Eight 3s in one night, and a rookie-record 209 on the season.
On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of Steph Curry’s iconic OT winner over OKC, Kon Knueppel delivered a historic night of his own.
In celebration of Steph’s legendary 2016 shot, the full game is streaming all day on the NBA App. See Section 5 for more ⬇️
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Thursday’s Best: Spurs win 11th straight, Kon erupts for 3-point record, O’Neale calls game in Phoenix
Star Takeovers: KD & Maxey join rare company, Ant levels up late again
Roundup: Pels & Hawks win third straight, Blazers survive late, Kings beat Mavs
ESPN Doubleheader: Shai returns as Thunder host Nuggets, Pistons end gauntlet week with red-hot Cavs
Steph’s Iconic Shot: Shaun Powell revisits Curry’s all-time night, stamped by Mike Breen’s ‘double bang’ call
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Friday delivers five games, headlined by two massive matchups on ESPN as the Cavs visit the Pistons (7 ET | Tap to Watch), before the Thunder host the Nuggets (9:30 ET | Tap to Watch).
Relive The Curry Flurry: Today marks the 10-year anniversary of Steph Curry’s 12-triple night in OKC, capped by his legendary OT-winner. Rewatch the instant classic anytime today on the NBA App.
1. THURSDAY’S BEST: SPURS’ STREAK HITS 11, KON SETS ROOKIE RECORD, SUNS WIN THRILLER
Make it 11 in a row – and 11-0 in February.
Spurs 126, Nets 110: Julian Champagnie splashed six 3s en route to 26 points, Victor Wembanyama made his presence felt on both ends (12 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk) and the Spurs led wire-to-wire for their 11th straight dub. | Recap
Perfect February: It’s San Antonio’s longest win streak since 2015-16 and just its third time finishing a month with a perfect record (min. 10 GP)
Pure Dominance: In February, the Spurs rank 1st in scoring (124.8 ppg) and 3rd in DefRtg (106.2), resulting in a league-best +14.5 point differential
Familiar Approach: Anchoring both ends? Wemby, who is the first player since Tim Duncan (2002) to tally 1,000+ pts, 500+ reb and 125+ blk through the first 45 games of a season
Chasing The Champs: The win moves San Antonio to 43-16, just 1.5 games back of OKC for 1st out West
Nine straight road wins. Seventy-two 3s in three games. One rookie rewriting the record books.
Hornets 133, Pacers 109: After becoming the first team to hit 25+ 3s in consecutive games, the Hornets buried 22 last night, tying the NBA record for most triples over three games (72).
And while Charlotte matched one league mark, Kon Knueppel smashed another, nailing eight 3s to break Keegan Murray’s single-season rookie record (206) as the Hornets’ franchise-best road win streak reached nine. | Recap
Another Level: Knueppel finished with 28 points, while shooting 8-of-12 from deep, closing the night with 209 3s on the season with 22 games left
Another Record: He is the first rookie with multiple games of 8+ 3s and now owns the rookie record for most games of 25+ points and 5+ triples (10)
Another Bang: The previous record holder? Steph Curry
All-Around Buzz: Brandon Miller (33 pts, 6 3s, 7 reb), LaMelo Ball (20 pts, 8 ast) and Knueppel combined for 81 points as Charlotte improved to 13-3 since Jan. 22 – tied with San Antonio for the most wins in that span
“I love the connectivity that those guys have,” said Hornets coach Charles Lee postgame. “The great thing about this team is I think we’re really good – but we’re still an unfinished product.”
