Mac McClung levantó su segunda corona consecutiva del concurso de clavadas / Mac McClung earns perfect score to take 2nd straight NBA Slam Dunk Contest title over Jaylen Brown

Por EFE – Indianápolis (EE.UU.).- Mac McClung selló este sábado un logro que solo ostentan Michael Jordan y otros tres jugadores en la historia de la NBA, al coronarse campeón del concurso de mates del All-Star por segunda vez consecutiva.

En el Lucas Oil Stadium de Indianápolis (Indiana), la casa de los Colts de la NFL, y en una espectacular pista de led, McClung se coronó por segundo año seguido y puso la guinda a la final con un poderoso mate saltando por encima de Shaquille O’Neal que recibió el máximo, 50 puntos, por parte de los cuatro jueces.

Este base sólo tiene cuatro partidos de experiencia en la NBA, uno con Los Ángeles Lakers, uno con los Chicago Bulls y dos con los Philadelphia 76ers. Pero ya colocó su nombre en la historia de la liga de baloncesto estadounidense.

Se impuso en la final a Jaylen Brown, la súper estrella de los Boston Celtics, que firmó el pasado verano un contrato de 305 millones de dólares en cinco años.

Solo Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson y Zach LaVine consiguieron coronarse dos veces consecutivas como reyes de los mates.

Convenció a todos. A los jueces, Gary Payton, Mitch Richmond, Darnell Hilmann, el primer campeón de este concurso (1977), y Dominique Wilking, que ganó la prueba de mates en Indianápolis en 1985; y también al público, que celebró por todo lo alto sus espectaculares mates.

La elevación fue el centro de la exhibición de McClung. Conectó su primer intento de la final tras saltar a dos personas, una encima de otra, llegó con la cabeza al aro y cerró con un poderoso mate con una mano.

En el segundo, entregó una camiseta de los Osceola Magic, de talla XL, a O’Neal y le saltó con aparente facilidad para hacer un mate ‘reverse’.

Acabó con 98.8 puntos sobre 100, por el 97.8 de un Jaylen Brown que honró en su primer mate a su compañero Terrence Clarke, fallecido a los 19 años en 2021. El alero de los Celtics hizo proyectar la imagen de Clarke en la pista de led del Lucas Oil Stadium.

En el segundo, llevó un guante de plata en la mano izquierda, un guiño a quienes le reprocha no saber usar la zurda. Su 97.8 obligaba a McClung a sumar al menos 49.1 para ganar, y el de base lo hizo con un asombroso 50 de 50.

Su explosión quitó protagonismo al mexicano Jaime Jáquez, que saltó a competir con una camiseta negra de Miami con el número once, el lema ‘Cultura’ en la parte frontal y el nombre del equipo en español ‘el Heat’, un guiño a México.

En su primer mate, colocó a Shaquille O’Neal delante de la canasta y le saltó para conectar un potente mate con una mano. Los jueces no apreciaron particularmente y le dieron un promedio de 47.4 de 50.

En la segunda ronda, conectó un mate con dos mates tras un movimiento de 360 grados. El 46.8 de los jueces le dejó virtualmente fuera de la pelea por el pase a la final.

Tampoco pudo pasar de ronda Jacob Toppin, superado por un McClung contundente, que avanzó con un total de 97.4. Recibió el balón, lo dejó en el aire, antes de recogerlo y hacer un mate ‘reverse’.

En el segundo, repitió el ‘reverse’, tras un espectacular movimiento con molinillo incluido.

Brown, por su parte, provocó la sonora pitada del público cuando conectó su segundo mate tras recibir el balón de Jayson Tatum, saltó al ‘streamer’ Kai Cenat e hizo proyectar el parqué de los Boston Celtics en los led de la pista.

El All Star de Indianápolis concluirá este domingo con el partido de las estrellas en la Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Mac McClung earns perfect score to take 2nd straight NBA Slam Dunk Contest title over Jaylen Brown

By MICHAEL MAROT – AP Sports Writer Feb 18, 2024 – Mac McClung has won his second straight NBA Slam Dunk Contest by grabbing the ball out of Shaquille O’Neal’s hands and leaping over him to draw five perfect scores on his final attempt

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Mac McClung went back to school to win his second consecutive NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

He asked Shaquille O’Neal to squeeze into McClung’s old high school jersey, then grabbed the ball out of the big man’s hands and leapt clear over him to draw five perfect scores on his final attempt Saturday night.

McClung compiled 98.8 points on his last two dunks, while Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown finished with 97.8.

“Shaq was so cool to put that high school jersey on, man, it almost made me emotional that he would do that,” McClung said. “When he put it on, he said, ‘You better not miss it.’ I said, ‘OK, I won’t miss it.'”

Unlike some of his previous attempts, McClung made this dunk on his first try and was rewarded handsomely by the five judges.

As a result, the high-flying, 6-foot-2 guard who plays for Orlando’s G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic, became the sixth player with two or more Slam Dunk titles and the first to win in back-to-back seasons since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016.

Hey Mac, gonna go for an unprecedented third straight title next year?

“I don’t know. We’ll think about it,” said McClung, who led his team to the G League championship last year. “I’m not sure yet.”

The only player with three NBA Slam Dunk crowns is Nate Robinson, but those didn’t come in a row.

McClung jumped over two people on his first dunk in the final round. Brown paid tribute to the late Terrence Clark, a Massachusetts prep star who died in a car crash at age 19 in April 2021.

McClung needed an even higher score after four judges gave Brown a 49 and the other one awarded a 50 on his final dunk, a left-handed slam over one person with a Michael Jackson-style sequin glove covering his left hand.

McClung then picked O’Neal out of the crowd, asked him to stand in as the prop and delivered the dunk of the night.

“It was like, ‘OK, you’ve really got to bring something, and I think they want us to make our dunks on the first try, which I completely understand,” McClung said. “So I knew it was time to lock in for the finals.”

3-POINT CONTEST

Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard defended his NBA 3-point contest title by finishing with 26 points in the final round.

Lillard, who won with Portland last season, became the eighth player to win at least two 3-point crowns and the first since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008 to do it in consecutive years.

Lillard beat out Trae Young of Atlanta and Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota, who both had 24 points in the last round.

“I think last year it was a lower score to win. Like, nobody really shot the ball great,” Lillard said. “This one, I felt like everybody shot at a pretty high clip in the first round, in the tiebreaking round and the final round. Everyone shot well, so this one was, I’d say, a little more fun.”

SKILLS CHALLENGE

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, a two-time All-Star, made the tiebreaking half-court shot with 20.5 seconds left in a timed contest Saturday night to give Team Pacers the NBA’s Skills Challenge crown over Team All-Stars.

Haliburton, Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin teamed up to win the night’s first two competitions — the team relay and the passing competition — at Lucas Oil Stadium, just a short walk from their home arena.

It took Team All-Stars 58.8 seconds to make its first half-court shot. Haliburton needed just 38.3 seconds to win it.

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