Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry put his wife Ayesha Curry to task after he reached the unprecedented 4,000 3-pointers milestone in their 130-104 rout of the Sacramento Kings at home on Thursday, March 13.
“She wasn’t in New York for the record, 2,974. So it was cool that for the 4,000 she was here,” Curry told reporters after the win. “She got the responsibility of making sure the ball gets home.”
Curry was referring to passing Ray Allen’s record of 2,973 made 3-pointers on Dec. 14, 2021, at Madison Square Garden to become the all-time NBA leader in 3-point shots.
The game ball is Curry’s memento for the career milestone.
Except for the celebration, Curry had a quiet night with only 11 points, his lowest scoring output since the Jimmy Butler trade rejuvenated him. But it did not matter as the Warriors had a balanced attack to run the Kings to the ground.
What mattered most to him was the win and achieving the milestone in front of his family and the Warriors fans.
Warriors Anxious Play to Get Curry’s Milestone
Curry entered the game needing two 3-pointers to get to 4,000. It took him until the third quarter to hit the second one to reach the career milestone.
“It was a weird night because we all knew I was two away,” Curry told reporters after the win. “Made the first one in the first quarter off a transition, [Jonathan Kuminga] made a great pass. Sacramento was playing that gimmicky defense all game where they were literally face-guarding me, top-locking, and nothing was clean about it.”
The Warriors were anxious to get Curry his 4,000th 3-pointer which the Kings took advantage of, cutting a 23-point first-half deficit to only four.
Curry’s five straight points, including his 4,000th 3-pointer, sparked a 9-4 run that kept the Kings at bay.
“You see that last turnover I had in the second quarter?” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters after the game. “A lot of anxiety. That was a terrible pass. We all kind of wanted that for him. There was a point in the game where we all were just trying to make it happen, but to see him cross that milestone that no one has ever crossed is very fitting the way he changed the game, how important he made the 3-point shot to the game of basketball. Happy it happened at home with the last one happening on the road.”
Family Atmosphere
It was not only Curry who had a milestone. Warriors coach Steve Kerr matched late Hall of Famer Al Attles for most coaching wins in franchise history with 557.
Curry credited Kerr for creating a family atmosphere and making their work enjoyable, which enabled them to succeed as teams and as individuals.
“Coach [Steve Kerr] allows family to be a part of what we do as much as possible,” Curry told reporters. “We got kids running around the practice courts. I realize when we all started this we were all youngins in the league and he’s seen our families grow one-by-one over the years. So it’s kind of cool that we get to share the on-court and off-court experience together. Just the idea, we’ve been all together for a very long time.”
It makes winning and reaching milestones even sweeter.
