Blake Griffin Wins 2011 Slam Dunk Contest After Dunking Over A KIA

Blake Griffin won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Saturday after dunking over the hood of a KIA Optima SX in the final round. Fans gave Griffin a 68-32 margin over Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee in the final round; Griffin's other finals dunk involved going off the backboard and hanging from the rim at the elbow. McGee pulled off two soaring but less spectacularly set-up dunks, a baseline 360-degree dunk and a head-at-rim off-the-glass jam.

Griffin's KIA dunk involved a choir singing at midcourt while Baron Davis sat in the driver's seat of the car. Griffin leaped over the hood of the car as Davis lobbed the ball through the KIA's sunroof. The dunk was nothing spectacular, but Griffin finished it with rare power.

McGee had the highest score after a magical first round. McGee's first dunk involved a second rim placed adjacent to the stationary stanchion. McGee proceeded to dunk a ball through each hoop on one leap, going off the glass on one of the balls. It was a spectacular show of creativity and skill, and earned the night's only perfect 50 from judges. McGee's second dunk involved dunking three balls on one rim, one of which was lobbed by teammate John Wall.

DeMar DeRozan was arguably more impressive than Griffin in the first round. He had an absurdly difficult Isaiah Rider off the stanchion from a pass from teammate Amir Johnson that earned just 44 points from a stingy panel of judges. (Other than McGee's two first-round dunks, that DeRozan effort might have been the most physically difficult dunk of the night.) Griffin dunked off the side of the backboard, but without coming from behind the stanchion along the baseline and without going through the legs. Griffin earned a 46 on his version to thrust him past DeRozan and into the finals.

Serge Ibaka was also magnificent in the first round, jamming a legit free-throw line dunk. His toe touched the line, but it was as impressive as any free throw line dunk in NBA Dunk Contest history; an instant comparison with Julius Erving's famous effort showed Ibaka to be further from the rim on take-off. (Erving, a judge on Saturday, dinged Ibaka points for who knows what reason.) On his second dunk, Ibaka engaged in a bit of performance theater by bringing out a child and attaching a small toy to the rim. Ibaka dunked the ball while removing the plushie with his teeth.