Kapono wins 3-point contest

Jason Kapono’s 3-Point Shooting Contest started a lot like his NBA career: a couple clanking off the rim, one air ball, and then lights-out. [ep

The fourth-year pro put an exclamation point on his breakout year — Kapono lead the NBA with 56 percent shooting on 3-pointers while averaging 11.1 points for the Miami Heat — by besting Gilbert Arenas and defending champion Dirk Nowitzki in the 3-point shooting contest. [ep

“I had an air ball or two. I kind of heard the crowd saying, `What the heck is this guy doing out there?’ ” the former UCLA star joked. “I felt pretty good after the first round.” [ep

Kapono had 24 of a possible 30 in the final round, tying Mark Price final-round record and coming up one short of Craig Hodges overall mark. Arenas was second with 17, although he shot the last five balls with just one hand. [ep

“It’s something that I dreamed of as a kid. You watch Larry Bird and all the guys shoot. And obviously I learned early on that I wasn’t ever going to be in the Slam Dunk par of this.” [ep