Splash Brothers Impress and Curry Outstands in Three-Point Contest
By Greg Chin
Here’s a public service announcement from your very own Blue Man Hoop: If you haven’t watched the 2015 All-Star Weekend’s Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, do yourself a favour and watch it online now. You won’t regret it.
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Last night’s shootout was billed as the best field the competition has ever seen. With former winners in Kyrie Irving and Marco Bellineli, the contenders featured stars like the Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) and James Harden, and included three-point maestros in Kyle Korver (shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc this season) and Wesley Matthews (tied with Curry for the most three-pointers made this season).
With such a loaded crew, it was clear even before the event started that it would take a lot for someone to win the coveted award.
And if it wasn’t clear, it sure was once Wes Matthews started proceedings with a score of 22. The league’s leading scorer James Harden managed just 15, while Korver had 17. Both were respectable scores, and would have been held in higher regard in previous iterations of the contest.
Last night, however, wasn’t just another three-point contest.
When it was Curry’s turn, the commentators (Reggie Miller and Kenny Smith) mentioned that he was the one that many had come to see in the event – and they weren’t wrong. Curry lived up to his star billing, putting up 23 points – the highest mark of the contestants so far. However, as Miller and Smith pointed out, Curry couldn’t be confident with his 23 points, not when Klay was going next.
Refusing to be outdone, Klay put up 24 of his own. The Splash Brothers’ back and forth nature of trying to outdo each other was clear for everyone to see.
In the final round, we were lucky enough to bear witness to one of the greatest shooting performances in the history of the three-point shootout. Curry scored 27 points and nailed 13 consecutive attempts on his way – the most consecutive makes in a three-point contest since Craig Hodges in 1991.
Watching Curry as he entered the “zone” was remarkable. Every three seemed to just sail into the hoop, barely grazing the rim. The hoop seemed wider and the ball smaller with every make he had. The crowd began chanting louder and louder as Curry entered his “supernova” state.
It was almost impossible for Klay and Kyrie to beat Curry’s score of 27 in the final round. Both faltered under the pressure, putting up 14 and 17 respectively.
In a season where everything has gone right for Stephen Curry, he finally broke his duck of never winning the three-point shooting contest. At this rate, don’t be surprised if he’s voted as the All-Star MVP.