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The Fast Break: Why Blake Griffin's throw-in dunks are still dunks

Blake Griffin added another poor soul to his hit list on Wednesday night, as the former Mr. Kardashian himself Kris Humphries became the latest NBAer to get 'Mozgovd' on this play:

While the latest in a long list of highlight reel dunks from Griffin immediately went viral, it also prompted yet another debate about whether this was even a dunk at all, as Griffin more threw the ball in than he did slam it.

The same argument came up when Griffin first posterized Timofey Mozgov back in 2010, when he abused Kendrick Perkins a couple of season ago, and when Dwight Howard threw this dunk down at the 2008 Dunk Contest, but it seems that the dunk doubters are unaware of what actually makes a dunk a dunk in the first place.

Hand does not have to meet or grab rim for a made basket to be deemed a dunk, it's just that the ball needs to be thrown in - usually with force - from above the rim. Seriously, that is a dunk by definition...

One respondent to Adande's tweet even went to Wikipedia to confirm that hands only need to be over the rim, not on the rim:

There should be no more debate the next time Griffin, Howard or anyone else takes months off of a fellow player's life with such a thunderous slam...it's a dunk. End of story. Now let's move on.

About last night...

Spurs 112, Mavericks 90 - And just like that, with another blowout victory, the Spurs find themselves alone atop the Western Conference standings again.

Raptors 112, Pistons 91 - Not a single one of the 12 Raptors who played registered a negative plus/minus.

Hawks 97, Pacers 87 - Paul George had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, while Kyle Korver's three-point streak is now at 105 games.

Nets 102, Warriors 98 - The Nets end Golden State's win streak at 10 games and extend their own streak to four, as Brooklyn now occupies the eighth and final playoff spot in the pathetic Eastern Conference.

Wizards 102, Pelicans 96 - Trevor Ariza registered 21 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

Rockets 113, Lakers 99 - James Harden had 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting, five steals, four assists and four rebounds in the win.

Suns 104, Timberwolves 103 - The Suns rallied in the fourth quarter and won the game on this shot from Gerald Green (Kevin Martin then missed a chance for the win on the other end), as Minnesota fell to 0-10 in games decided by four or less.

Trail Blazers 110, Magic 94 - Nicolas Batum recorded a triple-double, as the Blazers outscored Orlando 39-19 in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.

Clippers 111, Celtics 105 - In addition to another highlight reel dunk, Blake Griffin also posted 29 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Line of the night: LaMarcus Aldridge - 36 Pts (16/25 FG, 4/4 FT), 9 Reb, 3 Blk, 1 Ast, 1 Stl in 35 mins.

Play of the night: Since we've already discussed Griffin's latest monster jam, let's give the defense some love...

Bonus highlight:

On tap tonight: TNT Thursday night doubleheaders return with the Heat taking on the Knicks at the Garden and the Thunder taking on the Nuggets in Denver. New York's won three of four games for the first time this season, and an impressive showing against Miami would go a long way in proving that they're starting to figure things out. As for the late game, OKC is coming off of a surprising loss in Utah while the streaky Nuggets have won three in a row.

Love calls out teammates: For the second time in the new year, Kevin Love is calling out members of the Timberwolves bench. Only this time, Love's not criticizing the unit's production, but rather their 'togetherness' with the team, as J.J. Barea and Dante Cunningham failed to get up and join the huddle during a Minnesota timeout. Given that Barea has already taken issue with Love's previous comments, it might be safe to assume that things are about to get tense inside the inconsistent, frustrated T-Wolves locker room.

Redick almost ready: Chris Paul will be out for a while, but the Clippers could get a welcomed boost from J.J. Redick on Friday against the Lakers, as Redick is just about ready to return from his six-week absence since breaking his hand and tearing his UCL. Redick will give the Clippers' offense another capable option as they continue to navigate without Paul.

Knicks shopping Smith? The Knicks are reportedly exploring trade options for J.R. Smith after the reigning Sixth Man of the Year was fined $50,000 for his shoelace untying antics this week, but good luck finding a team foolish enough to take Smith's tomfoolery and the over $12 million that comes with it in the two years after this one. After all, the Knicks can't trade with themselves. The more likely scenario is that the organization put these rumors out there themselves in an attempt to scare Smith straight.

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