NEW YORK – Stephen Curry has entered his name in the record books as the king of 3-pointers in the NBA. Curry hit his triple number 2,974 this Tuesday, in the first period of the game for the Golden State Warriors, who ended up winning 105-96 over the New York Knicks.
On a night when he totaled 22 points, Curry broke Ray Allen’s 3-point record. He fired from the right wing with 7:33 minutes remaining in the quarter. He waved his arms high as he ran backwards across the court. The Warriors then fouled and requested an immediate hiatus for the celebration to begin.
The Golden State star received hugs from coach Steve Kerr, his old teammate Draymond Green, his family and Allen, who was present in the arena.
Many already consider Curry the best shooter in the NBA. And the statistics back it up. Two of the three seasons with the most triples by a player in history belong to Curry – including the only one with 400.
Now, he’s surpassed the mark Allen had held since 2011, when he surpassed Reggie Miller. His record came at Madison Square Garden, where Curry had already reached one of the major milestones in his career. On February 27, 2013, he hit 11 triples and totaled 54 points.
"I had great support here"Curry said during the telecast. "I cannot express the honor I feel for the reaction in this arena, as a visitor, and the appreciation for this achievement. And obviously, it was great to get the win too. So it was a very special night".
Curry has won two NBA Most Valuable Player awards and has been crowned three times with the Warriors to be one of the greatest stars in the sport. And his 3-point record could outlast Allen’s. Curry keeps trying and hitting 3s better than anyone in basketball. He reached the commitment with the best average of his career, 5.4 triples per game. On Tuesday, he was 5-of-14 correct to finish with 145 for the season.
No one else had even achieved 100 before Tuesday. For their part, the Warriors showed that they aspire to give Curry his fourth title, with great defensive work. They limited the Knicks to 36% of their shots and improved to 23-5, the league’s best this season. Jordan Poole had 19 points and nine rebounds. He hit all 13 of his free throws to reclaim himself after a night when he was 3-for-11 on shooting from the field.
Green added eight points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Julius Randle scored 31 points for the Knicks, who have lost four in a row and seven of eight. They lacked RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes, due to the NBA’s COVID protocols.
NETS 131
RAPTORS 129
NEW YORK – The Brooklyn Nets forced overtime with a triple by Patty Mills and beat the Toronto Raptors 131-129 this Tuesday, in a meeting in which Kevin Durant achieved the 14th triple-double in his career.
Durant played despite being in doubt just before kickoff, at a time when Brooklyn has seven players on the sanitation protocol, including starters James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Bembry.
And the star responded to his last-minute addition with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Brooklyn won for the third time in a row. Mills added 30 points, Kessler Edwards contributed 17, Nic Claxton scored 16 and Blake Griffin finished with 13 before exiting the game for fouls in overtime.
The loss snapped a two-win streak for Toronto (12-15). Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 31 points. Gary Trent Jr. and Pascal Siakam finished with 25 per head.
Scottie Barnes had 23 points, but missed what would have been a triple winner in the last second of overtime. SUNS 111
TRAIL BLAZERS 107
PORTLAND, Ore .– Deandre Ayton scored 28 points and 13 rebounds on his return from a non-COVID-19 illness, and the Phoenix Suns held the Portland Trail Blazers 111-107 at bay in overtime Tuesday night.
Chris Paul, who made the jump shot that forced overtime, added 24 points and 14 assists for a Phoenix team still missing leading scorer Devin Booker due to a hamstring injury.
“That is a great victory for us. We have a lot of fallen guys. Deandre Ayton’s return to the lineup was huge for us, ”said Paul.
Damian Lillard had 31 points and 10 assists for the Blazers, who lost their sixth straight game.
The Suns have only five losses this season, but one of them was the night before against the Los Angeles Clippers. Phoenix had lost two of four before facing the struggling Blazers.
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