Curry shines with 50-point performance in NBA All-Star Game
Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry shines in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, scoring 50 points that included a record 16 threes.
Team LeBron James beat Sunday Team Kevin Durant in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, with Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry's shots leading Team LeBron to its 163-160 victory.
The end-of-game buzzer gave James his fifth straight all-star win as team captain. But Curry was the brightest shooting star, winning the MVP award with a 50-point performance that included a record 16 threes in front of a crowd of 19,400 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
"Obviously this trophy has very special meaning. I am very humbled, very blessed and I appreciate it," Curry expressed following the game.
Congrats @StephenCurry30! #NBAAllStar • #KiaAllStarMVP pic.twitter.com/8iBSDEClQm
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 21, 2022
Historical one for James
Ohio-born local hero James nailed the winning shot with a fadeaway jumper to elevate Team LeBron to the target score of 163.
"I could not have dreamed of that moment, any better than the actuality that just happened," James said.
👑 Just a kid from Akron #NBAAllStar #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/0FrCKu9w58
— NBA (@NBA) February 21, 2022
The 37-year-old was playing in his 18th all-star game, which ties him with the late Kobe Bryant and moves him to one record away from Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James was one of two captains, the other being Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who did not attend the game due to his grandmother's death earlier Sunday.
"Talking to the best of the best"
During Saturday's halftime, the league honored the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team with players from every decade of the league's existence in attendance for the diamond anniversary.
"I was like a kid in a candy store just watching all the greats, all the legends," indicated Curry of meeting his boyhood heroes.
The 2022 #NBAAllStar #NBA75 Portrait! pic.twitter.com/g0dSRffjoj
— NBA (@NBA) February 21, 2022
"You walk around talking to the best of the best, it brings out the best in you," he added.
James also embraced shaking hands post-game with NBA legend Michael Jordan.
"I did not want to lose the opportunity to shake the man's hand that inspired me throughout my childhood," James expressed.
The All-Star Game was preceded by the three-point shooting contest on Saturday, a competition Curry won in 2021 in Chicago. Karl-Anthony Towns won this year's contest, which Curry did not enter.