Los Angeles  - Nate Robinson had the kryptonite to conquer Dwight Howard's Superman.

Dressed in green and using Howard as a hurdle, Robinson reclaimed the Slam Dunk Contest title Saturday night, edging the defending champion in fan balloting to cap All-Star Saturday Night at Phoenix.

An otherwise lackluster night had a terrific finish, with Howard reprising his "Superman" dunking persona and Robinson overcoming him - figuratively and literally.

On the 5-9 Robinson's last dunk, he took a running start from half-court and soared over the 6-11 Howard, boosting himself slightly on the big man's shoulder.

"I asked him (Friday) in the elevator," said Robinson, the electric guard of the New York Knicks who also won in 2007. "He was like, 'Hey, I'll do it.' I thought he was joking."

Howard had the last dunk and took off from just inside the foul line for a one-handed jam. That was not enough to convince the fans, who selected Robinson by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

"It is all about having fun," Howard said. "Hey, he won fair and square. The fans loved it. We tried to put on a good show."

Robinson may have serious competition next year in superstar LeBron James, who said he is planning on entering the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest in Dallas.

"Right now, preliminarily, I'm putting my name in the dunk contest," James said.

Robinson and Howard each displayed creativity and good use of props. In the first round scored by a panel of judges, Robinson dunked after stepping on the back of teammate Wilson Chandler, who was on all fours in the lane.

Howard followed with a remarkably staged dunk. A forklift carried out a second backboard and rim set at 12 feet. Howard ducked into a makeshift phone booth and emerged wearing the Superman cape he made famous a year ago, then took a pass off the backboard from Orlando Magic teammate Jameer Nelson and dunked easily.

Before the final round, Robinson changed from a traditional blue Knicks uniform to a green one the team wears on St Patrick's Day, adding green sneakers and a green ball for the kryptonite effect. Meanwhile, Howard took off the red cape.

"When Dwight did the Superman last year, a light bulb went on - ding, ding, ding - there it is," Robinson said. "Kryptonite. That's Superman's weakness."

Eliminated in the first round were JR Smith of Denver and Spanish rookie Rudy Fernandez of Spain, who wore a jersey of the late Fernando Martin, the first Spaniard to play in the NBA.

In the Three-Point Shootout, unheralded Miami Heat reserve Daequan Cook had the two highest scores, but it was his round in between that helped him unseat two-time defending champion Jason Kapono of Toronto.

A second-year guard shooting 41 per cent from the arc, Cook fired an 18 in the first round, allowing him to go last in the finals. He struggled early and had to make his last four shots to get to 15, tying Orlando Magic All-Star Rashard Lewis and bumping Kapono (14).

Lewis tired in the tie-breaker round, missing his first 11 shots and finishing with seven points. Cook surpassed that total in his first two racks of balls and posted a 19.

"I felt this was my opportunity to show a lot of people that I could be considered one of the elite three-point shooters in this game," Cook said.

Mike Bibby of Atlanta, Roger Mason Jr. of San Antonio and All-Star Danny Granger of Indiana were eliminated in the first round.

All-Star Saturday Night began with an outdoor event in bright sunshine - the inaugural H-O-R-S-E competition at TNT's temporary studio won by Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City.

Durant, who scored a record 46 points as MVP of Friday's Rookie Challenge, was one letter away from elimination before sinking a series of long jumpers that All-Star Joe Johnson of Atlanta and rookie OJ Mayo of Memphis could not match.

"Kevin got on a roll and made some shots," said Mayo, who tried a shot while sitting on the floor and an underhanded free throw.

The events shifted to the US Airways Center, where Detroit, represented by Arron Afflalo, WNBA star Kate Smith and former NBA star Bill Laimbeer, won the Shooting Stars in 58.4 seconds for the six shot spots. Phoenix, led by "Brazilian Blur" Leandro Barbosa, was second.

Chicago Bulls rookie Derrick Rose won the Skills Challenge, outworking three All-Stars on an obstacle course of shooting, dribbling and passing. His final time of 35.3 seconds beat Devin Harris of New Jersey after "French Flash" Tony Parker of San Antonio and Mo Williams of Cleveland were eliminated in the first round. (dpa)