Stephen Curry says the lure of breaking Ray Allen's all-time three-pointers record did not play a part in his poor shooting night in the Golden State Warriors 102-93 loss the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Curry shot six of 20 from the field, finishing with 18 points and making only three of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
The two-time MVP's three triples moved him within seven three-pointers of breaking Allen's all-time NBA record of 2,973 three-point attempts made.
"If you take away the context of these last couple of games, I've played the exact same way," Curry said at the post-game news conference. "You’ve got to make shots and understand the opposition is not going to want that [breaking the record] to happen on their home floor.
"They defend accordingly. For the most part [I am] trying to keep it out of my head and just play basketball and take the shots I normally take and play the game I normally do.
"There was obviously a lot of attention on it which is well deserved as it's an all-time NBA record and one that been around for 10-11 years.
"I appreciate the attention on it. It'll happen when it happens. I'll continue to keep winning NBA games in the process."
Curry has made 24 three-pointers in his past five games as he closes in on the NBA record with attention swirling about the milestone held by Allen since 2011 when he surpassed Reggie Miller's mark of 2,560.
The point guard attributed his 30 percent field goal percentage to pressure from the 76ers and Matisse Thybulle, who marked him closely, rather than the impending record.
"They pressured all night long. Thybulle is a pretty hard defender," Curry said. "They were trying to force us into the paint and make the extra pass and we did that early.
"We didn’t shoot as effectively as we wanted. We made that third quarter run but then got cold. They slowly walked us down."
Curry's next chance at breaking Allen's record occurs on Monday when the Warriors face the Indiana Pacers.
Stephen Curry had a wayward shooting game but moved closer to Ray Allen's all-time record as the Golden State Warriors were humbled 102-93 by the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Joel Embiid scored a game-high 26 points along with nine rebounds and four assists for the 76ers, who ended the game with a 41-20 run to improve their record to 15-12.
Curry, who started the game 10 triples away from Allen's all-time NBA record for most three-point attempts made, finished with 18 points including three triples.
As a result, two-time MVP Curry is seven three-pointers away from breaking Allen's mark of 2,973 career triples.
Curry drained two three-pointers late in the second quarter but did not add to his tally until the fourth quarter, shooting a disappointing three-of-14 from beyond the arc. The guard finished the game shooting 30 percent from the field.
Jokic stars but triple-double run ends
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic's run of three straight triple-doubles ended but he still managed a double-double with 35 points and 17 rebounds in the Denver Nuggets' 127-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Reggie Jackson hit a late two-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Orlando Magic 106-104, finishing the game with 25 points in Paul George's absence.
The Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to seven games as Donovan Mitchell had 28 points with Ruby Gobert grabbing another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in their 123-98 win over the Washington Wizards.
Turnovers cost Bulls vs Heat
Point guard Lonzo Ball committed five turnovers and only managed 15 points as the Chicago Bulls lost 118-92 to the Miami Heat. Zach LaVine was also guilty of four turnovers, although he finished with 33 points including seven three-pointers.
James Harden will miss a game for the first time this season after the Brooklyn Nets confirmed he will be rested against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
The 2018 MVP has started all of the Nets' 26 games this season, leading Brooklyn in minutes played with 941, ahead of Kevin Durant (871).
Harden is also coming off another 40-plus-minute game in Friday's 113-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The point guard currently ranks sixth in minutes per game (36.2) this season.
“Fourty [minutes]. Three times in a row. 40,” Harden told reporters with a wry grin after Friday's game having clocked up 162 minutes in their past four games.
"I want to win man. I don’t care about nothing else but winning. I don’t care about nothing else. That’s all."
The Nets are top of the Eastern Conference with an 18-8 record while the Pistons are last with a 4-21 record after 11 straight defeats.
Harden, who started the season slow, is averaging 20.8 points, 9.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been forced to reduce Zion Williamson's training programme after scans identified the source of his foot soreness.
