OK, so it’s a longshot, but long shots are Stephen Curry’s thing, right?
The Golden State Warriors star sets out to thrill his home fans with not one, but two all-time NBA records Wednesday night when the Warriors host the Portland Trail Blazers.
Curry’s seven 3-pointers in Monday’s 126-95 home romp over the Orlando Magic put him within 15 of Ray Allen’s all-time NBA career record of 2,973.
As the Warriors complete a four-game homestand Wednesday, Curry would need to make 16 — two more than injured teammate Klay Thompson’s single-game record — in order to give the partisan crowd a chance to witness the long-awaited eclipsing of Allen’s feat.
Fifteen 3-pointers is a lot, Warriors coach Steve Kerr noted after Monday’s game, before adding, “He’s Steph Curry, so anything is possible.”
More likely is that Curry will set the career mark during the Warriors’ five-game Eastern trip through Philadelphia, Indiana, New York (Knicks), Boston, and Toronto.
Consider that Curry’s career-best is 13 in a game, set in November of 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans. He had the advantage of playing 36 minutes that night in a tight game the Warriors wound up winning by 10 points.
Curry’s seven 3-pointers Monday came in just 31 minutes. He played only four minutes in the fourth quarter of the blowout.
Whether the Trail Blazers can put up more of a fight has to be questioned based on recent results. Playing without injured Damian Lillard, they were drubbed at home 114-83 by the San Antonio Spurs, 145-117 by the Boston Celtics and 102-90 by the Los Angeles Clippers in their last three games.
Things had gotten so bad, coach Chauncey Billups applauded Monday’s effort against the Clippers, which came with CJ McCollum also sidelined.
“We played hard. Played really, really hard. And that’s what it’s all about,” Billups said. “You play hard and see what happens. I say this all the time: I think every team that plays hard no matter what, you give yourselves a chance. And we did that tonight. As short-handed as we were, we had opportunities to win that game. That’s all you ever want.”
The Trail Blazers hope to have McCollum back from his bruised hip to face the Warriors, but even when getting a combined 32 points from Lillard and McCollum, Portland was beaten 118-103 at Golden State last month.
The Trail Blazers will take the court this time in San Francisco having lost 10 of 11 on the road this season. Their most recent road outing was a 129-107 shellacking at Utah on Nov. 29.
In the earlier meeting, Curry shot just 6-for-15 on 3-pointers en route to 32 points. He has never made more than nine threes in a game against the Trail Blazers.
But with his home fans pushing him and five consecutive road games on deck, even he isn’t convinced 15 is out of the realm of possibility.
“Anything is possible,” he said, repeating Kerr’s words from a short time earlier. “What is it, 15 (to tie Allen)? That’s funny because I know what that means is Klay’s record and all that, too. So we will see.
“If you’ve seen the way I’ve played, especially recently, I’m not shy about shooting the ball, so the game will dictate what that looks like. I’m not coming out with that as the true goal of how I play, but crazier things have happened.”
Curry has the green light, Kerr assured.
“I’m fully aware he’s 15 away,” he said. “I’m guessing he’s going to shoot a lot.”
