Robinson given chance to defend dunk title

NEW YORK, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- New York's Nate Robinson is returning to the field to defend his dunk contest title at next month's NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas.

Robinson, a 5-foot-9, fourth-year pro, won last year's slam dunk contest, adding that to his 2006 title. Four players, including Michael Jordan, have won the contest twice but no one owns three NBA dunk championships.

The NBA Monday announced that Robinson will be going against Charlotte's Gerald Wallace and the Los Angeles Lakers' Shannon Brown in the Feb. 13 event. The fourth contestant will come from a "dunk off" on Feb. 12 between Toronto's DeMar DeRozan or the Los Angeles Clippers' Eric Gordon.

The dunk contest is part of the NBA All-Star weekend Feb. 12-14 in Dallas.