NEW YORK — Syracuse guard Dion Waiters competed with fellow guard Michael Carter-Williams for dunk of the game during the second half of Syracuse’s 95-70 win over St. John’s on Saturday.
One play after Carter-Williams’ crowd-pleasing tomahawk jam over St. John’s forward God’sgift Achiuwa, Waiters had a highlight dunk of his own. James Southerland had just stolen the ball and fed it to Waiters, who had an unimpeded path to the basket.
» Did you like Waiters or Carter-Williams’ dunk more? Discuss.
» More from the St. John’s game: Carter-Williams throws down vicious dunk
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Waiters threw down his patented dunk, bringing the ball wide to his right before slamming the ball violently through the rim. Waiters’ basket gave SU a 70-46 lead with 9:16 left as the rout was on.
“Both are great dunks,” Carter-Williams said. “Dion gets one of those a game. He’s a great dunker.”
The impact had the same effect as Carter-Williams’ shot, bringing the pro-Syracuse crowd to its feet for the second time in less than a minute. The Garden hummed for several minutes afterward.
“It got me hyped,” Waiters said. “I tried to come down and duplicate what he did.”
It was a welcome sign for Waiters, who had struggled in his previous three games. Against West Virginia, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, Waiters had averaged 7.0 points on 7-for-28 shooting.
Against the Red Storm, Waiters busted out of his slump with 14 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from downtown. He also contributed four assists and four rebounds.
“The shots that I was making, I was missing,” Waiters said. “I just got in the gym extra. I went overtime, and it pays at the end of the day.”
