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LOS ANGELES - As practice wrapped up at the Lakers facility in L.A. on Thursday, Terrence Ross hung around to work on his aerial acrobatics with the assistance of teammate DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan threw the Raptors sophomore and reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion lobs off the side of the backboard, he tossed bounce passes and threw alley-oops. Ross experimented with a variation of finishes. As it turns out, they could both use the practice. The Raptors duo will take part in State Farm All-Star Saturday Night - taking place in New Orleans on Feb. 15 - as Ross returns to defend his title in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition and DeRozan will make an unexpected appearance in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. After edging out Jeremy Evans to win last years contest in Houston, Ross will have his work cut out for him this time around. For the first time since 1988, three all-stars - Pacers forward Paul George, Wizards guard John Wall and Blazers guard Damian Lillard - will compete in the event. Rounding out the field is Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Kings rookie guard Ben McLemore. "Everybodys kind of a threat," Ross said of this years competition. "Its going to be fun, everybody wants to win." What will Ross do for an encore? The 23-year-old says hes still searching for ideas, scouring YouTube, Twitter and even using video games to brainstorm. "Everybodys done everything," he continued. "I dont know, its like how many times can you do the same dunk before people get tired of it? So its hard to find new dunks but at the same time you always find something a little different." The one thing he could say with certainty is he will not be using props. While Ross has expected to defend his crown since last season, DeRozans debut in the Skills Challenge comes as a surprise, even to him. "I kind of got peer pressure into doing it," said the first-time all-star, who will also be assisting Ross in the dunk-off. DeRozan initially declined the invitation but his agent twisted his arm and eventually he came around. "I changed my mind. I said Ill try it, why not." "I thought it would be fun," he said of the event, which is usually exclusive for point guards but DeRozan hopes to start a new era of shooting guards entering and conquering the ball handling/passing obstacle course. "Everybody doesnt get a chance to be a part of All-Star Weekend and the big thing for me is to go out there and have fun. I think it will be cool to go out there and represent my team as much as I can and you never know, I might mess around and win it." Along with DeRozan, the participants will consists of Lillard, Goran Dragic, Reggie Jackson and rookies Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke. DeRozan, who has previously competed in the Slam Dunk contest on two separate occasions, will be the first Raptor to appear in the Skills Challenge. Although he wouldnt tip his hand, his strategy centres on speed over precision. "I look at it like, a lot of players go out there and try to do it cool," said the fifth-year guard. "I always used to say, you can go a little faster. So Ive got my whole mindset to try and win it." The format in both events will be tweaked this season. The Skills Challenge will feature four teams of two players each competing in a two-round timed relay-style course. The fastest team from each conference will advance to the second and final round, where the winning pair will be crowned. The Dunk Contest participants will also compete in teams, divided by conference. The competition will tip off with a "freestyle round" where the dunkers for each the East and the West will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they choose. At the conclusion of the opening round, the panel of judges will vote for a winning conference. The winning conference will decide whether its competitors will dunk first or second in the following round, a head-to-head "battle round". In the battle round dunkers from opposing conferences will face off against each other, with the judges choosing a winner in each battle. The first team to win three battles will win the competition. Fans will then vote on the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Ross is the fifth Raptor to participate in the event, joining DeRozan, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jamario Moon. Trae Young Jersey . Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three. Custom Atlanta Hawks Jerseys . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. http://www.authenticbasketballshophawks....s-hawks-jersey/. They have watched it from afar. And now they have seen it for themselves. Justin Anderson Jersey . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. John Collins Jersey . -- The taxing preseason, which included two games in China, is finally over.EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers didnt follow the script the standings suggested they should have. