NBA All-Star 2013: Saturday Night Recap

Last night the NBA All-Star weekend featured several entertaining events for the fans. Here is a quick recap of the winners and links to the highlights.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Miami Heat player Chris Bosh (left) hoists the shooting stars trophy with Chicago Sky player Swin Cash (middle) and Atlanta Hawks former player Dominique Wilkins (right) after the 2013 NBA all star shooting stars competition at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Shooting Stars Challenge

Winner: Team Bosh – Eastern Conference

The West won the first round of the competition, but the finals went to the East.

At first, it didn’t look good for Team Bosh, who finished with a mediocre 1:29 time in the final round. However, they caught a break, as Team Westbrook got stuck on the half-court shot. Several of the half-court shots that Russell Westbrook took him himself rimmed out and the East took home the title.

You can watch the highlights of the competition here.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Laillard (0) is presented the trophy for winning the 2013 NBA All-Star skills challenge at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Taco Bell Skills Challenge

Winner: Damian Lillard – Western Conference

Reigning champion Tony Parker let the West down in the first round, by missing all five jumpshots and letting the initial round slip away.

Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard met in the final round, where the top candidate for rookie of the year looked impressive and took home the title. In the first round he scored the best time of the evening with 28.8 seconds and finished off Jrue Holiday in the finals by once again finishing the challenge in under 30 seconds.

You can watch Lillard’s dominating performance here.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving is presented with the three-point contest trophy after the 2013 NBA three-point contest at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Three-Point Contest

Winner: Kyrie Irving – Eastern Conference

Matt Bonner and Kyrie Irving went head-to-head in the final round. Irving was coming off an impressive showing in the Rising Stars Challenge, and continued his hot-streak last night.

During last year’s All-Star weekend we saw just how hot Irving can get from beyond the arc, and he showed it in the Three-Point Contest this year by connecting on 17 of his first 18 shots in the final round and finishing with 23 points.

The West won the first round by outscoring the East as a team, but it was all Irving after that.

Watch Irving’s highlights from the competition here.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Terrence Ross (31) reacts as he is awarded the trophy for winning the 2013 NBA All-Star slam dunk contest at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Slam Dunk Contest

Winner: Terrence Ross – Eastern Conference

The contest had quite a promising lineup, with Gerald Green and James White as the two favorites. As it turned out, neither of the two made the final round, due to several failed dunk attempts.

Instead it was Terrence Ross who represented the East in the final round, taking on the reigning champion Jeremy Evans.

Ross came up with quite a few nice dunks, becoming the second rookie of the night to win an All-Star competition.

Watch the winner’s dunks right here.

Vytis is the editor at King James Gospel. Follow him on Twitter: @VytisLasaitis