Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Terrence Ross attempts a dunk during the 2013 NBA all star slam dunk contest at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

While no actual games took place, Saturday night was full of highlights. It began with Team Bosh winning the Sears Shooting Stars Challenge over Team Westbrook. Then we saw Portland’s Damian Lillard win the Taco Bell Skills Competition. Next up was the Cavs Kyrie Irving winning the Foot Locker Three-Point Content with an impressive score of 23. Lastly, in an odd dunk contest, Toronto’s Terrence Ross took home the title over favorites James White and Gerald Green.

First up on the night was the Sears Shooting Stars Challenge. Team Westbrook looked to have it all wrapped up, but failed to make the half-court shot with over a minute to go. That essentially handed the title to Team Bosh, who took home the trophy won for their charity. No video highlights were made available for this competition.

The next event saw Lillard take home the Skills Challenge title over the 76ers Jrue Holiday in the finals. Lillard pushed the pace and took the title home. The odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year added another clip to his already large resume.

Next up was the Cavs Irving, coming off a big performance on Friday when he broke Brandon Knight’s ankles. On Saturday, he defeated Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs to win the three-point competition, out shooting favorites like the Warriors Stephen Curry and New York’s Steve Novak. All that remains for Irving is his first All-Star game. Can Uncle Drew show up big again tonight?

Lastly, we have the Sprite Slam Dunk competition. Toronto’s Ross stole the show by wearing a Vince Carter jersey for one of his dunks and beat three superb dunkers in Utah’s Jeremy Evans, New York’s James White and Indiana’s Gerald Green to win the title. Check out the highlights below.

Feb 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Team Shaq guard Kyrie Irving (2) of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against Team Chuck during the second half of the rising stars challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

At the 2013 Rising Stars Challenge, Kyrie Irving again put on a big show on the big stage. A year after he scored 34 points in an MVP performance last year as a rookie, Irving put on another show. In a 32-point effort, the budding superstar had several moments that made Twitter explode due to excitement.

Early on, it looked as if Irving was going to take a back seat and distribute the ball to his Team Shaq teammates. He missed his first few shots and did not appear to be putting forth his full effort. In fact, he did not hit his first three-pointer until the eight-minute mark in the first half. But then a switch turned on, and in the second half, Irving began to steal the show. On two consecutive possessions, Irving made highlight reel plays that made jaws drop. For example, on one possession, Irving crossed over Detroit’s Brandon Knight and then nailed a sick jumper. On the next play, Irving weaved through the defense and finger rolled it in. For the night, Irving finished with 32 points, 14-of-20 from the field, 4-of-8 from three and added six assists. If Team Shaq had been victorious over Team Chuck, there is not doubt that Irving would have received MVP Honors.

This was the first night of a big three-day weekend for Irving. Tonight, he did what he had to do: put forth a big performance and got people talking about his play. Tomorrow night is the least important of the three, as he is not favored to win the three-point contest. But Sunday, where he will be making his All-Star game debut, Irving has a chance to put himself on the national stage. Assuming he plays a fair amount of minutes, Irving will put on a show. He always seems to do it on the big stage, and at this point in his career there is no bigger stage for Irving to play on.

Feb 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Team Shaq guard Dion Waiters (3) of the Cleveland Cavaliers dunks against Team Chuck during the second half of the rising stars challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie guard Dion Waiters had the best game of any rookie at the 2013 Rising Stars Challenge. He was taken to school by fellow rookie Bradley Beal at times, but he was dynamite on offense. On the same day he hung out with fellow Philadelphia native Meek Mill – Waiters truly did ball hard.

Coming in midway through the first half, Waiters came out looking for his shot. On one of his first possessions, he was scored on easily. But turning up the aggression almost instantly, Waiters went on the attack the next possession, scoring a layup in the process. His next shot was not so pretty, as he bricked it from mid-range. But from there, Waiters played some of the best basketball I have ever seen him play.

On a few of the next possessions, Waiters continued to attack the basket. On one possession, he took a nice pass from the Bobcats Kemba Walker and finished strong. He ran the long side of the floor and put in a nice alley-oop layup. Later in the game, when it turned into a glorified dunk contest, Waiters threw down a nice dunk that was booed by the fans. For the night, Waiters finished with 23 points on 11-of-12 shooting – good for the game’s third highest scoring total. Out of his Cavalier teammates, Waiters had the second highest point total behind Irving’s 32.

This is exactly the kind of basketball I would like to see Waiters play on a nightly basis. He was aggressive, tried to get to the rim and did not settle for any long jumpers. If he can carry this performance over to the second half of the season, then Waiters star really may be rising.