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals, including the winner, and added an assist as the Oilers came from behind to stun the Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime on Friday. The Oilers had a power play to start the overtime session and Jordan Eberle made a perfect pass to Nugent-Hopkins, who snapped the puck into a wide-open net 1:01 into extra time. "That shows a lot of character for us, and just to show we can play this way, it was a big game for us," said Nugent-Hopkins, whose Oilers team trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes. "There was no real deflation in the second intermission. When we get into trouble we kind of deflate and dont bring that same effort and I thought we did a good job of not getting down on ourselves and we pushed back and we did a great job of sticking with it." Taylor Hall and Anton Belov also scored for the Oilers (15-27-5), who captured just their fourth win in the last 15 games. Edmonton sits in second last place in the NHL. "With our history this year, some nights we havent wanted to stick with the game plan and just breathe," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. "Tonight we did that, we took a breath and understood what we needed to do and we stuck with it. Its good when you get rewarded that way, because it backs up what were trying to promote. Beating a team like Pittsburgh, puts a little jump into our step." Hall said it was a good feeling in a season that hasnt contained all that many of them. "It was a fun effort all around, there was a good atmosphere in the arena tonight and we found a way to win," he said. "We were down quite a few times in the game, but we came back, stuck to our guns, stuck to our game plan and it was good to see." James Neal, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang responded with goals for the Penguins (32-12-2), who had their three-game win streak halted. It was just Pittsburghs third loss in its last 15 games. "We just didnt match their desperation," Crosby said. "Being up by two goals, obviously we need to find a way to close that game out. We knew they were going to come out hard for the third and we still let them get even, then we took the lead and lost it again. You dont deserve to win games when you do that." Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said three penalties his team took, including Brandon Sutters slashing call that gave the Oilers the man advantage heading into overtime, were a major contributor to the loss. "A big part of the game was the penalties we took," he said. "We took a penalty on the power play two times and we took a penalty behind their net in the offensive zone at the end of the third that turns into the game-winning goal. We had three penalties that were undisciplined.dddddddddddd" The Oilers had the best chance in the early running as Ryan Smyth stole a puck deep in Pittsburgh territory minutes into the game and got in tight on Penguins starter Jeff Zatkoff, but his stick broke on the shot attempt. Edmonton had 11 shots in a scoreless first period, while the Penguins put nine shots on Devan Dubnyk in the Oilers net. Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second period after a pair of costly giveaways in his own end by Edmonton defender Jeff Petry. The second mistake gave the puck to Evgeni Malkin behind the net and he fed it out front to Neal for his 17th goal of the season. The Penguins went up by two goals eight minutes into the second as a Crosby pass attempt hit Oiler Sam Gagner and caromed through Dubnyks legs. It was Crosbys first-ever goal against the Oilers and 25th of the season. With a minute left in the second Dubnyk came up with a pair of huge saves on Malkin and Chris Kunitz on a Penguins power play. Malkin knocked Dubnyks goalie stick into the corner and the Oiler goalie took exception, as the two mixed it up before a crowd of players congregated. Edmonton got on the board 53 seconds into the third period on an abbreviated power play with Malkin in the box as Eberle spotted Nugent-Hopkins creeping in from the point and the 2011 first overall draft pick made a perfect shot to beat Zatkoff. The Oilers tied the game with just under 10 minutes to play in the third period as they got an odd-man rush on a Pittsburgh line change. A shot from Nugent-Hopkins deflected to Hall in the crease where he was able to hook it in for his 17th of the season. Pittsburgh jumped back in front on a four-on-three advantage with just under eight minutes left as Crosby won a face-off and Letang caught Dubnyk going the other way on a shot from the top of the circle to make it 3-2. Edmonton kept up the pressure, however, and was able to tie the game 3-3 with just 1:59 remaining as Belov scored his first career NHL goal with a point shot that went over Zatkoffs shoulder. The Penguins have a quick turnaround, taking on the Flames in Calgary on Saturday. The Oilers embark on a four-game trip, starting in Chicago on Sunday. Notes: It was the second and final meeting between the two teams. The Penguins won the first game 3-2 in Pittsburgh in Octobera It was the Penguins first visit to Edmonton since Oct. 9, 2011. Sidney Crosby was hurt for that game, making Friday his first appearance in Edmonton since Jan. 14, 2010. The Oilers were one of just four teams he hadnt scored against - a list now down to Chicago, San Jose and St. Louisa The Penguins have 13 players in double-digits in points this seasona Pittsburghs Chris Kunitz has the best plus-minus in the league at +23. Edmontons Nail Yakupov is last at -24. 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