Terrence Ross slammed home a dunk contest victory in a throwback Vince Carter jersey. (Getty Images)
HOUSTON — James White has two dunks in regular season games for the Knicks this season, but could only finish one in last night’s Slam Dunk Contest.
White’s participation in the annual All-Star Weekend event had been anticipated ever since he signed a one-year deal with the Knicks during the offseason. But White, who has earned the nickname “Flight” for his ability to pull off gravity-defying dunks from outside the free throw line, failed to get off the ground on his second attempt, eliminating himself from the competition.
But despite entering the event as a heavy favorite, White wasn’t disappointed with the way things turned out.
“Just the fact that I’m here is cool with me,” he said with a smile afterward. “It took a long time for me to get here, and I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“I got to do it, and I can check something off my bucket list.”
White played up his reputation for high-flying dunks on his first attempt, bringing out two lines of stewardesses to line his path to the rim. But after missing just long on a one-handed attempt from behind the foul line, White threw down a massive two-handed jam from just inside the foul line.
Though the crowd and the fans on Twitter loved the dunk, the judges — a Houston-themed panel of Hakeem Olaujuwon, Yao Ming, Clyde Drexler, Dikembe Mutombo and Rudy Tomjanovich — disagreed, giving White just a 45 while awarding perfect 50s to Green’s East teammates — Indiana’s Gerald Green and Toronto’s Terrence Ross.
“The 45 part was crazy to me,” White said. “It kind of messed up my whole thing, my whole plan.”
Ross eventually beat Utah’s Jeremy Evans in the finals to win the contest.
But with an appearance in the NBA Slam Dunk contest under his belt — after winning practically every other dunk contest there is — White added he has had enough.
“I’m done,” he said with a laugh. “I’m done doing dunk contests. I’ll be 31 next year. I’m an old man now.”
* Steve Novak made it close, but didn’t have quite enough to knock off Kyrie Irving in the 3-point contest.
Novak finished with 17 points in the first round of shooting, falling one short of Irving’s 18 that gave him the top score in the East, and advanced him to the final, where Cleveland’s second-year star point guard beat Spurs forward Matt Bonner.
“He got hot,” Novak said. “I’m happy for him. You shoot the ball like that you deserve to win. I shot the ball poorly and I don’t deserve to win.”
“It’s disappointing. It’s the lowest round I had in the last two weeks of shooting. I surprised myself in a bad way, but the East won and Kyrie shot it so he’s so deserving.”
Nets center Brook Lopez’s team finished last in the Shooting Stars competition after they struggled to hit the halfcourt shot.
“We got up top quick,” Lopez said with a smile after he put up . We just couldn’t put that halfcourt shot down.”