Suns 113, Lakers 110: Royce O’Neale (13 pts, 6 reb) drilled the game-winning triple with 0.9 remaining and the Suns survived Austin Reaves’ (14 pts) attempted answer at the buzzer and Luka’s big night (41 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) to pull within 1 game of L.A. for 6th in the West. | Recap
Run & Response: Phoenix pulled away from a tie game with an 18-6 run in the first half of the 4th quarter, only to be caught at 108-all after a 17-7 Lakers comeback
Royce Rolls: O’Neal scored the final 7 points for the Suns, snatching a huge offensive rebound for the tiebreaking putback before hitting the winner
Phoenix sank 22 3s, with six apiece from Grayson Allen (28 pts) and Collin Gillespie (21 pts), who also combined on the winning swing-pass assist
2. STAR TAKEOVERS: KD & MAXEY POP OFF, ANT ELEVATES IN CRUNCH TIME
Rockets 113, Magic 108: Kevin Durant’s first 40-point game for Houston and a 19-point comeback in a 70-point 2nd half propelled the Rockets past Desmond Bane (30 pts, 6 3s) for a third win over Orlando this season. | Recap
Late Power: Houston closed the 3rd quarter on a 24-4 run to erase the 19-point deficit and take a 1-point lead into the 4th, where it ended the game with a 21-11 closeout
The Finisher: KD had 11 of the final 21 Houston points and 14 overall in the 4th. He tied Kobe Bryant for the 5th-most 30+ point games in NBA history (431)
Durant also reached 32,000 career points in the 4th, becoming just the 6th player to get there
Reed Sheppard (20 pts, 5 3s) backed KD up with three triples in under 2 minutes during the comeback run, and two more as daggers in the final 2 minutes
Holding 3rd: Houston maintains 3rd place in the West, moving ahead of Denver by a half-game
Sixers 124, Heat 117: Tyrese Maxey (28 pts, 11 ast, 5 stl, 5 3s) got off to a hot start and Joel Embiid (26 pts, 11 reb) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (21 pts) helped hold off Bam Adebayo (29 pts, 14 reb), Tyler Herro (25 pts, 7 ast) and the Heat late in a third straight win for Philly. | Recap
Hot & Historic: Maxey poured in 20 points in the 1st quarter with four 3s, passing Allen Iverson along the way for most made 3s in 76ers franchise history
“AI is someone we all looked up to,” Maxey said. “To be able to pass him in anything in basketball, that’s cool. And then to wear these (throwback) jerseys, that’s fun.”
Rare Lines: He’s now just the 3rd player in NBA history with multiple games of 30+ pts, 10+ ast, 5+ stl and 5+ 3s, joining Gilbert Arenas and Latrell Sprewell
Philly maintains the East’s 6th and final guaranteed Playoff spot, 1 game behind Toronto in 5th, while Miami is 1 game behind 7-seed Orlando
Wolves 94, Clippers 88: Anthony Edwards closed with 11 of his 31 points in the 4th quarter, helping Minnesota bounce back from LA’s 30-19 go-ahead 3rd to move to 2 games up on the 6th-place Lakers and gain a half-game on the idle 4-seed Nuggets. | Recap
Ant’s Takeover: Edwards scored the final 9 points for Minnesota, in a mix of free throws, a midrange and the dagger triple with 42.9 remaining
“I feel like any shot that I take is a good shot,” Ant said of his work.
Post-Break Boost: It was Edwards’ third 30+ point game in his last four games, as he’s averaging 33.3 ppg since claiming All-Star Game MVP honors
Ant continues to wear his orange wristband for young fan Luca, who celebrated now being cancer-free prior to the game
3. ROUNDUP: PELS & HAWKS WIN 3RD STRAIGHT, BLAZERS & KINGS DUB
Pelicans 129, Jazz 118: With the Pels seeking a third straight win, Saddiq Bey put on a show, dropping 42 points and 7 dimes, including a 23-point 2nd half, to push New Orleans past Ace Bailey (23 pts) and Utah. | Recap
Star Boost: Zion Williamson added 20 points and 4 steals, while Dejounte Murray got busy (17 pts, 9 ast, 4 stl) in his second game back from an Achilles injury
Hawks 126, Wizards 96: Corey Kispert was feeling it from deep (33 pts, 6 3s), while CJ McCollum added 25 points as the Hawks never trailed, beating the Wiz for their third win in a row. | Recap
Blazers 121, Bulls 112: After seeing Portland’s 15-point 4th-quarter cushion deflate to 3, Jerami Grant (27 pts) responded with a clutch triple to push the lead back to six with 1:57 left, as the Blazers held off Matas Buzelis (20 pts, 7 reb) and the Bulls. | Recap
Kings 130, Mavericks 121: Precious Achiuwa’s career-high 29 points (12 reb, 3 stl) and 22 more from Maxime Raynaud helped keep the Kings ahead of Naji Marshall (season-high 36 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast) and the Mavs for the final 45 minutes. | Recap
4. ESPN FRIDAY: PISTONS END WEEK WITH HOT CAVS, SGA RETURNS VS. JOKER, NUGGETS
A gauntlet of a homestand in Detroit draws to a close tonight.
