Robinson rules for 3rd time

DALLAS – New York’s Nate Robinson is the NBA’s first three-time slam dunk champion.

Robinson barely won another title during Saturday night’s All-Star festivities, garnering 51 percent of the fan vote to hold off Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan, who advanced to the final round after getting a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round.

The final dunk for the 5-foot-9 guard out of the University of Washington came when he threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed it and turned midair for a two-handed backward slam.

Robinson was joined on the court for the final round by several Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, though they weren’t used as props for any of his dunks.

“They’re way too beautiful for that,” Robinson said. “I just wanted them to stand over there and cheer.”

After his final slam, Robinson celebrated by grabbing a pair of silver and blue pompoms from one of them and waving them.

DeRozan got a spot in the competition by winning the first All-Star Slam Dunk-In, beating Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon at halftime of the rookie challenge on Friday night.

Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace and Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated after the first round. DeRozan got into the final round after recording a 50 when he caught a pass off the side of the backboard and slammed it with his right hand on the other side of the hoop.

The five 10s came from a judging panel that included former dunk champions Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins. The 5-7 Webb won the event the other time it was held in his hometown of Dallas in 1986.

Fan voting determined the winner after Robinson and DeRozan both dunked twice in the final round. Robinson won the dunk title as a rookie in 2006, then beat Dwight Howard to win again last year.

While Robinson reigned again, Boston’s Paul Pierce arrived for All-Star weekend wanting to make up for an embarrassing performance.

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

“I wanted this really bad,” Pierce said after celebrating with teammate Kevin Garnett. “They don’t look at me as a shooter, but more of a scorer.”

Pierce had 20 points in the final round, making all five of the 2-point money balls, to beat Golden State’s Stephen Curry (17) and Denver’s Chauncey Billups (14).

When Pierce last competed in the Shootout in 2002, he scored only eight points – what he called leading into this week’s competition “almost a record low.”

Defending 3-point champion Daequan Cook of Miami was eliminated after the first round.

Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash also was a winner, beating the young guys to capture another Skills Challenge title.

Nash, who turned 36 last Sunday, became a two-time Skills champion when he beat a trio of 20-somethings.