Share and Follow
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry triumphed when he and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu faced off in their head-to-head 3-point contest during NBA All-Star Saturday.
Ionescu was the first to shoot during the historic matchup and she finished off her round with a score of 26 points after a hot start in Indianapolis.
Curry responded by hitting a score of 29 to win the contest after hitting some clutch shots on his final rack. His prize was a customized 3-point championship belt.
‘I think a night like tonight shows a lot of young girls and young boys if you can shoot you can shoot,’ Ionescu said after the competition.
‘It doesn’t matter if your a girl or a boy. I think it just matters the heart that you have and wanting to be the best that you can be.’
Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu faced off in a historic head-to-head 3-point contest
Curry defeated Ionescu by three points to take home the custom 3-point championship belt
Ionescu’s tally of 26 points was level with the highest scores in the general 3-point contest
Curry responded with a 29-point performance to narrowly win the head-to-head contest
She also stated ‘hopefully, this isn’t the last time we do this.’
State Farm donated money to charity for every shot that was made during the head-to-head competition.
Ionescu’s 26 points also matched the top four scores from the opening round of the general 3-point contest which was won by Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.
Lillard, who won with Portland last season, became the eighth player to win at least two 3-point crowns and the first since Jason Kapono (2007 and 2008) to do it in consecutive years.
This one nearly ended without Lillard advancing to the final round. Four players – Lillard, Trae Young of Atlanta, Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana and Karl Anthony-Towns of Minnesota – finished in a tie for the three spots in the last round. Haliburton was eliminated in the tiebreaker round with 12 points.
Bucks point guard Damian Lillard won the official 3-point contest for the second year in a row
Lillard pulled off a late flurry of shots to successfully defend his shooting title in Indianapolis
In the final, Young and Towns both put up 24 points, giving Lillard a chance to win it with a late shooting flurry.
Ionescu, meanwhile, originally challenged Curry last year, after she won the WNBA 3-point competition.
So far this season Curry has been averaging 28 points, 4.4 rebounds, and five assists for the Warriors, whose record currently sits at 27-26.
Last season in the WNBA, Ionescu averaged 17 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists for the Liberty.
