Jazz rookie Mitchell claims dunk contest

Cavs’ Nance second; Booker wins 3 event

LOS ANGELES — The NBA dunk contest was a throwback in many ways, with a 21-year-old rookie and a 25-year-old, third-year pro fighting it out for the trophy.

Larry Nance Jr. of the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled out his father’s old uniform — down to the knee-high socks — then rolled out his father himself to help with one of his dunks. But he came up short against Donovan Mitchell, the precocious Utah Jazz rookie with his own sense of history.

Mitchell put on a show at Staples Center to win the slam dunk contest and cap off NBA All-Star Saturday.

Mitchell edged Nance Jr. 98-96, sealing his victory with a close approximation of the 360-degree spin dunk that Vince Carter used to win the 2000 contest.

“I wanted this so badly,” Mitchell said.

In the 3-point contest, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns won with a record 28 points in the final round, beating Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Tobias Harris of the Los Angeles Clippers.

In the skills challenge, Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets prevailed by defeating Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls in the final round.

■ Silver news conference — NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes the league’s players and referees are on their way to forging an improved relationship.

In his state-of-the-league news conference Saturday, Silver said the NBA “should be playing a very active role in bridging that gap” between the players and referees, whose relationship appears to be growing increasingly tenuous this season.

Representatives from the players’ union and the National Basketball Referees Association met in Los Angeles on Saturday. They issued a joint statement describing the meeting as “incredibly productive in terms of opening up the lines of communication between both groups.”

Silver also said:

— The NBA is “conflicted” about the one-and-done eligibility rule, which allows players to enter the draft as 19-year-olds after one year of play in college or elsewhere.

— The prospect of seeding playoff teams 1-16 regardless of geography has received “serious attention” in recent years.

— The $50,000 fine given to Lakers executive Magic Johnson for tampering last week, acknowledging there’s not a “simple bright line” between Johnson’s praise for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and other executives’ comments about players.

■ Hall of Fame — Point guards could run the show in the next Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class, with Jason Kidd and Steve Nash among the 13 finalists announced Saturday.

Ray Allen, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks and Chris Webber also made the cut, but the two standout point guards are all but locks to headline the class, which will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.

Charles “Lefty” Driesell, Rudy Tomjanovich and Baylor’s Kim Mulkey made the final ballot as coaches. Katie Smith, Tina Thompson and longtime NBA official Hugh Evans are also finalists.

The 1953-58 Wayland Baptist University teams that won 131 consecutive games and four AAU national championships is the only team finalist.