LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was voted as a starter to the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday, but said he doesn’t plan on defending his slam dunk contest title during All-Star Weekend.

“As of right now I don’t plan on being in it,” Griffin said Thursday night. “Those dunk contests aren’t my thing, I said that last year. There’s a lot of guys that can put on a great show and do some good stuff.”

Last year Griffin won the slam dunk contest, played in the Rookie Challenge and played in the All-Star Game during a whirlwind weekend in Los Angeles.

This year, Griffin, who will be a first-time starter, would like to simply enjoy the weekend and play in the Feb. 26 All-Star Game in Orlando.

“Last year was hectic and it kind of made it unenjoyable,” Griffin said. “So this year, we’ll see what will happen, but I will try to tone it down a bit and get a break instead of being so busy.”

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan could take Griffin’s place in the slam dunk contest, but Jordan said he has not been contacted by the league yet.

“He’s got some stuff that people definitely want to see,” Griffin said of Jordan.

If he were asked to participate in the slam dunk contest, Jordan said he would do it on one condition. “If I didn’t have to go against Blake,” he said.

Arash Markazi is a columnist and writer for ESPNLA.com.

Follow Arash Markazi on Twitter: @ArashMarkazi

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant prevented a clean Los Angeles sweep of the Western Conference starting lineup by earning a forward spot for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando.

Dwight Howard of the host Magic – unless he’s traded first – was the overall leading vote-getter with 1.6 million. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are going together again from Miami, while MVP Derrick Rose of Chicago and New York’s Carmelo Anthony round out the East starters.

The Clippers and Lakers are developing a spirited rivalry this season, but they’ll have to get along for a night to give the West a second straight win in the NBA’s midseason event.

Bryant and Paul will be in the same backcourt two months after the NBA, as owners of the Hornets, killed a trade that would have sent Paul to the Lakers. Instead, he was dealt shortly after to the Clippers, and he has teamed with Griffin to make them one of the league’s most exciting and improved teams, leading the Pacific Division over their Staples Center co-tenants.

Griffin and Bynum are first-time starters, while Bryant earned his record-tying 14th consecutive nod.

It’s the first time since 1997, when Houston had Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, and Seattle sent Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, that two pairs of teammates have been voted to start for one conference.

Bryant joins Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West and Karl Malone – all one-time Lakers – with his 14th straight starting nod. He earned his fourth All-Star MVP award last year, equaling Bob Pettit’s NBA record.

Bynum grabbed the starting center spot that for years went to Yao Ming, who retired last summer. Griffin was chosen as a reserve forward last year, when he became the first rookie All-Star since Yao in 2003.

Starters were chosen by fan balloting, and none of the races was close. The reserves will be chosen by voting of the head coaches from each conference and will be announced next Thursday.

Bryant led all West players with nearly 1.6 million votes. Rose collected 1.5 million to finish third among all players, a year after becoming Chicago’s first starter since Michael Jordan.

“I remember not being in the All-Star game, just wanting to be in the game. It’s something you should take to heart, that I take to heart,” Rose said before the Bulls’ game against the Knicks. “Just want to accomplish something special while I’m in the league, and one of the accomplishments is being on the All-Star team.”

Howard will make his fifth consecutive start, and his status will provide much of the intrigue surrounding the event. He has told the Magic he wants to be traded and they have given his agent permission to talk to select teams, putting the franchise in a difficult position of deciding whether it should deal its superstar before hosting the weekend.

___

The Clippers star went down the lane, elevated, made contact with Perkins and then threw the ball down into the basket, the fingers on his outstretched hand grazing the rim. The play has been the talk of the league.

“I have no appreciation for it at all,” said Perkins’ Thunder teammate, Kevin Durant. “It was a layup, I think. He threw the ball in and got fouled and made his free throw, so it was three points at the end of the day, no matter how it happened, how it went in the basket. I really wasn’t impressed. He finished it. So what? We’ve moved on.”

More on the Mavericks

News, notes and analysis of the Mavericks from ESPNDallas.com’s Jeff Caplan, Tim MacMahon and our team.
Blog » ESPN Dallas »
Vote: Mavs’ memorable dunks Live

Durant wasn’t surprised the play gained so much attention.

“I wasn’t surprised because Blake is a poster child,” Durant said. “He dunks the ball a lot and makes spectacular plays. If it wasn’t against us, maybe I’d say it was a good play, but it was against us, so it was a bad play. I have nothing against Blake, don’t get me wrong. But it was against us, so I’ve got to stick up for my teammate.”

Mavericks swingman Vince Carter, who is still capable of putting a big man on a poster at the ripe old age of 35, said Griffin’s dunk was “amazing.”

“That just shows the true athlete that he is,” said Carter, whose Mavs host the Thunder Wednesday night. “I look at and analyze things different. You got to think about the body control and what it takes to really, not only to just do that, but the impact you take from Kendrick Perkins, first of all, is a lot. For you to still have the body control to finish is second to none, because there’s not a lot of people that can really do that.”

Carter put Durant on the short list of guys in the league right now with that type of body control. Mavs big man Brendan Haywood, the victim of a vicious Durant and-1 dunk during the West finals last season, can testify to that.

But Durant seems to think that dunk doesn’t get its due.

“I knew that wasn’t going to get attention because we never get attention like that,” Durant said. “We’re not an L.A. team or a Chicago team or a Miami team. All our plays get thrown under the radar.”

Thunder coach Scott Brooks said Perkins isn’t worried about being posterized.

“I’ve been around a lot of defensive-minded players. You’re going to get dunked on. There’s no way around it,” Brooks said. “There’s a lot of tremendous athletes in this league, but it doesn’t affect him. He’s going to come out and do the same thing tonight and guard the basket. That’s what he does for us. Let’s face it, I’m a fan of the game [and] that was a great play, but we move on.”

Tim MacMahon covers the Mavericks for ESPNDallas.com.

Follow Tim MacMahon on Twitter: @espn_macmahon