CHICAGO - Aaron Gordon lost another epic dunk contest, and it was by only a couple of inches.
Namely, the top of Tacko Fall's head.
Derrick Jones Jr. finally got his long-awaited dunk contest title as an exclamation point to a scintillating NBA All-Star Saturday Night, both for him and the Miami Heat. He and Gordon needed a dunk-off to decide a winner, with Jones prevailing 48-47 in the one that determined who left with the trophy.
Bam Adebayo took the skills title to give the Heat another champ, and the Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield won the 3-point crown. Those two wins were absolute, without ambiguity: The ball going in told the tale.
The dunk contest - much like the one between the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan and the Atlanta Hawks' Dominique Wilkins 32 years earlier in this same Windy City - came down to the judges' call.
Gordon brushed against the back of Fall's head, and that was enough to sway three of them - each gave a 9, and that combined with two scores of 10 added up to the final 47. For his part, Jones said he would have settled for another dunk-off round.
"He clipped Tacko's head when he did that dunk, so I knew they couldn't have gave him a 50 for that one," said Jones, who was in the dunk contest in 2017 as well. "I would have respected it if they gave him another 48 so we can go again."
AP photo by Nam Y. Huh / The Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon competes in the NBA All-Star dunk contest Saturday night in Chicago.However, it wasn't clear if they would have dunked again had it still been tied after Gordon's final attempt. The NBA was not going to permit co-champions, and there would have been a point - which they were possibly at - when judges would have had to vote and decide a winner.
Controversy reigned regardless. Much like 2016, when Gordon lost to Zach LaVine in one of the best dunk contests ever, the Orlando Magic forward - who set a dunk contest record with five perfect scores - left frustrated.
Said Gordon: "I feel like I should have two trophies."
When Gordon asked the 7-foot-5 Fall to come out for his last dunk - Fall played at the University of Central Florida, which is in Orlando - it was the ultimate risk versus reward moment.
Gordon wanted to jump over "Inside the NBA" analyst Shaquille O'Neal, who is four inches shorter than Fall, but the former star who began his career with the Magic declined that invitation. In need of a 49 to win, Gordon didn't totally clear his very tall prop - and just like that, Jones was the champion.
"Tallest dude in the gym," Gordon said. "Jumping over somebody 7-5 and dunking it, it's no easy feat. What'd I get, a 47? Come on, man. What are we doing?"
Jones lauded Gordon for trying a dunk over Fall.
"If I would have thought of it earlier," Jones said, "I'd have did it."
AP photo by Nam Y. Huh / The Miami Heat's Derrick Jones Jr. competes in the NBA All-Star dunk contest Saturday night in Chicago.The first round was full of props: Jones - celebrating his 23rd birthday - had a cake and Adebayo on the court for his first dunk; Gordon went over Chicago native Chance The Rapper for a slam; Pat Connaughton leaped over Milwaukee Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo and kissed the ball off the glass before his second dunk; the Los Angeles Lakers' Dwight Howard brought back his Superman soar from 11 years ago.
Gordon and Jones emerged as the two finalists, and Gordon was perfect on every dunk until his last one - but in the end, Jones proved prophetic.
"I said I would do it," he explained.
Adebayo drew 2018 skills champion Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, having no problem with the accurate pass into a tight window, layup and 3-pointer that, to win, need to be made before an opponent completes the same course. It was the same thing in the second round as Adebayo finished off the Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam without a miss once again to earn his spot in the final.
"I told Spencer I'm going to be the champion," Adebayo said. "We were walking in, and I told Spencer I was going to be a champion."
It came down to big men: Adebayo against the Indiana Pacers' Domantas Sabonis. It took three tries for Adebayo to make his 3-pointer to win, and he still wound up beating Sabonis to the final make. Sabonis thought he rushed his second shot, and that gave Adebayo a leg up.
Neither Sabonis (6-11) nor Adebayo (6-9) was surprised guys their size wound up dueling for the skills title.
"It's just showing how the game is changing and how big men and power forwards are basically bringing up the ball, passing the ball," Sabonis said.
AP photo by David Banks / The Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo holds his trophy after winning the NBA All-Star skills challenge Saturday night in Chicago.Adebayo dedicated the win to his mother - she'll be getting the trophy as well - and said he was particularly honored to compete while wearing a jersey patch that paid tribute to former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and the other seven victims of the helicopter crash that took their lives in Southern California on Jan. 26.
All competitors Saturday wore a patch with the numbers 2 and 24 - for Gianna and Kobe - surrounded by nine stars, signifying all of the victims. Commissioner Adam Silver also announced Saturday that the NBA All-Star Game's MVP award would be renamed in honor of Bryant, starting with Sunday's contest.
Bryant became the youngest player to ever compete in the NBA All-Star Game when he made his debut in 1998 at age 19. He made the team 18 times during his stellar 20-year career with the Lakers, winning the MVP award four times to tie the St. Louis Hawks' Bob Pettit.
"When I was in high school, I said if I get to the NBA, I want to meet Kobe," Adebayo said. "I felt like this (was) my All-Star (chance) to do it. I feel like he's been more of an impact now than he was back then. Not saying that him living didn't do anything for me, but it just means more now that I know I can never meet him.
"I feel like he knows who I am now. So just keep trying to make him proud."
Adebayo won his trophy with a 3-pointer on the final shot, so perhaps it was fitting Hield won his in the same manner.
AP photo by Nam Y. Hugh / The Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield points in celebration after winning the NBA All-Star 3-point contest Saturday night in Chicago.The 3-point contest came down to Hield, the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker and the Washington Wizards' Davis Bertans after five others - including 2019 champion Joe Harris of the Nets - were knocked out in the first round. Bertans went first in the final round, scoring 22. Booker went next, scoring 26.
That left Hield, who made his last six shots of the opening round and needed to get hot again late in the final.
No problem.
His "money ball" rack - the one where every shot was worth two points - was the final of his five full racks, and he got to that corner with 19 points. That meant he had to go 4-for-5 on the last rack to catch Booker.
First one, make. Second one, make. Third one, make.
Hield then missed the fourth shot before letting the final one fly - dancing for joy when it dropped through the net, giving him a walk-off win.
"As a shooter, this is on your bucket list," Hield said. "You have to come in, and you want to win a 3-point shootout. With a stacked field like that, it makes it even better. Pressure is on, and you've got to show up."
That was the theme of the night, all the way to the end.