Point guards could run the show in the next Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class, with Jason Kidd and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash among the 13 finalists announced Saturday in Los Angeles.

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.

Kidd ranks second in NBA history with 12,091 assists, and Nash is third with 10,335 assists.

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 lone team finalist.

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NBA: Rookie Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz put on a show in the slam dunk contest to cap off All-Star Saturday. Mitchell edged Larry Nance Jr. by two points, sealing his victory with a close approximation of the 360-degree spin dunk that Vince Carter used to win the 2000 contest.

· Devin Booker of the Suns won the 3-point contest with a record 28 points in the final round. He beat 2016 champion Klay Thompson of the Warriors and Tobias Harris of the Clippers.

· Lakers forward Channing Frye underwent an appendectomy Friday night in Cleveland and will be re-evaluated next weekend, the team announced.

GOLF

PGA: Bubba Watson started with a tap-in eagle and finished with a 6-under 65 to build a one-shot lead in the Genesis Open at Los Angeles.

Watson was at 10-under 203 to lead UCLA alum Patrick Cantlay, who shot 69.

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Tiger Woods did not make the cut of 2-over 144 after the second round was completed Saturday morning.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Joost Luiten returned to form after a mediocre 2017 as he moved into a three-way tie for the lead in the Oman Open at Muscat.

The Dutchman shot a second straight 6-under 66 to move to 12-under 204, where he was joined by Matthew Southgate (69) and Frenchman Julien Guerrier (66).

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Joe Durant birdied five of the last eight holes for a 9-under 63 to match Steve Stricker’s finish and take the second-round lead in the Chubb Classic at Naples, Florida.

Durant had a 14-under 130 total on TwinEagles’ Talon course for a one-stroke lead over Stricker.

LPGA: Jin Young Ko continued her domination of the Women’s Australian Open, shooting a 1-under 71 to increase her lead to four strokes after three rounds at Adelaide.

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BASEBALL

MAINE HALL: The Maine Baseball Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for induction in 2018. Please include either a resume or supporting documentation and send it to: Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 1062, Yarmouth, ME 04096, email ddouglas@douglastitle.com or fax to 846-3760.

HOCKEY

NHL: Anze Kopitar and rookie Michael Amadio scored two goals each, and the Los Angeles Kings snapped a three-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Sabres at Buffalo, New York.

· Nick Ritchie scored in the 11th round of the shootout and John Gibson stopped seven straight shots in the Anaheim Ducks’ 3-2 victory over the Wild at St. Paul, Minnesota.

· Reilly Smith had two goals and an assist to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-3 win at home over the Montreal Canadiens.

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· Olli Maatta scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

AUTO RACING

XFINITY SERIES: Tyler Reddick took Dale Earnhardt Jr. to victory lane in a nail-biting series opener.

Reddick won at Daytona International Speedway in his debut race for JR Motorsports, the team in part owned by Earnhardt Jr. JR Motorsports has won five of the last nine Xfinity Series races at Daytona.

This one took five overtimes and a photo finish to decide. Reddick nabbed teammate Elliott Sadler at the finish line.

Ryan Reed was third and Kaz Grala fourth.

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TENNIS

ABN AMRO WORLD TOURNAMENT: A day after ensuring his return to the top of the rankings, Roger Federer sealed a place in the final at Rotterdam, Netherlands by beating Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

The 36-year-old Federer will face Grigor Dimitrov, who advanced when David Goffin had to give up after being hit in the left eye by a ball.

QATAR OPEN: Petra Kvitova defeated top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki to reach the final at Doha and extend her winning streak to 12 matches.

Kvitova overcame Wozniacki 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in 21/2 entertaining hours, and will play Garbine Muguruza in the final. Muguruza advanced when her scheduled opponent, second-ranked Simona Halep, withdrew Friday because of a foot injury.

NEW YORK OPEN: Second-seeded Sam Querrey advanced to the final, winning the last four games to beat No. 4 Adrian Mannarino 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday. Querrey advanced to face top-seeded Kevin Anderson, who beat fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (4) in the night match.

ARGENTINA OPEN: Top-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-1 at Buenos Aires to set up a final against Slovenia’s Alijaz Bedene, who topped local favorite Federico Delbonis 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the clay-court event.

– Staff and news service report


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