Happy Wednesday morning, folks! Don't look now, but we're halfway through the last full work week of 2021.
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Good morning to everyone but especially to...
STEPHEN CURRY
It was like so many threes we've seen before from Stephen Curry: A full-speed sprint off the ball. A pinpoint pass from Draymond Green -- who has assisted more of Curry's threes than any other player. A stop on a dime and a lightning-quick release. And a swish right through the center of the net.
But this one was different: it was Curry's 2,974th career regular-season three, breaking Ray Allen's NBA record.
It happened in the first quarter on, fittingly, the grandest stage of them all: Madison Square Garden. Both Allen and Reggie Miller (who had the record before Allen) were in attendance, with Allen spectating courtside next to Miller, who was calling the game for TNT.
The atmosphere was electric from the tip for Warriors vs. Knicks, and the crowd was on its feet every time Curry had the ball. When his record-breaking shot went through, The Garden went berserk, and the Knicks called a timeout, allowing Curry to receive the long ovation he so thoroughly deserved. LeBron James, Tom Brady and plenty of others weighed in on social media as well.
As incredible as this accomplishment is, it's just another step in cementing a legacy that could leave him as a top-five player all-time, writes columnist Bill Reiter:
Reiter: "Curry does not fit the mold of an all-timer... But Steph has his own unique Mount Rushmore resume, one currently incomplete for a top five all-time player but certainly within reach. He's the greatest shooter of all time... He, like Jordan, has defined a generation of the sport and called forth a next generation crafted in his image -- imitators of not his skill but of how he's changed the game. Steph's greatness, while not as overpowering as LeBron's or deep in its breadth, nonetheless synthesizes rare talent into championships while defining a long span of the game."One more note of praise for Curry before we move on: Our NBA scribe Brad Botkin wrote last night that it's realistic Curry can hit over 5,000 threes before he retires.
Oh, and the Warriors won the game, 105-96, too.
Honorable mentions:
Memphis got an impressive and much-needed win, beating No. 6 Alabama 92-78. The Tigers have been up-and-down this season, but this could be a turning point, writes our college basketball scribe Gary Parrish.J.R. Smith returning to college at North Carolina A&T has been one of the best feel-good stories of 2021. And the story gets even better. The longtime NBA guard posted a 4.0 GPA in his first semester of college at 36, and he took to Instagram to show just how much it meant to him.Shoutout to Riverheads High School! The Gladiators won their sixth straight Virginia High School League Class 1 state championship and have won 50 games in a row, the longest active streak in the nation. Riverheads is 25 minutes from where I grew up, and I can tell you, this tiny program's consistency is incredible. They have dominated for years on end, and I'm glad they're being recognized nationally.And not such a good morning for...
Getty ImagesPAIGE BUECKERS
UConn star Paige Bueckers -- who was the national player of the year last year as a freshman -- underwent surgery to repair her fractured left leg and torn meniscus, the school announced Tuesday. She will miss at least two months.
This is a huge blow for the Huskies and for women's college basketball as a whole. The injury, which occurred in UConn's blowout win over Notre Dame on Dec. 5, turned out to be even more severe than initially expected. It's hard to quantify Bueckers's impact in numbers: She can score at all three levels and is a terrific passer. She's a superstar in every sense of the word on the most iconic women's college basketball program on the planet. Her absence has already been felt, writes our Steven Taranto:
Taranto: "The absence of Bueckers has already had a noticeable impact on the Huskies' women's team. In their first game without her, UConn lost 57-44 to unranked Georgia Tech, ending a streak of 239 consecutive games without a loss to an unranked opponent. The team bounced back on Saturday with a 71-61 victory over UCLA."
