The diminutive New York Knicks guard beat defending champion Dwight Howard of Orlando in an electrifying slam dunk contest on Saturday night, winning 52 percent of fans votes.
Clad in an all-green Knicks uniform with green shoes, Robinson used Howard as a prop in the final round, springboarding over the 6-foot-11 center to jam.
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 the most theatrical dunk of the night in the first round.
He disappeared into a phone booth just off the court, emerging with a Superman cape.
Howard waved his arms to the crowd as an 11-foot basket was wheeled onto the floor. Howard took a bounce pass from teammate Jameer Nelson and tomahawked a dunk as U.S. Airways Center exploded.
Robinson had fired up fans by leaping off the back of teammate Wilson Chandler, who crouched on all fours in the lane, and jamming, drawing applause from longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee.
I got the championship back to New York City, Robinson said.
Earlier, Miamis Daequan Cook connected over and over again when the 3-Point Shootout went to an extra session.
When the long-distance contest went to overtime, Cook found his stroke.
The Heat guard posted the best total of the competition with 19 points in the extra round, cruising past Orlandos Rashard Lewis to win the title and end Jason Kaponos two-year run as king of one of All-Star Saturdays marquee events.
Lewis sputtered in the third session, missing his first 11 shots to finish with seven points.
Cook had forced overtime by hitting his final four shots in the second round of the six-man competition.
It was very important for me to be focused, Cook said. I felt this was my opportunity to show people that I should be considered as one of the elite 3-point shooters in the game, so tonight I came out and did that.
Afterward, Cook waved to teammate Dwyane Wade, who had been cheering from a courtside seat. Cook said Wade had encouraged him as the contest approached.
This was one of the times this weekend that I wanted to take over, Cook said. Weve just been talking about it, and luckily I did it tonight.
Kapono came up one point short in the second round. The Toronto Raptors sharpshooter was trying to become the third player to capture three straight titles in the event, following former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges, who won from 1990-92, and Boston Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who won from 1986-88.
Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks, Danny Granger of Indiana and Roger Mason of San Antonio were eliminated in the first round. Mason is something of a local villain after hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Spurs to a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day.
Chicagos Derrick Rose capped his Skills Challenge victory with a double-pump reverse dunk.
Rose defeated New Jerseys Devin Harris in the final round, navigating the obstacle course consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations in 35.3 seconds, 4.4 seconds faster than Harris.
I was just taking my time, going against a great group of guys, Rose said.
Clevelands Mo Williams and San Antonios Tony Parker were eliminated after the first round. Williams took third with a time of 37.5 seconds after replacing Orlando guard Jameer Nelson, who has a torn right labrum.
Parker was booedno surprise given the Spurs bitter rivalry with the host Phoenix Suns. The crowd was delighted when he finished fourth in 50.8 seconds after missing several jumpers.
In the H-O-R-S-E competition, Kevin Durant capped his All-Star weekend with an amazing comeback to beat O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson.
Durant faced early elimination after quickly picking up four letters while struggling with his shot outdoors. Mayo had only two letters after knocking out Johnson with an array of shots that included a bucket from the stands, a left-handed jumper and an underhanded free throw.
Durant then began to hit from long range, just as he did Friday when he scored a Rookie Challenge-record 46 points to lead the NBAs sophomores to a 122-116 victory over the rookies. He put another letter on Mayo with a heave from behind a table about 30 feet away, and won it with a deep 3-pointer from the left corner to collect the plastic horse trophy.
Team Detroitformer Piston Bill Laimbeer, present Pistons guard Arron Afflalo and Detroit Shock star Katie Smithwon the Shooting Stars competition, in which players shoot from six locations of increasing difficulty. Team Detroit was runner-up last year and won the contest in 2007.
Robinson wins slam dunk contest
By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer
Nate Robinson tugged on Supermans capeand won.
The diminutive New York Knicks guard beat defending champion Dwight Howard of Orlando in an electrifying slam dunk contest on Saturday night, winning 52 percent of fans votes.
Clad in an all-green Knicks uniform with green shoes, Robinson used Howard as a prop in the final round, springboarding over the 6-foot-11 center to jam.
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 the most theatrical dunk of the night in the first round.
He disappeared into a phone booth just off the court, emerging with a Superman cape.
Howard waved his arms to the crowd as an 11-foot basket was wheeled onto the floor. Howard took a bounce pass from teammate Jameer Nelson and tomahawked a dunk as U.S. Airways Center exploded.
Robinson had fired up fans by leaping off the back of teammate Wilson Chandler, who crouched on all fours in the lane, and jamming, drawing applause from longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee.
I got the championship back to New York City, Robinson said.
Portlands Rudy Fernandez and Denvers J.R. Smith were eliminated in the first round.
Earlier, Miamis Daequan Cook connected over and over again when the 3-Point Shootout went to an extra session.
When the long-distance contest went to overtime, Cook found his stroke.
The Heat guard posted the best total of the competition with 19 points in the extra round, cruising past Orlandos Rashard Lewis to win the title and end Jason Kaponos two-year run as king of one of All-Star Saturdays marquee events.
Lewis sputtered in the third session, missing his first 11 shots to finish with seven points.
Cook had forced overtime by hitting his final four shots in the second round of the six-man competition.
It was very important for me to be focused, Cook said. I felt this was my opportunity to show people that I should be considered as one of the elite 3-point shooters in the game, so tonight I came out and did that.
Afterward, Cook waved to teammate Dwyane Wade, who had been cheering from a courtside seat. Cook said Wade had encouraged him as the contest approached.
This was one of the times this weekend that I wanted to take over, Cook said. Weve just been talking about it, and luckily I did it tonight.
Kapono came up one point short in the second round. The Toronto Raptors sharpshooter was trying to become the third player to capture three straight titles in the event, following former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges, who won from 1990-92, and Boston Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who won from 1986-88.
Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks, Danny Granger of Indiana and Roger Mason of San Antonio were eliminated in the first round. Mason is something of a local villain after hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Spurs to a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day.
Chicagos Derrick Rose capped his Skills Challenge victory with a double-pump reverse dunk.
Rose defeated New Jerseys Devin Harris in the final round, navigating the obstacle course consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations in 35.3 seconds, 4.4 seconds faster than Harris.
I was just taking my time, going against a great group of guys, Rose said.
Clevelands Mo Williams and San Antonios Tony Parker were eliminated after the first round. Williams took third with a time of 37.5 seconds after replacing Orlando guard Jameer Nelson, who has a torn right labrum.
Parker was booedno surprise given the Spurs bitter rivalry with the host Phoenix Suns. The crowd was delighted when he finished fourth in 50.8 seconds after missing several jumpers.
In the H-O-R-S-E competition, Kevin Durant capped his All-Star weekend with an amazing comeback to beat O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson.
Durant faced early elimination after quickly picking up four letters while struggling with his shot outdoors. Mayo had only two letters after knocking out Johnson with an array of shots that included a bucket from the stands, a left-handed jumper and an underhanded free throw.
Durant then began to hit from long range, just as he did Friday when he scored a Rookie Challenge-record 46 points to lead the NBAs sophomores to a 122-116 victory over the rookies. He put another letter on Mayo with a heave from behind a table about 30 feet away, and won it with a deep 3-pointer from the left corner to collect the plastic horse trophy.
Team Detroitformer Piston Bill Laimbeer, present Pistons guard Arron Afflalo and Detroit Shock star Katie Smithwon the Shooting Stars competition, in which players shoot from six locations of increasing difficulty. Team Detroit was runner-up last year and won the contest in 2007.