After splitting games against the West’s top two teams, the Pistons host their own conference’s hottest squad, looking to make it a winning week.
Cavaliers at Pistons (7 ET): Winners of 13 of its last 16, Cleveland will be without Donovan Mitchell (groin), the league-leader in 2nd-half and 4th-quarter points, and potentially James Harden (hand, questionable), who’s helped transform the Cavs’ offense since arriving at the trade deadline.
That gives a potential late-game advantage to the Pistons, coming off their league-leading 24th clutch win Wednesday against OKC.
Clutch Cade: Rising into the top-3 in this week’s Kia MVP Ladder, Cade Cunningham has totaled the 4th-most clutch points in the league this season (119) on 50% shooting
“There’s an unwavering belief that ‘we can,’” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of his team’s clutch play (100 Clutch DefRtg, 3rd-best). “They cherish the moment to do something big when it matters most.”
February Fire: Jarrett Allen has dominated in February, with boosts in scoring (+8.7 ppg, +13.3 FG%), points in the paint (+6.9 ppg), and rebounds (+3.0)
“Just facilitating, doing everything to the best of my ability,” Allen said of his play this month. “I feel like I was striving to play well even before (Harden) came, and then he came and just elevated my game.”
Nuggets at Thunder (9:30 ET): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen) is expected to return just in time for a marquee matchup with Nikola Jokić, who sits just behind him on the Kia MVP Ladder. With 22 games left in the regular season, OKC hosts Denver in a pivotal showdown.
Answering the Call: OKC went 5-4 without Shai during his recovery as the streaking Spurs (1.5 GB) gained ground
Jokić Cooking: In that same stretch, Denver (7.5 GB) went 4-4, with Joker logging triple-doubles in five of those eight games
Cason Wallace shined for OKC in SGA’s 9-game absence (13.8 ppg, 5.4 ast, 2.2 stl), and was key (27 pts, 2 stl) when the Thunder topped the Nuggets in their lone meeting so far this season (Feb. 1)
Defenses Up: After holding Boston’s 2nd-ranked offense to a season-low 84 points Wednesday, Denver’s D meets OKC’s top-ranked stoppers (106.4 DefRtg)
In an MVP race this tight, and with three OKC – Denver showdowns on the way in the home stretch, it may take a head-to-head impression to help determine a favorite, writes Shaun Powell:
“If the competition between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić remains tight — and they’re Nos. 1 and 2 in the Kia Race to the MVP Ladder this week and have been for much of the year — then maybe a measure of weight will be applied to what they do against each other, head to head.” | Read More
Roundup: The 2nd and 3rd seeds out East are also in action, as the Celtics host the Nets (7:30 ET) and the Knicks visit the Bucks (8 ET).
5. STEPH’S DOUBLE BANGER: RELIVING AN ICONIC SHOT, 10 YEARS LATER
Ten years ago today, Steph Curry capped a legendary night with a legendary triple — one that gave the hoops world an all-time moment and an iconic call..
The game itself has since become a required rewatch, an instant classic defined by an all-time Curry flurry – and it’s streaming all day on the NBA App.
A decade later, Shaun Powell revisits Steph’s iconic “Double Banger” and why it still echoes today:
“’Bang! Bang!’
Such was the breathless gasp from Mike Breen, the play-by-play voice of ABC’s coverage of the NBA, while calling the Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game 10 years ago today.
It was not just any game, and Breen wasn’t describing the actions of just any player.
This was a signature moment by Stephen Curry.” | Read More
Relive Steph’s epic eruption here, then dive deeper into the night he made legendary:
How He Got There: Inside Curry’s 46-point, 12-triple masterpiece, and how he made the impossible feel inevitable
The Game: Settle in and rewatch the instant classic in full – from the back-and-forth swings, to the OT-winner
Shot Ready: In an exclusive NBA feature, Curry reflects on the celebrations, memories and moments that define his incredible career
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