"In a concrete tunnel beneath the stands at Staples Center, two workers fussed over a silver sports car, cleaning and waxing, getting it ready to be wheeled onto the arena's floor.

The NBA dunk contest was still an hour or so away, but a rumor had made the rounds: Someone was going to park that car in front of the basket and jump over it, sailing all the way to the rim.

"We heard that," one of the workers said. "It's going to be Blake Griffin, right?"

With a choir singing "I Believe I Can Fly" at midcourt, the Clippers rookie comfortably cleared the car's hood and took an alley-oop pass from teammate Baron Davis popping out of the sunroof.

His thunderous finish earned a 68% approval from fans voting online and by text, giving him the title Saturday night.

"They told me there were no rules," he said. "I was like, so I can jump over a car?"

Add another memorable moment to an All-Star weekend that has become a Griffin love fest, the local star also appearing in the rookie game Friday and in Sunday's main event.

The dunk competition has a history of dazzling gimmicks. Gerald Green blew out the candle in a cupcake on the back of the rim, Dwight Howard wore a Superman cape and the diminutive Nate Robinson turned Howard into a human prop, jumping over him to win the following year.

No one knew what to expect this time, if only because the competition featured four new faces: Griffin, JaVale McGee of the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

McGee showed some early inventiveness, arranging baskets side-by-side for a double-dunk. Later he dunked three basketballs through one hoop.

Ibaka used his teeth to grab a small stuffed toy off the front of the rim while dunking at the same time.

There were no such theatrics from Griffin, not at first. But a pair of thunderous shots put him into the final, setting up bigger things."