Stephen Curry breaks own record for most 3-pointers in a season

Jay Asser 15:46 11/04/2015
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  • Shooting star: Stephen Curry was unstoppable from beyond the arc against Portland.

    If Stephen Curry is the frontrunner for MVP, he’s only widening his lead in the final stretch of the regular season.

    The Golden State Warriors’ marksman further added to his case for the award by breaking his own 3-point season record in grand fashion in the 116-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

    Curry entered the contest four triples short of his own mark of 272,  which he set in 2012-13.

    He tied the record at the end of the first quarter before breaking it in the second, but wasn’t finished as he went on to drop 45 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field and 8-of-13 from long range leaving him on 276 for the season.

    “I finally played a fourth quarter,” Curry joked. “So I wanted to get out there and make some plays.”

    Curry’s counterpart, Portland point guard Damian Lillard, said: “We tried to mix up our coverages a little bit because he came out making shots from everywhere. It 
    pretty much just didn’t matter. 

    “He made shots with a hand in his face, off balance, deep, everything. He just had it going.”

    The shooting display made Curry the first player in NBA history to score 45 points in a game in which he attempted fewer than 25 shots and five or fewer free throws, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

    Also accounting for his 10 assists, he scored or assisted 65 of Golden State’s points – his highest total of the season.

    “There’s nothing left to say. Except that he’s the MVP,” said Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr, who’s previously refrained from campaigning for his point guard.

    “He was just… I don’t even know how to describe what I watched tonight. 

    “Scintillating. Every move, every shot, just amazing skill. I have never seen a player with this skill set. He never talks about [the MVP]. He never says anything about it, but you better believe he wants it.”

    Curry now holds three of the five highest single-season 3-point totals. His 261 treys from last season rank fifth, behind Ray Allen’s 269 for the Seattle Sonics in 2005-06 and Dennis Scott’s 267 for the Orlando Magic in 1995-96.

    Golden State have only three games remaining, but with the top seed in the Western Conference – as well as the league’s top record – sewn up, Curry’s playing time could be limited. 

    Even if the explosion against Portland is his last signature moment in the regular season, Curry has staked his claim for the MVP.

    The Warriors’ remaining three games are all at Oracle Arena, where they can secure one of the best home records of all-time.

    The Boston Celtics hold the best home mark in a season, going 40-1 in 1985-86.

    Five other teams – Boston in 1986-87, the Orlando Magic in 1994-95, the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 and 1996-97 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008-08 – are tied second all-time at 39-2.

    Three of those six teams – the Celtics in 85-86 and the Bulls in 95-96 and 96-97 – went on to win the NBA Finals.

    With Golden State having locked up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the road to this year’s Finals will run through the Bay Area.

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