Stephen Curry closing in on three-point record
Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports1:21 a.m. EDT April 16, 2013
(Photo: Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports)
Stephen Curry moved closer to making history on Monday. Curry hit seven three-pointers during the Golden State Warriors' 116-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs, bringing his total to 268 makes for the 2012-13 season. That number is one shy of Ray Allen's single-season record of 269, set with the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2005-06 season.
Curry has been more efficient than Allen was the year he set the record. Allen shot 41.2% from three-point range in 2005; with one game remaining in the regular season, Curry is shooting 45.5% from long range.
Allen's single-season record may not be the only mark Curry is threatening. Allen, currently in his 17th season in the NBA with the Miami Heat, is the NBA's all-time leading three-point shooter. Both Allen and Curry entered the NBA at age 21, and so far, Curry is far outpacing him.
Curry has appeared in 257 NBA games since being drafted seventh overall by the Warriors in 2009. He has hit 640 three-pointers on 44.7% shooting in his NBA career. Through Allen's first 257 games, he connected on 410 three-pointers while shooting 38.1% from beyond the arc.
Curry missed 40 of 66 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season while battling an ankle injury, but has remained healthy this season. Barring another major injury, it appears likely that the 24-year-old fourth-year guard will eventually surpass Allen for the all-time three-point record.
The Warriors play the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday in their final game of the regular season. Blazers guard Damian Lillard recently broke Curry's record for three-pointers made in a season by a rookie.