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Originally published Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 12:00 AM

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NBA All-Star Saturday | Jason Kapono, Deron Williams show skills

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Dwight Howard — super slam dunk champion. A red cape trailing behind him, Orlando's...

NEW ORLEANS — Look, up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Dwight Howard — super slam dunk champion.

A red cape trailing behind him, Orlando's man of steel made like Superman and won the most creative dunk contest in NBA history to close a memorable All-Star Saturday.

Using a variety of props as well as teammate Jameer Nelson, Howard scored perfect 50s from judges on his first two dunks before the contest was turned over to fan voting for the first time in the final round.

Fans, too, picked the 6-foot-11 Howard, who dispelled an old dunking myth: Big men can't fly high.

"Everybody always says, big men can't jump and big men don't look good dunking," he said. "I just tried to add a little bit of my personality."

The dunk contest, bland for so many years as the game's high risers seemed to run out of ideas, was freshened up by some of the most creative aerial assaults in memory.

Howard, Minnesota's Gerald Green, Toronto's Jamario Moon and Memphis' Rudy Gay all used tape, ladders, teammates and even a cupcake to show their stuff.

"I don't think people want to see the same old dunks," Howard said. "They want to see something else, see some spice."

Earlier, Toronto forward Jason Kapono won his second straight Three-Point Shootout, tying a 22-year-old record with a final round of 25, and Utah guard Deron Williams made a nearly perfect run through an obstacle course of dribbling, passing and shooting to win the Skills Challenge.

Hawks get Bibby

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks traded four players and a draft pick for Mike Bibby, the point guard they hope will end the league's longest streak without a playoff appearance.

The Hawks sent point guard Anthony Johnson, 2007 first-round pick Shelden Williams, point guard Tyronn Lue, forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick to Sacramento.

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The trade is pending league approval and physicals.

The Hawks, ninth in the Eastern Conference, are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 1999.

Atlanta coach Mike Woodson was pleased the team did not have to touch its core of promising young players to acquire Bibby.

"We've still got Marvin [Williams of Bremerton] and Josh Smith and Josh Childress; we were able to keep the core group together, along with Al Horford and Zaza [Pachulia]," Woodson said.

The trade is pending league approval and physicals.

Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said Bibby is expected to join the team in Los Angeles on Monday.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

UPDATE - 10:50 PM
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Steve Kelley: ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too

NBA | Hornets deliver early ax to Byron Scott

NBA | Greg Oden dominates for Trail Blazers

NBA | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for leukemia

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