INDIANAPOLIS – Stephen Curry caught fire just in time and defeated Sabrina Ionescu in the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge at 2024 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.
Ionescu, shooting with WNBA basketballs from the NBA 3-point line, tallied a score of 26, as much as any player had in any round in the preceding Starry 3-Point Contest. She made her first seven shots and went 8-for-9 on money balls, but slowed down at the end of her round, making “only” five of her final 10 shots.
SABRINA IONESCU.
26 POINTS.
COOKING.Stephen Curry is up next on TNT! https://t.co/fvM9iOA0ZD pic.twitter.com/nlDCX25eIx
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2024
Curry, had two perfect racks, going 5-for-5 from both the left wing and the right wing. His final rack was his money back rack in the right corner, and he needed to go 3-for-5 to win. He missed the first shot, but then drained the final four to finish with a score of 29.
STEPHEN CURRY HEATS UP LATE TO WIN STEPHEN vs. SABRINA!
Curry: 29 PTS
Ionescu: 26 PTSWhat. A. Battle. https://t.co/hRX4qElqQJ pic.twitter.com/Uu9hmBhUhO
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2024
Each shot made in the challenge triggered a donation from State Farm to the NBA Foundation to support economic empowerment in the Black community.
— John Schuhmann
Respect between two of the best shooters in the world.
Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-PT Challenge #StateFarmSaturday on TNT pic.twitter.com/oLx7gEhXSY
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2024
About “Stephen vs. Sabrina”
Ionescu challenged Curry to a 3-point competition after she recorded 37 points (out of a possible 40 points) in the final round of the STARRY WNBA 3-Point Contest at AT&T WNBA All-Star 2023, setting a WNBA and NBA single-round event record and winning the contest for the first time. Curry raised the challenge once again when he was mic’d up during Golden State’s Jan. 25 game against the Sacramento Kings on TNT. Ionescu responded on social media officially accepting the challenge.
Curry, a two-time NBA 3-Point Contest champion, has made an NBA-record 3,577 3-pointers in the regular season. In 2023, Ionescu set a WNBA single-season record with 128 3-pointers.