Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard capped off one of the most entertaining NBA all-star weekends in recent memory by winning the slam-dunk contest in spectacular fashion Saturday night in New Orleans.

Howard beat Minnesota's Gerald Green in the final. Raptors rookie Jamario Moon was eliminated in the first round.

Sporting a Superman costume, Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard soars toward the basket while competing in the slam-dunk contest Saturday night in New Orleans.
(Eric Gay/Associated Press)

Howard wowed the crowd with a variety of imaginative dunks, scoring a perfect 100 in the two-dunk final. In perhaps his best dunk, he tugged off his jersey to reveal a Superman shirt and then tied on a cape. He caught a long pass and took off from just inside the free-throw line, soaring to the net.

"Before the dunk contest we all decided that we're going to try to add as much flair, and glare and personality as we could into the dunk contest this year," Howard said.

"We first got out there and the fans were kind of iffy, they didn't really cheer. We just tried to do something to hype them up and loosen them up.

"I think the dunk contest is back."

In Green's most creative dunk, he placed a cupcake with a lit candle on top of the rim. Replays showed the T'Wolves forward blowing out the candle as he dunked the ball.

Moon, the first Raptor to participate in the dunk contest since Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady took part in 2000, had a decent first dunk, a one-handed 360 off his own bounce pass. On his second dunk, he taped off a mark two feet outside the free-throw line.

Teammate Jason Kapono tossed him the ball, but he ended up taking off from at least a foot from inside his marker.

"I've been happy since the day they invited me to be in it. I was just happy to be a part of it," Moon said after.

"It was great, it was fun, Dwight was well-deserving of that trophy. That boy's a clown, man," Moon added. "He's a kid at heart."