The Paper's reporter Hu Jie
The smile of the "cute god" is still innocent.
"I'm going to buy a ticket to New York and witness my son's record-breaking historic moment." After the game against the Pacers on the 14th, Dale Curry made his itinerary clear.
But Dale Curry's trip to New York certainly didn't cost a small amount, as madison Gardens, which averaged $352 this season, quadrupled ticket prices to $1,334.
After all, everyone wants to see Curry overtake Ray Allen and crown the NBA's all-time regular season three-point king — a moment that finally came in the first quarter of the 15th game against the Knicks.
When the game was 7 minutes and 32 seconds, Curry received the ball from the outside and hit a three-point shot! 2974 three-point records achieved! Curry also celebrated with every teammate and coach!
After winning the Pacers on the 14th, Curry roared in the air.
Faced with the record, Curry was nervous
'I know he wants to break this record tonight, but I'm not going to let that happen at our home court.' After the game against the Pacers, Brogdon described the team's defense this way.
In fact, every team the Warriors have met in the last three games has the same mentality - the game can be lost, and Curry must be iron.
After all, for every team, no one wants to be a backstage board. In the end, the Blazers escaped the disaster, the 76ers wished to come true, the Pacers passed by, leaving the Knicks with a long sigh: "After all, I carried all this." ”
Curry threw in 14 three-pointers in three games, and he could only play a "fail" evaluation for the season when he threw 5.4 three-pointers per game, after all, this number was "piled" by 36 three-point shots.
You can even feel Curry's urgency in chasing Ray Allen's 2973 three-pointer, as if to say, "Work overtime for so long, say anything to rush today." ”
Before the game, Ray Allen and Curry talked on the sidelines.
So before the game against the Blazers, Curry had 16 three-pointers to surpass Ray Allen. Asked if it was possible to hit 16 three-pointers in one game, both to break Klay's all-time record of 14 three-pointers in a single game, and to surpass Ray Allen to become the all-time three-point king, Curry replied: "More crazy things have happened, everything is possible." ”
At this moment, we can understand the reason for Curry's recent "wave throws".
Even the Warriors were caught up in the logic of "Curry is going to break the record, I have to do something to help him" - that game, teammates are bent on helping Curry achieve his goals, desperately feeding him the ball. In the end, Curry made 17 shots from outside the three-point line, hitting six of them.
Against the 76ers, Curry made 14 of his 20 shots from outside the three-point line and ended up hitting just three. Instead, it allowed Sebel to unlock an achievement — the first player to block Curry's three-point shot twice in the same game.
Fans raise their cards: Curry's three-point king.
After the game, veteran Iguodala hit the nail on the head: "Everyone is trying to use this moment to do something, and this makes Curry unable to grasp himself." Everybody's asking him that you have to break the record so we can do something. ”
Curry also sensed the team's "overcorrection", reflecting before the game against the Pacers: "Looking back now, I wanted to change that crazy mentality — 'shooting 16 three-pointers at home and breaking the record', I think that thought it caused some extra anxiety. ”
So against the Pacers, Curry chose a breakout layup when he hit his fifth three-pointer in a single game and was just one goal away from equaling Ray Allen ' record — a moment when winning was more important than breaking the record.
Fans hold up cards: Curry, you can do it.
Madison fans turned against each other, too normal
Coming to the Knicks, Curry's "indicator" is only 2 three-pointers, which may make his mentality more peaceful.
"I just enjoy moments like that, it feels like you've come to the door and kept slamming the door, it's so unreal." After winning over the Pacers, Curry described his mindset this way, "You just keep playing, shooting the shots you should have, and enjoying the experience." ”
But it's clear that the story of chasing the ancestors isn't always smooth sailing. After playing the Pacers, the Warriors originally planned to fly to New York that night, but had to stay in Indiana because the plane broke down.
The Warriors had to take a 10am flight the next morning, 7 hours before the game started to land in New York.
"Flights on matchday, flights to back-to-back matches. Wow! Green even turned on the spit mode, "Or I should drink water like crazy tonight, let the electrolytes help me get through, and then stay up until dawn." ”
But when Curry actually shot those three-pointers and Madison Gardens rang out MVP cheers, it was all as Curry said, "Enjoy a moment like this." ”
As for the defection of Madison fans, it is too normal.
