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G Money, Baby!



Peter Stringer on Celtics.com:
LAS VEGAS - It was all about hops and props for G-Money Saturday night.
He used props in his dunks, gave props to Dee and Red, and he's about to get mad props after being crowned the 2007 Slam Dunk champ, putting on a memorable show in Las Vegas in front of 15,694 fans.
For weeks, Green's been telling anyone who asked that he had some tricks up his sleeve, and wanted to do something nobody's ever seen before. And despite a painful toothache that bothered him all weekend, Green rose to the occasion - literally - to out-dunk defending champ Nate Robinson, Tyrus Thomas and Dwight Howard.
Along the way, he brought out a few props (a table, a retro Dee Brown jersey and a cardboard cutout of Robinson) and showed a little respect to the old school by evoking the memories of Brown's 1991 peek-a-boo slam, and by donning a #2 headband to honor Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach.
"He was the heart, face and soul of the Boston Celtics, I went with the Number 2 to show him thanks," said Green.
Teammate Paul Pierce lent his support to Green throughout the night, whether he was tossing him a lob from behind the backboard for a two-handed power jam or lobbying the judging panel for a better score. And after the contest was over and Green was being led back to the interview area, Pierce told him, "You go do you then call me. We're goin' out tonight!"
Green notched a perfect 50 on his final attempt of the night, leaping over a table (he planned on using a poker table) positioned 10 feet from the basket. He cleared the table with ease and grace, and hammered home a one-handed windmill to send the crowd into hysterics and seal the deal.
Green's four dunks had a little bit of everything. His first attempt might have been the toughest in terms of degree of difficulty; with Pierce's running assist off the left edge of the backboard, Green caught the rebound and finished with a two-handed baseline windmill. Green mentioned Friday during a photoshoot that he wanted to start the contest strong just to let the judges know he was there, and he certainly got their attention, earning a 48 out of the gate and establishing himself as the man to beat right off the bat.
And he got a big assist from his opponent when Pierce brought out a cardboard cutout of defending champ Robinson. Rather than watch Green dunk over his own likeness, Robinson said he told Green, "You might as well dunk over the real deal."
"I wanted to jump over Nate Robinson since he was the Slam Dunk Champion," Green said. "I did what I tried to do. I tried to take it away from him and that's what I did."
Green not only jumped over Robinson, but added a little No-See-Dee for affect, pulling off his jersey to reveal Brown's #7, and then covering his eyes to re-enact the dunk as he sailed over Robinson.

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