INDIANAPOLIS — Stephen Curry was on a roll — and it was barely sufficient to beat Sabrina Ionescu.
And fittingly, he gained by three.
The Golden State star and NBA’s all-time 3-point king beat Ionescu 29-26 within the Steph vs. Sabrina competitors at All-Star Saturday evening, the primary such him-vs.-her occasion of its type on the league’s weekend showcase.
“For us to ship a present like that, it was good,” Curry mentioned. “As a lot pleasure as you possibly can construct in that quick period of time with two nice shooters going at it. That is one thing we’ll keep in mind for a very long time.”
Ionescu gained the WNBA’s 3-point shootout at its All-Star weekend final yr with a report 37 factors, smashing Curry’s NBA shootout mark of 31 factors. From there, a problem was thrown down and the plan was concocted for them to satisfy at All-Star weekend.
In order that they did, and it felt like the primary occasion of the evening.
“Hopefully, this isn’t the final time we do that,” Ionescu mentioned.
Given how the followers — and actually, everyone from each the NBA and WNBA — appeared to find it irresistible, it doubtless gained’t be the final time, particularly since Curry and Ionescu talked afterward about including companions to the combination subsequent yr when All-Star weekend simply occurs to be in San Francisco, the world the place he performs and he or she calls residence.
Curry’s prize was a championship belt, with pictures of goats — as in, GOATs — on both aspect.
And he’s the capturing GOAT, with out query. However Ionescu, the New York Liberty star, virtually gave him greater than he might deal with.
Ionescu went first and made 18 of 27 pictures — beginning 7 for 7. A few of them have been value one level, some value two, giving her a complete of 26 factors.
She shot from the NBA 3-point line, which is roughly 12 to 18 inches farther from the basket than the WNBA line, relying on the world of the ground. Ionescu used a WNBA ball, which is barely smaller than the NBA ball Curry used.
Curry needed to rally a bit on the finish, making 9 of his final 10 to complete off the win.
Mixed, they shot 39 for 54 (72%) in a contest with unconventional parts like a lime-green glass ground in a soccer stadium with the world watching.
“This was so genuine for the each of us to have the ability to be right here, lastly not in a closed gymnasium, capturing in entrance of everybody watching and understanding what it means for ourselves but in addition the larger image,” mentioned Ionescu, who has crushed Curry in a H-O-R-S-E competitors earlier than with out thousands and thousands of individuals watching on tv. “That is the place I needed to be. … It’s modified the panorama of how individuals view what we’re doing.”
There’s no rivalry between the 2, regardless that Curry heckled Ionescu throughout her rehearsal capturing session on Friday. He was booing her as she shot.
“Making an attempt to use some stress, for positive,” Curry mentioned.
The fact is he’s been inspiring Ionescu for greater than half her life. Ionescu’s household had season tickets to Warriors video games. He gave her a high-five as soon as when he was within the tunnel connecting the locker room and the courtroom. She had a photograph of him as her screensaver.
Years later, when Ionescu was starring at Oregon, she was the one high-fiving Curry’s daughters — who love her. And on Saturday, Ionescu mentioned the expertise of simply being a part of one thing so distinctive on the All-Star stage taught her a key lesson.
“To simply hold believing in myself,” she mentioned. “You realize, 10 years in the past, I by no means would have thought this was doable. And so with the ability to be up right here … it’s a blessing and a possibility to even be in the identical dialog as Steph and to have the ability to see how a lot he’s revered me as a participant and a basketball participant and an individual to wish to come out right here and do that.”
The competitors raised cash for every of their foundations, and when it was over, Curry left with the belt — however they each left more than pleased.
“I don’t know what’s going to come back out of it, however me and Sabrina talked about how cool of a possibility it’s to do one thing that’s by no means been executed earlier than in our sport,” Curry mentioned. “And for her to have a presence on this stage goes to do loads to encourage the subsequent era of younger girls and boys that wish to compete and see themselves in both of us. Wherever it goes from there, we all know we will form of plant our flag as doing one thing actually particular.”
