Entering Game 5 of the 2022 Finals, Stephen Curry made at least one 3-pointer in 132 consecutive postseason games (which, incidentally, is every postseason game in which he'd ever played), and he'd made multiple 3-pointers in 38 straight playoff games. Counting the regular season, Curry had made at least one 3-pointer in 233 consecutive games. Those were all NBA records.
And they all came to an end on Monday.
After a historic start to this series, becoming the first player in history to make at least five 3-pointers in four straight Finals games, Curry finished 0-for-9 from 3 in Game 5, and he doesn't care one bit. The Warriors won the game, 104-94, to take a 3-2 lead in the series. They can close out their fourth championship in the last eight years in Boston on Thursday.
Steph Curry 3-PT FG made streaks (All longest in NBA history)
— SplashBrosMuse (@SplashBrosMuse) June 14, 2022
— 233 straight games in reg. season & playoffs
— 132 career playoffs games with at least 1 make
— 38 straight playoffs games with multiple makes
It all ended tonight. pic.twitter.com/BOvibHfWGm
It wasn't just Curry who was cold from deep on Monday. The Warriors missed 31 3-pointers as a team (9-for-40), which ties the record for the second-most misses ever compiled in a Finals win. Boston was more aggressive in defending and doubling Curry above the 3-point line, and in response, the Warriors weren't as pick-and-roll heavy as they'd been earlier in the series, utilizing Curry a bit more in his typical off-ball fashion, which can make it tough to get to your preferred shots in preferred spots against Boston's switching. Curry never found a real rhythm. Most of his misses weren't close.
"I think Steph was probably due for a game like this," Steve Kerr said. "He's been shooting the ball so well that, at some point, he was going to have a tough night. Boston did a really good job defensively, as we would expect. They are a great defensive team. I thought they put more pressure on him early in pick-and-roll. And Steph missed some open ones, too.
"So it's always a combination," Kerr continued. "But even for the best shooter in the world, you know, games like this happen. And, fortunately, they don't happen too often. I like Steph coming off of a game like this, too. I like his ability to bounce back."
Curry agrees.
"Track record says I'll shoot the ball better next game," Curry said. "And I'm looking forward to that bounce-back."
Curry's right about his bounce-back track record, by the way. Consider this:
When Steph Curry has failed to make a three, and then played in the next game, he's shot 93-for-177 (52.5%) from distance. https://t.co/OwDnhH6LfB
— Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) June 14, 2022
Getting even more specific, on Nov. 4, 2016, Curry's previous record (regular season) of 159 straight games with at least one made 3-pointer came to an end with an 0-for-10 showing against the Lakers. In his next game, three days later, he broke what was, at the time, the single-game record with 13 3-pointers against the Pelicans. This would seem to bode pretty well for Curry and the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday.