Nate slams it a third time; Pierce, Nash win shootout, skills game

DALLAS – Nate Robinson is the NBA’s first three-time slam dunk champion, and that’s enough for him. The 5-foot-9 New York Knicks guard says he’s done with the marquee event of Saturday night’s All-Star festivities.

“No, no, no, no, no. I don’t think I can bear that anymore. I’m just happy with this third one,” he said. “This is the last one.”

Robinson barely won another title, garnering 51 percent of the fan votes to hold off Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan in a largely forgettable dunk contest.

DeRozan advanced to the final round after getting a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round.

After bringing several Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders on the court with him, Robinson’s final dunk came when he threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed it and turned midair for a two-handed backward slam.

Fan voting determined the final round after DeRozan advanced by getting five 10s from a judging panel that included former dunk champions Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins. The 5-foot-7 Webb, a Dallas native, won the event the only other time it was held in his hometown in 1986.

Robinson won the dunk title as a rookie in 2006, then beat Dwight Howard to win again last year.

DeRozan’s perfect score came after he caught a pass off the side of the backboard and slammed it with his right hand on the other side of the hoop.

Meanwhile, Boston’s Paul Pierce won the 3-Point Shootout, proving his lackluster performance the last time he was in the competition was an aberration.

“I worked on it, I really took pride in it. In ‘02 I stunk it up. I wanted to come in here and put on a show,” Pierce said. “I had to work on getting the technique down and knowing what side to pull the ball from, stuff like that. I knew if I got hot I could win it.”

Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash also was a winner Saturday night, beating a trio of 20-somethings to capture another Skills Challenge title six days after he turned 36.

With a time of 29.9 seconds in the final round of the obstacle course-like skills competition, Nash beat Dallas native and 2008 champion Deron Williams of Utah, who is 11 years younger.

In Saturday night’s opening event, hometown favorite and former Nash teammate Dirk Nowitzki hit a shot from midcourt to cap Team Texas’ victory in the Shooting Stars competition. (AP)