Chester Native Derrick Jones Jr. Celebrates 23rd Birthday By Winning NBA All-Star Dunk Contest In Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- A Heat player with ties to the Philadelphia area won the coveted All-Star Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night. Chester native Derrick Jones Jr. celebrated his 23rd birthday by winning the event, edging Magic forward Aaron Gordon in a memorable showdown that required two tiebreaker jams.
Jones Jr. played for Archbishop Carroll, of the Philadelphia Catholic League.
Jones and Gordon each got a perfect 50 on both of their dunks in the final. Then they got two more perfect scores on their first jam in the dunk-off.
Jones then took off from just inside the foul line and threw down a windmill jam with his left hand, drawing a 48 from the panel of five judges.
After a short discussion with Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, Gordon brought out 7-foot-5 Celtics rookie Tacko Fall and positioned him near the basket. He then took the ball from Fall's hands on his way to a thunderous dunk.
The United Center gasped as the courtside NBA stars celebrated. But Gordon was awarded a 47, giving the victory to Jones.
Gordon also lost a memorable dunk contest to Zach LaVine in 2016.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
