James Jones will have a busy NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, as a player representative for Miami in contract talks and now as competitor in the three-point shootout.

Jones was named on Tuesday as one of six selections for the three-point shooting competition, part of the slate of activities on All-Star Saturday night.

The All-Star game itself will be held the next day, Sunday, Feb 20, at Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.

"I was as surprised as anyone else when I found out I was invited, just because I don't look at what I do as anything spectacular or special," said Jones, who almost exclusively shoots from beyond the arc for Miami.

"I'm a specialist and I think 95 percent of my shots are threes," he said. "Naturally, I take a lot, and I make a lot."

Jones finished the 2007-08 season as the NBA's third-best three-point shooter. But an injury to his right wrist hindered him for almost two years.

Fears that he would never regain his best form have proved unfounded.

Jones' 91 three-pointers entering Tuesday already were 21 more than he made in the past two seasons combined, and he's on pace to far surpass his single-season best of 110.

Also in the field are defending champion Paul Pierce, fellow Celtics All-Star Ray Allen, NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, Golden State's Dorell Wright and Cleveland's Daniel Gibson.

By the time the NBA's mid-season showcase weekend arrives, Allen may well have become the league's all-time three-point leader.

As of Tuesday, Allen needed two three-pointers to break Reggie Miller's NBA record of 2,560 in a career.

Jones is the fourth Miami player to earn a spot in the All-Star festivities.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are Eastern Conference starters in the All-Star game and Chris Bosh was selected as a reserve.

AFP

(China Daily 02/10/2011 page24)