HOUSTON -- Kyrie Irving identified himself as the dark-horse candidate in the Three-Point Shootout, but he rode off with the trophy.
"I just want go out and prove a point that I was one of the premier shooters out there with all these guys," said Irving, who beat San Antonio's Matt Bonner in the final round, 23-20. "Steve Novak and Matt Bonner, I never thought I'd beat those guys."
In the first round, Irving had 18 points, while New York's Novak had 17 and Indiana's Paul George 10 among the entrants representing the Eastern Conference.
Irving's winning total was two points off the record of 25 set by Craig Hodges in 1986 and tied by ex-Cav Jason Kapono, who was with Toronto when he won in 2008. Mark Price is the only other Cavalier to win the contest, and he did it twice -- in 1993 and 1994.
Price, of course, was lauded for his shooting. Irving admits people don't give him enough credit for his 3-point accuracy.
"I feel like I'm a better off-the-dribble shooter than a spot-up shooter," he said. "I'm not sure how many threes I have on the year [82], but not as many as the guys I was shooting against out there. I try to be as efficient as possible."
Irving missed just five of 25 shots in the final round and hit three of five moneyballs. With LeBron James up and cheering from his front-row seat, Irving hit all five shots from the left corner and the top.
On Friday, Irving scored 32 points in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, and on Sunday he'll make his All-Star debut.
"This weekend was just basically about earning everybody's respect and people getting a chance to see me that don't usually see me," Irving said. "We're not nationally televised. This weekend is to show my face to the fans and get everybody acclimated to my face in the league.
"Every award and everything that I do, the All-Star Weekend is dedicated to the Cavaliers organization, trying to be a great representative for our team."Cleveland All-Star? NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said the league would consider returning to Cleveland for the All-Star Game, last held in Northeast Ohio in 1997, when the NBA's 50 greatest players were honored.
"I was in Cleveland last Friday, had extensive discussions with [owner] Dan [Gilbert] and members of his organization and we've encouraged them to bid for a subsequent All-Star Game," Silver said. "We had a great experience when we were there back in '97, and one of the great moments, I think ... was the presentation of the 50 greatest on the floor."
Added NBA commissioner David Stern, "To get those 49 guys -- and we knew it was the last time we were ever going to get them together like that -- and to put them in effect a uniform, through a jacket of the team that they represented, that was a big thrill."
Next year's All-Star Game is in New Orleans, and Stern revealed that the 2015 game will be either in Madison Square Garden or the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. The next All-Star Weekend open for bidding is in 2016.
Saturday results: Team Bosh, featuring Miami's Chris Bosh, Atlanta legend Dominique Wilkins and Chicago's Swin Cash of the WNBA, won the Shooting Stars competition. ... Likely NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard of Portland claimed the Skills Challenge, and Toronto's Terrence Ross won a lackluster slam dunk competition.
Cleveland ties: Forward Arinze Onuaku of the Canton Charge had 14 points as the Prospects beat the Futures, 139-125, in the NBA DLeague All-Star Game. "These are guys that we battle against every day," Onuaku said, "Just to come out here and play with them, it's a good little experience and, you know, get a little time off from the regular season."
On Twitter: @pdcavsinsider
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2013/02/kyrie_irving_claims_nbas_3-poi.html
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