Former first overall pick Williamson is yet to feature in 2021-22 after undergoing surgery on a right foot fracture in the offseason.
The ex-Duke sensation had been cleared to participate in full team activities late last month, only to soon take a step back due to soreness.
That setback delayed Williamson's return, and Pelicans fans now face an even longer wait to see their star player in action following another injury update.
"After experiencing persistent soreness in his right foot, Zion Williamson underwent medical imaging which showed a regression in the bone healing of his fifth metatarsal," a team statement read on Saturday.
"As a result, the volume and intensity of his training will be reduced for an extended period to help allow for further bone healing. Additional updates will be provided as warranted."
Williamson has been restricted to just 85 games through his first three seasons in the NBA. Among players in the 2019 draft class, he ranks joint-29th in that regard and 17th for minutes (2,694).
However, only Ja Morant (2,855) and RJ Barrett (2,445) have scored more points in the regular season than Williamson (2,187), whose average (25.7 points per game) is by far the best in his class (Morant 19.2, Barrett 16.0).
Although the Pelicans have a miserable 69-103 record since the start of 2019-20, they have been a competitive 40-45 with Williamson in the team.
LeBron James came good on his resolve that the Los Angeles Lakers would not make the same mistakes again, as this time they finished off the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers tossed away a 72-48 half-time lead when these teams tussled in October, and held a 50-36 cushion when they met again in early November, only to lose again.
On both prior occasions, James was absent. This time he was very much present, posting 13-of-20 shooting for 33 points in a 116-95 victory on Friday night.
With Anthony Davis (knee soreness) absent, James dazzled as he played a fourth consecutive game for the first time in what has been a stop-start season for the 36-year-old superstar.
In 15 games this season, James has scored 30 or more points in seven of them. More to the point, he has reached 30 in five of his last seven games.
Ankle and abdominal injuries have been a frustration for James this season, but he said after this latest showing: "I'm just getting healthier every day.
"My injury played a big part in me getting out of game shape, but also the dynamics of how I move and how I play left me kind of hampered at times. I've been able to see plays before they happen but not able to make them.
"But as I continue to get stronger and stronger and my injury continues to get closer and closer to 100 per cent, I'm able to go out there and do a lot of the things that I've been doing over my career that benefits our team. I'm happy the way I'm feeling as of late."
As a spectator, he had been as frustrated as anyone that the Lakers were unable to close out their previous games against Oklahoma this season.
"I was excited to play in this game just because of that reason," James said.
"I understood the leads that we built and me watching from the sidelines, seeing those leads evaporate and them celebrating on our floor last time they played us, and I couldn't do nothing but sit there and watch.
"They earned those wins, but I was looking forward to making an impact in this game and just trying to control the game how I know I can control the game on both sides of the floor, and I was lucky enough that my team-mates put some work in tonight and I just tried to lead them in the right direction."
The Lakers' win followed on from Thursday's 108-95 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, when James had a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists but wound up on the beaten team, his shooting not at its sharpest.
This time the Lakers logged a season-high 19 three-pointers, four of those from James with Avery Bradley netting six from behind the arc
Coach Frank Vogel saluted James' response, saying: "He was unbelievable tonight.
"I shouldn't say it surprises me, but it’s just incredible for him to play at such a high level. To perform the way he did tonight, not only just with his shot-making but his play-making and his will to take a tough loss last night and say, 'That’s not going to happen again'.
"The two losses we had against OKC where we built big leads and let them get back in it, he wasn't going to let that happen again tonight."
Giannis Antetokounmpo remains driven to keep improving for the Milwaukee Bucks after chalking up a new franchise record in the 123-114 win over the Houston Rockets.
Antetokounmpo had 41 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks as he became Milwaukee's all-time leader in the latter category, surpassing Alton Lister (804).
The defending NBA champions halted Houston's seven-game winning streak behind a monster performance from their star man.
Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis weighed in with 21 points apiece for the Bucks, who improved to 17-10 this season.
