Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo used NBA great Shaquille O'Neal as a prop to record a perfect score and capture the NBA Slam Dunk title on Saturday.
The high-flying rookie put out a call over the loudspeaker for the "biggest person in the building" and out strolled the 7-foot-1 O'Neal who is considered one of the greatest players in league history.
Diallo positioned O'Neal four feet from the basket, and sailed over the former Los Angeles Laker to finish with his right arm stuffed inside the rim. He brought the crowd at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina to its feet and the judges responded by giving him a perfect 50 score.
The Slam Dunk event was one of several skills contests featured on Saturday night as part of the build-up to Sunday's 2019 NBA All-Star game.
"The atmosphere was great," Diallo said. "I just came out and gave the crowd what they were looking for."
Diallo needed a 43 to win on his second and last dunk of the finals to beat New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith, who finished runner-up.
Diallo also called on US rapper Quavious Marshall (Quavo) to hold the ball just above his head, sprinted from the right corner of the court and crammed a two-handed jam.
"I was a little nervous," Diallo confessed.
Brooklyn Nets' Joe Harris earned the title of best shooter by upsetting Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry in the Three Point contest.
Harris drained a dozen straight shots in the final round to finish with a score of 26 points.
Curry was second with 24 and the Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield rounded out the top three with 19 points.
There were 10 players in the event, and seven were eliminated in the opening round.
Curry won the first round with 27 points out of a possible 34. Hield was second with 26 points, and Harris finished with 25 to grab the last spot in the finals.
Defending champion Devin Booker made his last seven shots but was eliminated in a tie for fourth with Danny Green.
Curry closed his first round out by nailing 10 straight from beyond the arc.
Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum won the Skills Challenge over Atlanta Hawks Trae Young by banking in a running three pointer from mid-court. Young tried a pull-up three pointer with his final shot but missed.
"The previous two rounds, the guy was ahead of me," Tatum said. "Figured I'd let him get a shot attempt so I could get closer to the three-point line. I didn't want to give Trae a chance.
"I honestly didn't know I was going to hit the shot, but I had to give myself a chance, throw it up there, and it worked out for the best."
Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic lost to Tatum in the semi-finals. Young sprinted ahead of Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic in the other semi.
Defending champion Spencer Dinwiddie of the Nets was unable to defend his title because of an injury.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
ANALYSTS’ TOP PICKS OF SAUDI BANKS IN 2019
Analyst: Aqib Mehboob of Saudi Fransi Capital
Top pick: National Commercial Bank
Reason: It will be at the forefront of project financing for government-led projects
Analyst: Shabbir Malik of EFG-Hermes
Top pick: Al Rajhi Bank
Reason: Defensive balance sheet, well positioned in retail segment and positively geared for rising rates
Analyst: Chiradeep Ghosh of Sico Bank
Top pick: Arab National Bank
Reason: Attractive valuation and good growth potential in terms of both balance sheet and dividends
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