Madison Gardens and Curry, who is the "basketball Mecca," have many ties in themselves. From Curry's Knicks being cut off by the Warriors to Curry's fame battle in Madison Gardens, New York fans always have a different feeling for Curry.
Golden State Warriors draft cut Hu Curry.
At the 2009 draft, the 21-year-old Curry fell in love with New York. At that time, Curry said: "I wanted to go to the Knicks and thought I was going to the Knicks. In the little green room I thought: Oh! Get to the eighth pick so the Knicks can pick me. ”
In order to join the Knicks, Curry's agent at the time did not even let Curry participate in the Warriors' trial, and also called the warriors general manager at the time, Larry Riley, "I appreciate and respect you very much, but please don't choose Curry." He's not a good fit here, and we want him to go to New York. ”
In the end, Curry waited for David Stern's "Warriors selected Curry with the seventh pick" and madison Garden fans who didn't get him booed.
Curry's fame battle also came from Madison Square Garden , where on February 28, 2013, Curry scored 54 points, shooting 11 of 13 from three-point range, including 23 points in the second quarter, the first 50+ of Curry's NBA career.
Perhaps it is this bond that allows Curry to always get "preferential treatment" in Madison Gardens. The last time he visited the Knicks, Curry already felt the enthusiasm of the fans - the stadium that used to constantly shout "FXXK blows Yang", but greeted Curry with the cry of MVP.
As Curry put it: "It's really weird, it's a really interesting thing for us and we're grateful that they [the away fans] can support us. ”
The Knicks' love for Curry may have gone beyond the matchups between teams.
Curry has always been kind to people.
After all, the three-point record belongs to the "Splash Brothers"
Not only the Knicks, but now Curry has a sense of float parade in every away field.
In previous games against the Pacers, Indiana fans would let out an exclamation when Curry conceded every three-pointer in the fourth quarter. And when Curry hit the fifth three-pointer in the next stage of possession, the fans unconsciously stood up so that Curry could cheer for the first time after shooting three points.
On the last trip to the East, cavaliers and Knicks fans also presented MVP praise at home.
Kerr describes it this way: "At any time, he looks like an ordinary person, he acts like an ordinary person, which is the quality of a good team leader. ”
"Because he's so humble, that's why he's so popular."
Curry will taste the popcorn from each away game and sort the popcorn deliciousness; Curry will also make a grimace before the opening from time to time to amuse the audience; even Curry will be angry at the referee than T, which will make people have a cute feeling.
But when we often compare three-point shooters to Assassins, Curry is the most dangerous person.
Ray Allen shot 2,973 three-pointers in 1,300 games, and Reggie Miller shot 2,560 three-pointers in 1,304 games. Curry surpassed that with just 788 games.
"I'll compare myself to Clay and Reggie Miller because we're all about running without the ball, but Curry is different from us." In a recent interview, Ray Allen talked about how his juniors described Curry.
In Curry's first three seasons, he partnered Monta Ellis, when Curry shot 372 three-pointers, only 23.4 percent of which were dribbled. But after Monta Ellis was traded, Curry hit 272 three-point break-season records in his first year as a point guard, 44.1 percent of which were dribbled.
Curry changed the game of basketball.
After that, it is Curry's "slaughter list" journey, from consecutive three-point hits, to three-point hits in a single game, to the total number of three-point hits, Curry almost "dominates" all three-point records.
The most obvious is the number of 9+ three-point shots, and Curry has appeared on this list 38 times, which is the sum of 2-5 places. Even since April this year, Curry has reached this record 10 times, surpassing any other player on the list.
The indicators of other people's lives, Curry completed in eight months.
Curry's relationship with the three-pointer is as the famous statistics media StatMuse lamented: "It's as difficult to break Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record." ”
For Curry, the only major three-point record that does not belong to Curry after surpassing Ray Allen as the player who has shot the most three-pointers in the regular season is the one that only has the maximum number of three-point shots in a single game.
The record belongs to Clay on Oct. 30, 2018, when he threw 14 three-pointers against the Bulls, setting an NBA record for three-point shooting in a single game.
In other words, the NBA's three-point record is ultimately owned by the Splash Brothers.
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Ding Xiao