Steph Curry missed his final six shots Sunday night in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
OK, buzzkill.
We know the Warriors superstar, in his eighth All-Star Game, put together an historic performance in Cleveland with 50 points. He made a record 16 3-pointers, crushing the previous record of nine, which was held by Paul George. Curry just missed breaking Anthony Davis' scoring record of 52, which happened in the 2017 game.
Steph broke two records in the first half alone when he hit six 3-pointers in a quarter, and eight in a half.
His record-breaking night that helped raise over $100,000 for the Cleveland Metro School District, earned him the All-Star Game's Kobe Bryant MVP award.
"I mean, Steph, come on, man," LeBron James said Sunday night to reporters. "This guy is from a different planet. "He literally has an automatic sniper connected to his arm. When he lets it go, not only himself, but everybody on the floor, in the stands, on TV, on their phones, whatever you are watching on, you think it’s going in every time. Nine times out of 10 -- and sometimes 10 times out of 10 -- it does go in.
"To be out there and watch that kid from Akron as well shoot the ball the way he shot it, it was unbelievable. It was pretty cool."
Though he had to ignore boos from Cavs fans, Curry enjoyed every second of putting on a show in a game where he also was honored as one of the NBA's greatest 75 players of all time.
"I got hot early and kept it going and tried to put on a little bit of a show," Curry said. "The joy started to come out, and hopefully everyone appreciated it."
Curry catching fire in the All-Star Game might have come at the perfect time for him and the Warriors, too.
Before dropping a 50-piece, he had scored at least 20 points three times in his previous seven All-Star Games. But he averaged only 13.5 points between his first two appearances in the game, scoring 12 in 2014 and 15 in 2016. In 2016, as the Warriors were crushing their competition and Curry was changing the game into something nobody had ever seen, he put up 26 points in the All-Star Game and went 6-for-13 from 3-point range. That was a career-high for points and 3-pointers in the event for Curry at the time.
And his hot shooting continued in his final 29 games of the regular season.
Over that span, Curry averaged 30.6 points, 6.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 45.4 percent from deep. That helped him win his first scoring title by averaging 30.1 points. The Warriors went 24-5 in those games as they went on to win a record 73 regular-season games, Curry won his second straight MVP and became the first unanimous vote in NBA history.
Do I really need to mention what happened in the Finals against LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Moving on.
The next year, Curry scored 21 points in the All-Star Game and went 5-for-11 on 3-point attempts. He also was much better after the break than before. Prior to the All-Star break, Curry averaged 24.7 points per game. In 24 games after the break, he averaged 26.6 points, 7.2 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from long distance.
Curry wound up averaging 25.3 points per game for the 2016-17 season. The Warriors went 19-5 in his 24 games after the break and went on to win the championship in their first season with Kevin Durant. They lost just one game in the playoffs -- Game 4 of the Finals -- and Curry averaged 28.1 points per game in the playoffs while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 41.9 percent on 3-pointers.
This past season, Steph had his best All-Star Game before this year's scoring barrage. He scored 28 points and went 8-for-13 on 3-point shots, finishing one off the previous record. Curry already was again taking his game to new heights last season, but was a man on a mission after the break.
In 28 games after the All-Star break, Curry averaged 34.9 points per game, shot 48.7 percent from the field and 43.1 percent on 3-pointers. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. In his first 35 games of the season, he averaged 29.7 points, had a 47.8 field goal percentage and made 41.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.
The Warriors went 18-10 in Curry's final 28 games, he won his second scoring title and finished with a career-high 32.0 points per game. But the Warriors lost both of their play-in games, despite Curry scoring 37 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and 35 in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
RELATED: Everything to know about Warriors' schedule after the break
Curry obsesses over shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers. He has done so in every complete season he has played in so far. That streak likely will end this season, with him shooting just 37.9 percent on 3-pointers going into the break. His 42.7 field goal percentage is on pace for a career-low as well, and his 25.8 points are his lowest since Durant's first season as a Warrior.
Timing is everything, and Curry letting it fly, quieting the boos and again showing why he's the game's greatest shooter couldn't have come at a better part of the season as the Warriors ramp up for what really matters.
History's on Steph's side, and that usually isn't a good thing for the rest of the league.
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Steph's huge All-Star Game might be exactly what he needed - NBC Sports Bay Area
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