Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell defeated former Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. to win the Slam Dunk contest Saturday evening at Staples Center.
The other winners of All-Star Saturday Night competitions held in connection with the NBA’s All-Star Weekend were Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, the winner of the three-point contest with a record 28 points in the final round, and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who won the skills challenge.
Mitchell had a perfect score of 50 on his first dunk of the final round from the five-judge panel of Basketball Hall of Fame members Julius Erving and Lisa Leslie, comedian Chris Rock, actor Mark Wahlberg and DJ Khaled, a record label executive, record producer, radio personality and DJ.
Nance began the second round by getting a perfect score of 50. Mitchell had a score of 48 on his second-round dunk for a total of 98, two more than Nance.
Mitchell had the highest total score for the two-dunk first round, 98, including a perfect score on his second dunk. Nance was second with 93. Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. was third with 89, including a perfect score on his second dunk. Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was fourth with 71.
Nance received a score of 44 for his first dunk in the first round wearing a reproduction of the Phoenix Suns jersey his father wore. The elder Nance won the NBA’s first dunk contest, which was held in 1984.
The top two finishers in the first round advanced to the final round. The scores do not carry over.
The victory earned Mitchell $105,000. Nance received $55,000 and Oladipo and Smith $20,000 each.
Nance was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 8 with guard Jordan Clarkson in exchange for guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Channing Frye and a first-round choice in the 2018 draft.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson was second in the championship round of the three-point contest with 25 points. Los Angeles Clippers forward Tobias Harris was third with 17.
Booker and Thompson both had 19 points in the first round and Harris 18. The top three scorers in the first round advance to the championship round.
Miami Heat guard Wayne Ellington was fourth with 17, followed by Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (15), Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon (12), Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (11) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George (9).
Gordon was the defending champion. Thompson won the event in 2016.
Booker won $60,000 for the victory, Thompson $40,000 and Harris $25,000. The fourth- through seventh-place finishers each received $15,000 and George $10,000 for finishing last.
Each competitor had one minute to shoot as many of the 25 balls as he can.
Five balls are placed in five racks. Four of the racks consist of four regulation NBA balls and one multi-colored “money” ball. The NBA regulation balls are worth one point and the multi-colored “money” ball two points.
The fifth rack was an all-money ball rack. Each competitor decided the spot for that rack.
Dinwiddie defeated Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen in the final round of the skills challenge, where two players compete on identical three- round obstacle courses that test dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills.
Dinwiddie defeated Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray in the semifinal and Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield in the first round. Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams lost to Murray in the first round.
Harris and Williams were the Clippers only All-Star Weekend participants. The Lakers All-Star Weekend participation was limited to Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge where rookie forward Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points in 18 minutes, 52 seconds off the bench and second-year forward Brandon Ingram eight points in 12:07 for Team USA in a 155-124 loss to Team World.
A third Laker was also voted into the Rising Stars Challenge in balloting by the league’s assistant coaches, but rookie guard Lonzo Ball was unable to play due to injury.
–City News Service