Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry surpassed Ray Allen for the NBA all-time record for three-pointers made with two baskets from beyond the arc in Tuesday’s opener against the New York Knicks. Curry tied Allen’s record with his 2,973rd three-pointer with his first shot of the contest with 10:50 left in the first quarter. He missed a chance to break the record but minutes later he switched to 2,974 to send the crowd at Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
Curry let out a loud scream as teammates celebrated with him. He exchanged an emotional hug with coach Steve Kerr, who infused the ball used in the record-setting shot, and then with his father, former NBA player Dell Curry.
Curry has been on a streak of surpassing Allen’s record for years. He finally reached the milestone Tuesday in his 789th career game; Allen achieved his old benchmark of 1,300 appearances.
Curry, whose three-pointer prowess made the shot mainstream in the NBA, had been inching toward the record for a week.
His long-range prowess had the genuine belief that he could possibly break the single-game mark of 16 in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers last Wednesday.
That didn’t happen, and the Warriors went on a road trip with Curry needing 10 three-pointers to break the record.
The 76ers’ stuttering defense held Curry to three three-pointers on Saturday. He added two more on Monday in Indiana.
Curry, who said he knew teams would be interested in slowing him down, wasn’t disappointed with his shot at the record at Madison Square Garden, perhaps the NBA’s most storied arena.
“I’ve had some fun nights in that building,” said Curry, whose 54-point performance there against the Knicks on Feb. 27, 2013, was the precursor to a career that now includes three NBA titles and two Most Valuable Player awards.
“The whole legacy of that building, how iconic it is — so many great things happened in that building.”
The atmosphere was electric before the game with Allen courtside and Reggie Miller, who held the three-point record for more than a decade before Allen broke it in 2011 while serving as a television commentator.
Both chatted and shared a hug with Curry, with filmmaker and Knicks super-fan Spike Lee capturing the moment on his cellphone camera.
Topics covered in this article
