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Kevin Garnett says he will not waive no-trade clause

If the Clippers were interested in Kevin Garnett, there’s a chance he would be tempted. Garnett has a home in Malibu and would help make the Clippers a strong contender for the title.Jeff Haynes/Reuters

HOUSTON — Kevin Garnett made his strongest comments yet regarding trade rumors when he said Saturday that under no circumstance would he waive his no-trade clause.

The Celtics All-Star forward added, “Why would I come back and make the provisions to ride with this team to go further, only to set up to go change?”

A Yahoo! Sports report stated that the Celtics and Clippers were in discussions about a trade that would swap Garnett for center DeAndre Jordan and guard Eric Bledsoe.

Those discussions previously had been reported by The Sporting News — and Garnett had shot down the rumors, saying, “I bleed green, I’ll die green.”

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He repeated those sentiments here during All-Star Weekend. “If it’s up to me, I’m going to live green and die green,” he said.

When told that it is up to him because of his no-trade clause — something few NBA players have — Garnett responded, “OK, then. So what are we talking about?”

Garnett said Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has not approached him recently to discuss any potential trades.

Garnett also said he has not talked to coach Doc Rivers about any impending trades. The trade deadline is Thursday.

If the Clippers were interested in Garnett, there’s a chance he would be tempted. Garnett has a home in Malibu and would help make the Clippers a strong contender for the title.

Ross wears title well

Terrence Ross put on a Vince Carter jersey, therefore raising the stakes in the slam dunk contest. Then, Ross lived up to the uniform by throwing down a one-handed, 360-degree, alley-oop jam that would’ve been tough even for a skywalker like Carter.

That dunk, which came after the Toronto guard caught a pass off the side of the backboard, set up the finale between Ross and Utah guard Jeremy Evans, last year’s champion. Evans then one-upped him by slamming a one-handed, windmill dunk over a painting of him dunking.

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Well, Ross topped that dunk and sealed his 2013 title by jumping over a ballboy, putting the ball through his legs, and then flushing it, one-handed, with plenty of force.

“It was my favorite event to watch every year, since I was a small child,” said Ross, who added that he hadn’t really competed in a dunk contest. “Actually winning it, I never thought I’d do it.”

Ross said the plan to jump over the ballboy was hatched by his agent. Ross said he told the boy the day before that he was going to dunk over him, but Ross didn’t say that he was going to go through his legs.

“You’re not going to hit me, right?” the boy asked him.

“No, I’m not going to hit you,” Ross said.

And he didn’t.

Irving wins shootout

Of all the contestants in this year’s 3-point contest, Kyrie Irving wasn’t a favorite or anything close, but Cleveland All-Star guard continued to show why he's one of the best all-around players by beating San Antonio forward Matt Bonner in the final, 23-20 . . . Portland rookie guard Damian Lillard won the skills challenge, beating out Philadelphia guard Jrue Holiday with a faster finishing time, 29.8 seconds to 35.6.

Baxter Holmes can be reached at baxter.holmes@globe.com.