Tough competition abounds in Saturday's All-Star events

As the only Foot Locker 3-Point Shootout participant with a 3-point shooting percentage of less than 40, Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant would seem to be the underdog going into All-Star Saturday Night. Not so fast, another challenger countered.

"I look at myself as the underdog and hopefully the underdog can come out on top," Miami swingman James Jones said.

Jones and Durant are going up against some heady competition. Boston forward Paul Pierce is the event's defending champion. Celtics teammate Ray Allen is the league's all-time leader in 3-pointers made, having broken Reggie Miller's record 10 days ago. Golden State's Dorell Wright leads the league in 3-pointers made (135) and Cleveland's Daniel Gibson is fifth in shooting percentage (44.3).

"I feel lucky they picked me," Durant said. "My 3-point percentage (33.8) isn't as good as the other guys, but I'm confident in myself and hopefully I make some. But it's going to be a fun experience shooting against great shooters."

The 3-point contest isn't the only marquee event the day before Sunday's All-Star Game. The Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, Taco Bell Skills Challenge and Haier Shooting Stars are also part of All-Star Saturday Night, with coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

Stephen Curry (Golden State), Derrick Rose (Chicago), John Wall (Washington) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City) are the competition for defending champ Chris Paul (New Orleans) in the Skills Challenge. Team Texas is after a Shooting Stars repeat, with squads from Atlanta, Chicago and host Los Angeles in the mix.

The Slam Dunk Contes field includes a trio of big guys, with Los Angeles Clippers All-Star rookie power forward Blake Griffin being touted as the (hometown) favorite. A pair of centers -- the 6-foot-10 Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City) and 7-footer JaVale McGee (Washington) -- are making their dunk contest debuts, too. Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan, who stands 6-foot-7, is the lone "little guy."

Despite the death of a close friend earlier this week, Griffin remained committed to fulfilling a full weekend of All-Star obligations. It began with  a 14-point showing in 14 minutes in Friday night's Rookie Challenge. The Oklahoma City native moves on to the dunk contest before coming off the bench for the Western Conference All-Star team in Sunday' nights game.

Now that the first night is done, Griffin is geared up for the dunk competition on his adopted home turf.

"I can't wait," he said. "It's going to fun. Staples Center doesn't look remotely like it does when we play there, so that will be a little different."

So is the setup with big men on display. Ibaka, a former dunk champ in Spain, could surprise, said his dunk coach and Thunder teammate.

"Just with his overall athleticism, jumping as high as he can," Durant said. "He's a tall guy, so of course he can't do regular dunks because they won't look as good as a short guy like DeMar or maybe a Blake Griffin. But his athleticism is off the charts, he jumps so high that it's going to be fun to see him compete against the best dunkers."

Durant is counting on his quick, smooth release being an asset against shooters that statistically are better.

"I'm not as quick a shooter as Ray Allen, but it should help," he said. "Me being long and athletic guy, it's easy for me to pick the balls off the rack and shooting 'em. It's just a matter of making them and my arms not getting as tired. We'll see what happens."

Art Garcia has covered the NBA since 1999. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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