Stephen Curry was on a roll – and it was barely sufficient to beat Sabrina Ionescu. Fittingly, he gained by three.
The Golden State star and NBA’s all-time three-point king beat Ionescu 29-26 within the Steph v Sabrina competitors at All-Star Saturday night time, the primary of what might develop into a daily fixture on the league’s showcase weekend.
“For us to ship a present like that, it was good,” Curry stated. “As a lot pleasure as you possibly can construct in that brief period of time with two nice shooters going at it. That is one thing we’ll bear in mind for a very long time.”
Ionescu gained the WNBA’s three-point shootout at its All-Star weekend final 12 months with a file 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 fulfill at All-Star weekend.
“Hopefully, this isn’t the final time we do that,” Ionescu stated.
Curry and Ionescu talked afterward about including companions to the combination subsequent 12 months when All-Star weekend is in San Francisco, the world the place he performs and she or he calls residence.
Ionescu went first and made 18 of 27 pictures – beginning seven for seven. A few of them had been value one level, some value two, giving her a complete of 26 factors.
She shot from the NBA three-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 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.
“This was so genuine for the each of us to have the ability to be right here, lastly not in a closed health club, capturing in entrance of everybody watching and understanding what it means for ourselves but additionally the larger image,” stated Ionescu, who has overwhelmed 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 wished to be … It’s modified the panorama of how folks view what we’re doing.”
There’s no rivalry between the 2, despite the fact 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 certain,” Curry stated.
The truth is he has 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’re followers of her. And on Saturday, Ionescu stated the expertise taught her a lesson.
“To simply maintain believing in myself,” she stated. “You understand, 10 years in the past, I by no means would have thought this was potential. And so having the ability to be up right here … it’s a blessing and a chance 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 need to come out right here and do that.”
The competitors raised cash for every of their charitable foundations, and when it was over, Curry left with the belt – however they each left very happy.
“I don’t know what’s going to return out of it, however me and Sabrina talked about how cool of a chance it’s to do one thing that’s by no means been carried out earlier than in our sport,” Curry stated. “And for her to have a presence on this stage goes to do lots to encourage the following era of younger girls and boys that need to compete and see themselves in both of us. Wherever it goes from there, we all know we are able to form of plant our flag as doing one thing actually particular.”