Robinson rises above Slam-Dunk competition

(02-19) 04:00 PDT Houston -- Chalk one up for the little guys.

Nate Robinson barely reached the shoulder tops of his competitors, but he soared above Andre Iguodala in a sudden-death dunk off Saturday to win the slam dunk contest.

Despite missing his first 14 attempts, Robinson prevailed with a between-the-legs, one-handed jam in a rather obvious fix by the judging panel. It scored the tiebreaker 47-46 in favor of the 5-foot-9 Knicks guard.

"I was extremely nervous," Robinson said on the victory podium.

And it showed.

His best dunk came the previous round, when he leapt over fellow shorty Spud Webb for a one-handed jam and a perfect 50 points. Robinson said the idea came from teammate Jamal Crawford, and it didn't take much to persuade the 5-6 Webb to greenlight the move.

"I've seen him jump, and that's all I needed," said Webb, who won the event 20 years ago.

Robinson's upset sealed a disappointing finish for Iguodala, who dazzled for most of the night with two perfect dunks. It was A.I. to A.I. in the first round as Allen Iverson bounced a pass off the backside of the backboard and Iguodala ran in from the baseline to slam it home. Iguodala later threw a ball off the backboard and went behind the back for a one-handed dunk.

Defending dunk champ Josh Smith couldn't make it make it out of the first round in his bid to join Jason Richardson and Michael Jordan as the only consecutive winners.

Saturday Night Fever: San Antonio completed a Texas two-step as Dirk Nowitzki won the 3-point shootout and Tony Parker, Steve Kerr and Kendra Wecker combined to dominate the Shooting Stars competition. Miami's Dwyane Wade topped LeBron James in the Skills Challenge.

No Viva Las Vegas: In his annual state of the NBA address, commissioner David Stern reiterated that next year's All-Star Game in Las Vegas will not be a dry run for placing a team in the city. His concern is not over gambling itself, but the specific act of betting on NBA games, which Stern says precludes the league from taking up residence there.

Stern remained committed to returning the Hornets to New Orleans for the 2007-08 season and expects negotiations with the city for the 2008 All-Star Game to be concluded shortly.

Briefly: Two rules changes become effective next season: Coaches will be able to call time-outs in addition to players, and teams will be awarded possession of the ball and two free throws, instead of one, on breakaway fouls.

This article appeared on page C - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle