CASPER
New member
LOS ANGELES – With a gospel choir at midcourt encouraging him to fly, Blake Griffin soared over a car and threw down a two-handed dunk.
The rookie's remarkable leap won the slam dunk contest, and it also drove home the clear point of All-Star Saturday: The Clippers' rising star is just at the beginning of one thrilling ride.
Griffin easily cleared the hood of the 2011 Kia Optima and caught a pass from teammate Baron Davis out of the sunroof while the berobed Crenshaw Select Choir sang "I Believe I Can Fly," winning the 26th NBA dunk contest in iconic style before his hometown fans.
"There's a little pressure on us to really put on a show, but I thought those guys all did a great job," said Griffin, who beat Washington's Javale McGee in the final.
Griffin grew up watching and rewatching every dunk contest on videotape with his brother in Oklahoma, studying the event's evolution. He said the car dunk was his idea from the very start — a perfect way to show off his combination of raw athleticism and Hollywood flair.
"When they first came to me ... they said there were no rules," Griffin said. "I was like, 'So I can jump over a car? Yeah? Oh, maybe I have to do it now.' I figured I could probably clear it, and Baron came up with the choir."
The move could have petrified the Clippers, with the star-crossed franchise's epic history of bad luck — even with Griffin, who missed all of last season after breaking his kneecap in the final preseason game before what was supposed to be the No. 1 pick's rookie campaign.
Griffin has become internationally famous for his incredible dunks, but a leap over a car? Sounds like a Clipper Curse moment just waiting to happen.
Clippers owner Donald Sterling was in attendance, perhaps watching between the fingers of the hand over his eyes.
"I could have clipped my foot, I guess," Griffin said. "That's what I was afraid of — just clip my foot on the side and smash my face into the car. Fortunately, it worked out."
Griffin barely made it out of the first round after missing several attempts at his second dunk of the first round. But with an entire building solidly behind him, McGee and Toronto's DeMar DeRozan — a Los Angeles native — really didn't stand a chance despite their own creative dunks at Staples Center.
McGee earned a 99 with two spectacularly inventive slams in the first round, but kicked himself for using a three-ball stunt earlier than he intended after Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka did something similar to what he had planned for the first round.
"Definitely, he came prepared with a car," said the 7-foot McGee, who scored a perfect 50 by dunking on two baskets simultaneously in his first attempt. "Nothing is going to beat that, unless I bring a plane out or something."
Earlier, Miami's James Jones held off Boston teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to win his first 3-point shootout, and Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Skills Challenge.
But Saturday was all about Griffin, who started the contest with a 360-degree spin dunk before converting a bounce pass off the side of the backboard to finish the first round.
