Stephen Curry takes his pursuit of the NBA’s all-time 3-point record on the road when the Golden State Warriors tip off a five-game Eastern swing with a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers in a nationally televised game Saturday night.
Curry is scheduled to take the court with 2,964 3-pointers, nine fewer than the number Ray Allen accumulated in his 18-year career that ended in 2014.
Currently competing in his 13th NBA season, Curry leads the league in total 3-pointers made this year (132 in 24 games) and successful 3s per game (5.5).
Nine made 3-pointers is a total Curry has attained four times this season, but not since Nov. 18 at Cleveland. He has made nine or more from distance 38 times in his career, 29 more times than any other player.
In order to claim the record outright on Saturday, he would need to make 10 for a 23rd time in his career. The last time he reached double figures, he shot 11 of 21 against the Oklahoma City Thunder last May.
Curry insists there are more important things on his mind.
“I obviously know I’m closing in, but I try not to let it creep into how you play,” Curry insisted. “You just enjoy the journey to get there.”
Curry had expressed an interest in breaking the record at home. While needing 15 to catch Allen on Wednesday, he started 0 of 4 in an eventual 104-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, effectively popping that balloon. He wound up going 6 of 17.
He shot 6 of 11 from beyond the arc when the Warriors hosted the 76ers on Nov. 24. Golden State won that game 116-96, with Curry going for 25 points while finding time for 10 assists.
The 33-year-old is the only player in NBA history to have made 10 or more in a game at Philadelphia. That occurred when he went 10 of 17 in a 107-96 win last April.
Only one other player has ever made nine threes in a road game against the 76ers, that having been Curry’s former teammate, Jeremy Lin, on a 9-of-15 night for the Houston Rockets in 2013.
If Curry is able to break the record Saturday, likely it will come with brother Seth not only in attendance but wearing a 76ers uniform.
The two went head-to-head in the game at Golden State, with Seth dueling his older brother on nearly even terms, finishing with 24 points. He failed to make any of his five 3-point shots, however.
Asked if he would like to see his brother break the record against the 76ers as the Warriors were about to tip off against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Seth was interrupted by teammate Tyrese Maxey, who blurted, “No!”
Added Seth: “It’s pretty inevitable. He’s shooting it well. He’ll get it one of these days. Hopefully … we hold him to two or three.”
With Joel Embiid back in the lineup after missing nine straight games for COVID reasons, including the loss at Golden State, the 76ers had won three in a row before falling 118-96 at home to the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
Utah made 15 3-pointers on a night when Embiid, playing through right abdominal pain, countered with 19 points, while Seth Curry had 18.
