All-Star Saturday night to be quite a show

(Basketball News) - While the 54th annual All-Star Game will be the main course on Sunday evening, there will be plenty of appetizers for fans to munch on Saturday night. The festivities will include the Three-Point Shootout, Rising Stars Slam Dunk contest, Shooting Stars contest and Skills Challenge.

The Three-Point Shootout should be one of the highlights of the weekend, as injured Denver guard Voshon Lenard will return to the hardwood to defend his 2004 title. Lenard, who played in just one game before rupturing his Achilles’ tendon this season, will have to fend off five of the league’s best sharpshooters in the competition, including Seattle’s Ray Allen and Philadelphia’s Kyle Korver. Allen won the 2001 Three-Point contest and Korver finished a close third last season.

The Rising Stars Slam Dunk contest will be returning to the site of the original ABA event in 1976 and the subsequent NBA contest in 1984. Julius Erving won the original contest and Larry Nance won the NBA’s inaugural contest in the Mile High City.

Although 2004 champion Fred Jones of the Indiana Pacers won’t be competing in the dunk contest, there will be four talented young players involved, highlighted by third-year forward Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire has exploded this season, registering 26.2 points (4th-NBA) and 8.7 rebounds (19th) per contest. The 22-year-old is known for his ability to get to the rim, as he is second in the league in field goal percentage (.570).

Stoudemire will be challenged in the dunk contest by rookie Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans’ players J.R. Smith and Chris Anderson. Smith has accounted for 67 dunks this season, while shooting 48 percent from the field. The winner will get $25,000 for his favorite charity.

The Shooting Stars contest will have four teams consisting of three players from Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Each squad will have a current NBA player, a former NBA star and a current WNBA player from the city. The contestants will be competing for $75,000 in prize money.

The third annual Skills challenge will involve NBA stars Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards, Boykins and Luke Ridnour of the Seattle SuperSonics. The point guards will compete in a two- round timed "obstacle course" event consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations.