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| Saturday, February 12 | |||||||||
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Vince Carter won the NBA slam dunk
contest Saturday night with a riveting above-the-rim demonstration
that was almost perfect.
The Toronto Raptors star scored a perfect 50 on three of his
five attempts and got a 49 and 48 on the other two to defeat
teammate Tracy McGrady and Steve Francis for the title.
Toronto teammate McGrady matched the 50 on his final dunk of the first round, catching the ball after it bounced high on the floor and then making a double-clutch stuff. But on Carter's third and final dunk of the first round it was apparent he would be almost impossible to beat. He took a bounce pass from McGrady -- one first-round dunk had to be done in coordination with a teammate -- brought the ball under his right leg while he was in the air and then slammed it through. It brought the judges out of their seats and one of them, Isiah Thomas, jumped on the scorer's table to cheer. "It made me say 'Ohh,' it made me say 'Ahh,' and then I just jumped," Thomas said. The popular contest was revived this year for the first time since 1997. Each dunk is scored from six to 10 by each judge. The first-round score is based on a composite with the lowest score excluded and three of the six contestants advancing to the finals. Judges were Thomas, Cynthia Cooper, Rick Barry, George "Ice Man" Gervin and Kenny Smith. With the lowest of three first-round scores eliminated, Carter had a first-round 100 to advance with McGrady (99) and Francis (95). Eliminated were Ricky Davis of Charlotte, Jerry Stackhouse of Detroit and Philadelphia's Larry Hughes, who missed his first two attempts. | ALSO SEE Frozen Moment: Carter dunks everyone Brand, Francis lead way in Rookie Challenge Hornacek wins 2ball for Utah at buzzer Hornacek defends shootout title in final season Flashy points spice up Rookie game NBA All-Star Game 2000 Around the Rim in Oakland, Saturday Sizing up the Rookie Challenge NBA All-Star 2000 Viewer's Guide |