Stephen Curry entered his seventh 3-Point Competition on Sunday leading the NBA in 3-point shots made (169), and his prolific splashing through the 2020-21 season carried through the event as he made 39 out of all 54 of his shots to win the event for the second time in his career.
Curry started his first round missing his first two shots, but then caught the hot hand as he made his next nine shots. Two of those were two money balls for two points as well as the new Mtn Dew Zone shot from 29-feet-9-inches away for three points. The Curry Flurry continued as he made his way over to his money ball rack and made the first four of his five shots from the right wing. He finished the round with 31 points.
That splashfest lead the field and secured Curry a spot in the final round with Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz (28 points) and Jason Tatum (25) of the Boston Celtics.
Two-time All-Star selection Jason Tatum tipped off the final round with a 17-point outing, but then first time All-Star and 14-year veteran Mike Conley erupted for 27 points. To claim the 3-point event title, Curry needed a near-repeat of his first round to win.
It was a nail-biter to say the least as Curry missed his first four shots of the final round. But once again, Curry caught fire after leaving the corner: he made 17 of his final 22 shots including both of the Mtn Dew Zone 3-point shots and 4-of-5 from his money ball rack again.
Despite the hot finish it still came down to the final rack. Curry had 23 points going into his final five shots, and after missing his third ball needed to make his final two shots to win. Splash and splash, Curry did just that. He finished with 28 points to edge out Conley by one point.
Curry became the seventh player to win the 3-Point Contest multiple times since the event’s inception in 1986, joining Larry Bird (three times), Craig Hodges (three), Mark Price (twice), Jeff Hornacek (twice), Peja Stojakovic (twice) and Kapono (twice).