Boston's Green wins overs panel of legends to seize slam crown

LAS VEGAS -- Gerald Green capped All-Star Saturday with an acrobatic leap over a table to win the dunk contest.

Green, the Boston Celtics' 21-year-old swingman, performed his two most memorable dunks in the first round before that final leap over a table bearing the All-Star Game logo for a windmill jam.

Gerald Green pays tribute to Dee Brown's no-look jam from '91 -- while leaping over '06 champ Nate Robinson. (AP)

"I've always dreamed about being in the dunk contest, (but) I never dreamed about actually winning," said Green, who was in high school in Texas two years ago. "Just coming out here to Las Vegas and winning it for my fans in Houston, my fans in Boston, is tremendous."

He first made an electrifying two-handed slam on an alley-oop pass off the side of the backboard from teammate Paul Pierce in the first round. Green then jumped over fellow finalist Nate Robinson while wearing the No. 7 Celtics jersey of 1991 dunk champion Dee Brown -- and shielding his eyes in the crook of his elbow in an homage to Brown's memorable no-look dunk.

Green easily won over the five-man judges' panel of Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter -- particularly when Robinson, the diminutive 2006 champion, missed nine straight times on his final dunk before finally landing a one-handed spin slam.

"I knew they were going to be tough, because those guys had the creativity and the dunking style," Green said. "I tried to come out with something they never did before, (and) hopefully they could give me a score."

Green and Robinson eliminated Orlando's Dwight Howard and Chicago's Tyrus Thomas in the first round, even though the 6-foot-11 Howard came up with the most original move.

While catching a high bounce pass from teammate Jameer Nelson for a right-handed slam, Howard reached nearly to the top of the backboard to slap a sticker bearing his face onto the glass -- 12 feet, 6 inches off the ground, according to Nelson.

Green initially planned to jump over a life-size cardboard cutout of the 5-foot-9 Robinson before the New York guard volunteered to stand in for his stand-in.

Before Green's performance, there was an entertaining sideshow: NBA star-turned-broadcaster Charles Barkley beat 67-year-old NBA referee Dick Bavetta in a footrace for charity.

Though Barkley, who turns 44 on Tuesday, has gained considerable weight since his playing career, he still had enough spring to outrun Bavetta over 3½ lengths of the court. Barkley nearly lost when he began running backward for the final feet, but tumbled over the half-court line just before Bavetta made a headfirst dive.

Barkley, whose gambling exploits have been well-documented, looked at the oversized check donated to charity for the event and commented it was "two blackjack hands."