surprise. The championship round pitted Marco Belinelli of the Spurs against the Wizards’ Bradley Beal. After Belinelli recorded 19 points, Beal rallied to hit his final shots and tie the score, forcing an extra session. Beal put up an impressive 18 more points, but Belinelli got hot and hit 13 of 15 shots, totaling a score of 24.
Finally, there was the dunk contest. In what was a new attempt to shake things up, get more players involved and spread more money for charity, the league changed the set-up into more of a team game, East vs. West, and not the traditional one by one set-up. In what proved to be a disappointing contest, John Wall won by receiving a hand-off from the Wizards’ mascot, leaping over him and slamming it down overhead. The East won with a sweep, as Terrance Ross and Paul George won their respective battles as well.
The big event, the game itself takes place tonight at 8 p.m.