Asked afterwards about his new landmark achievement, Antetokounmpo said in a news conference: "It's big-time. Great compliment to my career. But I've gotta keep getting better, gotta keep defending better.
"I feel like sometimes I'm a step behind. I've gotta be there early for my team-mates, gotta make sure they know that I'm behind them and I'm ready to help them in any scenario.
"But it's great. It's great to have something like that in my career, but I gotta keep on moving forward, keep on getting better, keep on helping my team-mates win games."
His showing against Houston represented a major gear shift following a lacklustre display in the midweek defeat to the Miami Heat, in which Antetokounmpo managed just 15 points and six rebounds. Only once this season has he ended a game with fewer points.
He is averaging 27.6 points and 11.8 rebounds this season, with his shooting accuracy from the field dipping slightly from 56.9 per cent last term to 53.4 per cent, his lowest since the 2017-18 campaign.
Antetokounmpo seems to have a firm grip on how he can take steps forward and enacted his plan against Houston.
"I just tried to be aggressive, tried to get downhill," he said. "In the last game I wasn't as aggressive as I wanted. I wanted to be aggressive, the team wanted me to be aggressive and it kind of worked out in our favour tonight."
The 27-year-old Greek star was the Finals MVP last season and will have aspirations to take the Bucks deep into the play-offs again this time.
He spoke after this latest tussle of his admiration for the Rockets, who rebounded from a 15-game losing streak to put seven consecutive wins together before this setback.
"They're playing great. We knew coming in today they're going to play extremely hard against us and try to prove themselves," said Antetokounmpo.
"They don't have a big star, a superstar that takes all the possessions. They have to play together, they have to shoot the ball real well, they have to put themselves in position to be successful. They defend really well and if they keep playing like this they're going to keep getting better each year."
The Bucks have had five 40/15/5 games since the three-point era (1980) – Antetokounmpo has all five.
Giannis Antetokounmpo flexed his muscles with 41 points and 17 rebounds as defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks took down the Houston Rockets 123-114 in the NBA.
The Bucks snapped Houston's seven-game winning streak behind a monster performance from Finals MVP Antetokounmpo on Friday.
Antetokounmpo also had five assists, three steals and two blocks as he became Milwaukee's all-time blocks leader, surpassing Alton Lister (804).
The Bucks have had five 40/15/5 games since the three-point era (1980) – Antetokounmpo has all five.
Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis had 21 points apiece for the Bucks, who improved to 17-10 this season.
Christian Wood (21 points and 13 rebounds) had a double-double, but it was not enough for the Rockets (8-17), while Garrison Matthews (23 points) and Armoni Brooks (21 points) also impressed.
Houston had been 6-0 with Matthews in the starting line-up but his bid to join Chris Paul (first 15) and Jason Terry (first nine) as the only players in the last 30 years to have the Rockets win their first seven starts with the team fell short.
Durant grounds Hawks, LeBron leads Lakers
Kevin Durant led the way again for the Brooklyn Nets, who outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 113-105. Durant scored 31 points. James Harden added 20 points and 11 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets. Trae Young had 31 points and 10 assists for the Hawks. He joined Russell Westbrook and Michael Jordan as the only players with at least 25 points and 10 assists in five consecutive games since the NBA merger in 1977.
With Anthony Davis (knee soreness) absent, LeBron James inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-95 victory over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder. James was 13-of-20 shooting for 33 points. In 15 games this season, James has scored 30 or more points in seven of them.
Burks has game to forget
The New York Knicks opted for Alec Burks over star recruit Kemba Walker in their rotation, but he endured a horror outing in the 90-87 defeat at the Toronto Raptors. Burks missed all seven of his shots from the floor, finishing with just a point in 37 minutes.
The Boston Celtics went down 111-90 to the high-flying Phoenix Suns as Marcus Smart went one-of-13 from the floor – missing all five of his three-point attempts – in a four-point performance.
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