NEW YORK — Prior to his participation in Saturday's Three-Point Contest, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry said he would enter the event until he came away with a win.
Well, the wait is over. Curry finally won on his fourth try — and it wasn't even close.
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It came down to Curry and his teammate, Klay Thompson. After Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving struggled, the pressure was off for Curry, who just went out and let it fly.
The result was a score of 27 points out of the possible 34 in the second round. Curry, who posted 24 in his first round, settled into one of those familiar grooves and hit 13 straight shot attempts at one point. Thompson posed a real threat to Curry, but not even he could keep pace.
"I'm very happy right now," Curry said. "I've obviously been in it four times. So I wanted to win it and get it done. And thankfully tonight I got it, was able to accomplish it."
In the most anticipated event of the night, the bar was set higher than any 3-point contest in recent memory. With the 3-pointer being utilized more than ever, it figured that this competition was filled with top-notch shooters.
Among those included were Kyle Korver, Wes Matthews, Marco Belinelli, J.J. Redick and James Harden. Every competitor put up a fight, but there was a clear separation between Curry and the field.
Still, Curry wasn't sure he had the win when Thompson stepped up for his final set.
"I knew I had done pretty well, obviously, finishing strong with that second round," Curry said. "But Klay, I looked in his eyes. He's obviously capable of 37 points in a basketball quarter, so he can probably knock down a couple of threes and get a high number 27."
But it wasn't meant to be. Thompson sputtered out and Curry had the title in hand. Afterward, Curry was asked if he believed he was the best 3-point shooter in the league. He still shied away from calling himself the unquestioned 3-point king.
"I want to be," Curry said. "There's obviously different criteria you can look at to judge that. Just being in that competitive spirit and having fun out there, I love to shoot the basketball. So that's a great place to showcase that. And I have fun doing it. So I get to take this (trophy) home with me."