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NEW ORLEANS - Shortly after hoisting his second Slam Dunk trophy, this one hell have to share, Terrence Ross was stunned to hear that the contests format change was not especially well received. "It was one of the best shows ever," said the Raptors guard, disagreeing with the critics. "Its really what people wanted to see. You couldnt see those dunks without three players on the court so it worked out for the best I think." The Slam Dunk Contest - the pride and joy of All-Star Saturday Night - adopted a team concept this year, pitting the three participants from the East against the Wests trio in a two-round showcase. It was, for all intents and purposes, a bust. In the final round, a head-to-head session, the team from the East - consisting of Ross, John Wall and Paul George - defeated the West in a clean sweep. It was an unorthodox victory for Ross, who only threw down one dunk, outside of the initial freestyle round. "Hey, a wins a win," the sophomore said, elated after the competition came to an end, not unlike most in attendance and watching from home. "Im gonna take it either way. Ive never lost a dunk contest at this point so Im happy." The real champion, assuming anyone can really be considered a winner after that performance, was John Wall, who was awarded the fan vote for Dunker of the Night. Wall capped off an anticlimactic evening with the only real jaw-dropping dunk, leaping over Wizards mascot G-Man, taking the ball out of his hands and completing a two-hand reverse jam to seal the Easts victory. Off the top, each team had 90 seconds to work together and complete as many dunks as they could. The team dynamic, allowed the dunkers to collaborate and be creative in their attempts. Ross and the East took advantage, while the West - with Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore - ate up nearly a third of their allotted time before converting a notable slam. To call it organized chaos would be putting it mildly. Mostly, it was a disjointed mess with an occasional highlight, a couple from Ross, who put down a reverse to open the contest. The battle round had promise but lacked any semblance of rhythm or flow, as actual dunks were few and far between. Just as it started to come around, it ended abruptly. Lillard led off the proceedings - competing in his third event of the night - facing Ross, who brought along a friend and colleague for assistance. With last years trophy in hand, Raptors global ambassador Drake accompanied Ross on the floor to the tune of Started from the Bottom. Ross, wearing a boxing robe as he entered, would miss his first two attempts before eventually taking the ball from Drake, putting it through his legs and throwing it down with the opposite hand. As it turns out, Drake was a late substitution for Ross teammate and original assistant. "At first I knew the dunk I wanted to do and then I was like, DeMar (DeRozan) is going to do it," said the Raptors sophomore. "And then I was like, let me ask Drake because that would be a little better fit with him being the global ambassador, so I said that might work. I had fun with it, he was willing to help in any way he could." In the end, Ross was happy with the format change and embraced the chance to team up rather than go at it alone. "We got to throw off the shot clock, the backboard, bounce it off the ground," he said. "It was fun, everybody loved it." Ross maintained the team concept allows participants to be more creative, giving each of them a greater opportunity to come up and execute something new. For that reason, he believes the format should be here to stay. "It was fun, just coming up with certain things. I was trying to see if we could throw it off the jumbotron and see if we could do something like that but they said that would probably break it." Format changes encapsulated the entire night, certainly not what the league was going for. The Skills Challenge also had participants competing in teams for the first time. DeRozan - who was paired with Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo - more than held his own, sinking the chest pass on his first attempts and nailing the jump shot from the top of the key in two tries. His partner needed three tries to complete the pass and as a result, they were eliminated in the opening round, bested by Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo by 1.7 seconds. That pair would go on to lose to Lillard and Trey Burke by a tenth of a second in the finals. Former Raptor Marco Belinelli, the eventual winner of the Three-Point Contest, would not have made it past the first round if not for a new twist which allowed for one entire rack filled with money balls. He went on to defeat Wizards guard Bradley Beal in a tie-breaking round. Cheap NBA Jerseys From China . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night. http://www.cheapnbajerseysusa.com/ . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Cheap NBA Store . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. Wholesale NBA Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do.LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman said Monday that Jay Cutler will sit out the next game but remains the No. 1 quarterback despite backup Josh McCowns strong play. Trestman also said star linebacker Lance Briggs is "a couple of weeks away" from returning from a small fracture in his left shoulder that has sidelined him the past three games. The Bears expected him to miss six weeks, and Trestman said he remains on schedule. Chicago visits St. Louis this weekend. Cutlers status has been a topic of conversation because of his expiring contract, groin and ankle injuries, and McCowns performance. But Trestman insisted hes in no danger of losing his job. "Jay is the quarterback of our football team and Josh is the backup quarterback, and the three of us all know that," Trestman said, echoing McCowns comments after Sundays overtime win over Baltimore. "And that hasnt changed. Its not going to change." Cutler tore his left groin muscle against Washington on Oct. 20 and sat out the next game at Green Bay two weekss later.dddddddddddd He returned earlier than expected against Detroit on Nov. 10, only to suffer a high left ankle sprain in the first half. McCown came in for the Bears final drive in that game and threw a touchdown, only to have a two-point conversion fail in a two-point loss. He got the call again for Sundays overtime win over Baltimore and played well in a game that included a long rain delay. Hes 2-0 as a starter and has a 100 rating with five touchdowns and no turnovers in four appearances, but like Trestman, he has insisted that hes not taking Cutlers job. Besides Cutler and Briggs, Trestman said defensive tackle Stephen Paea is week to week after leaving Sundays game with a toe injury thats been an issue for him for much of the season. So is defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff, who signed over two weeks ago and is coming off a season-ending groin injury last year with Dallas. Trestman also said defensive end Shea McClellin (hamstring) "should get out this week and start working on Wednesday" after missing the past two games. ' ' '

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