NEW YORK — After taking down Superman, Nate Robinson wanted a shot at King James.

Robinson is returning to the slam dunk contest at All-Star weekend, where he will try to become the first three-time winner. And like most NBA fans, he's disappointed LeBron James won't be in the field.

"I was hoping so," Robinson said yesterday. "It'd be good for the fans, for the NBA. It'd be pretty cool to get him and some other big names in it, but them guys are All-Stars. They don't got to waste their time doing dunks and stuff like that."

James tentatively placed himself in the Feb. 13 competition in Dallas while watching last year's exciting matchup between Robinson and Dwight Howard in Phoenix from the seats. He said last month he was still "50-50" about participating.

Howard also passed this time, leaving a lackluster field of Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, Lakers guard Shannon Brown, and the winner of a dunk-off during halftime of the rookie game between the Clippers' Eric Gordon and Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan.

Knicks 99, Pistons 91: Nate Robinson scored 27 points to lead host New York to a victory and a split of a home-and-home series with Detroit.

Wizards 97, Trail Blazers 92: Antawn Jamison scored 21 of his 28 points after halftime and host Washington won its second straight game by beating Portland.

Thunder 94, Hawks 91: Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Jeff Green had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and visiting Oklahoma City ended Atlanta's three-game winning streak.

Bobcats 105, Kings 103: Gerald Wallace shook off an ankle injury to score 28 points and Raymond Felton had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as host Charlotte beat Sacramento.

Rockets 101, Bucks 98, OT: Luis Scola scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Aaron Brooks dished out 10 assists and host Houston beat Milwaukee in overtime.

Clippers 106, Nets 95: Chris Kaman, who missed the previous four games with a sore lower back, had 22 points and seven rebounds and host Los Angeles snapped a four-game skid.

Timberwolves 108, 76ers 103, OT: Jonny Flynn had a career-high 29 points and nine assists and host Minnesota rallied from 20 points down to beat Philadelphia in overtime.

Spurs 97, Hornets 90: Tony Parker scored 25 points and San Antonio beat New Orleans, which lost for only the second time in its last 15 home games.

Warriors 114, Bulls 97: Monta Ellis had 36 points, eight assists and five rebounds, Corey Maggette added 32 points, six rebounds and five assists as Golden State beat visiting Chicago.

Grizzlies 125, Suns 118: Rudy Gay scored 31 points, Zach Randolph added 27 points and 11 rebounds and Memphis finished a four-game home stretch undefeated.

Mavericks 99, Celtics 90: Dirk Nowitzki had 37 points, scoring nine in a row during a third-quarter run that gave Dallas the lead for good against host Boston.

Lakers 98, Magic 92: Shannon Brown scored a career-high 22 points, Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and host Los Angeles scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.

Marbury in China: Stephon Marbury reached an agreement to play for a professional team in China. Shanxi announced it was bringing in the former NBA All-Star guard yesterday. In a release, the team said it expected Marbury to play his first game Jan. 27 against Qingdao.

Stackhouse returns: Jerry Stackhouse will join the Bucks when they return to Milwaukee and may see action in their next game tomorrow. The Bucks and Stackhouse have agreed to a contract for the rest of this season.