Stephen Curry entered Saturday’s first game of the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers sitting at 378 three-pointers made in his playoff career, in second place in the NBA all-time list sitting just ahead of LeBron James (370), and behind one of the best shooters ever in Ray Allen (386).
After posting six points while playing the entire first quarter, Curry checked back into the game during the second quarter. The Clippers would come back to tie the game at 51 with 3:28 left in second, and it was at that point that Curry turned white hot, adding two treys in a 14-point outburst as part of a 18-5 Warriors run to end the half.
It only took a few minutes through the third quarter before Curry hit on more from beyond the arc, and with five three-point shots made in the first half and Curry heating up, Oracle Arena was getting the sense that something special could happen.
And then coming off of an inbound play with just over one minute left in the third, fans got a taste of just how hot Curry was: with two Clippers on him, he stopped on a dime and popped a 30-foot three-point shot while falling. He was now one trey behind Allen.
Curry was not doing this alone though. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, Steph would need some help generating his next opportunity, and the Dubs came to the call for help. In a set play with DeMarcus Cousins just outside of the paint, Curry drew the Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the top of the key; with an instant burst of speed, Curry came around to Cousins as Shaun Livingston set a screen hard enough to shed the Clipper defender. Result: splash and a tie with Allen at 386 threes.
One minute later, Curry was down on the defensive end to secure his 14th rebound of the game. He found Splash Brother Klay Thompson with a deep outlet pass, who then brought the ball up further. Curry and the Clippers’ Danilo Gallinari were jogging up behind the play, but Stephen veered to the left with without Danilo knowing, leaving Curry alone at the top of the three-point line. Splash! It was only appropriate that the record-breaking three-pointer came off an assist from his Splash Bother Klay Thompson.
“I always joke that I shoot a lot of threes, I better make a lot of them,” Curry said after the game.
You could say he was feeling it Saturday night, because he hit threes at a highly efficient rate, finishing 8-of-12 from beyond the arc and with 38 points.
The accomplishment could not have come in a more Curry-like fashion. Everything was in this game, from a slow start to a hot hand later in the game, even a signature acrobatic shot. Besides just passing Allen in total number of made threes, he did it nearly twice as fast: Curry completed this accomplishment in 91 playoff games, while Allen played in 171 in his career.
Passing a Hall of Fame player "like [Allen] is pretty surreal,” Curry said, “so definitely, you know, I’m honored and grateful for those opportunities.”