By BRIAN MAHONEY
CLEVELAND — Stephen Curry got another 3-point record. LeBron James got another All-Star win.
Not a bad night in Ohio for the two All-Stars from Akron.
Curry turned boos to oohs and aahs with the greatest long-distance shooting performance in All-Star Game history, then James made a turnaround jumper that gave Team LeBron a 163-160 victory over Team Durant on Sunday night.
Curry made 16 3-pointers and scored 50 points, two off Anthony Davis’ record. He was clearly hunting it, asking on the sideline during a sizzling third quarter what the record was.
“It’s pretty special, obviously being back in Ohio,” Curry said, seconds after being handed the inaugural Kobe Bryant MVP Trophy. “The trophy is very special. Very humble, very blessed.”
He missed his final 3-point attempt that would have allowed him to surpass Davis. But with James’ team needing a basket to reach the target score of 163 points, they couldn’t afford to keep feeding Curry.
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So James pulled up from deep on the right side for the winning bucket, making him 5-0 in the format where the leading vote-getters in each conference draft teams.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, and James finished with 24 in his old home. Joel Embiid led Team Durant with 36 points.
The All-Star Game’s return to Cleveland was expected to be James’ night. He is the Cavaliers franchise’s greatest player, having led them to their only NBA championship in 2016.
Instead, he was upstaged by Curry, who was born in the same Akron hospital.
Curry finished 16 of 27 beyond the arc — sometimes well, well behind it. He launched a few from the All-Star 2022 logo near midcourt, running backward without even waiting to watch one go in.
He smiled when he was booed during pregame introductions, Cleveland fans not forgiving him for helping Golden State beat the Cavaliers three times in the NBA Finals from 2015-18.
But the fans were enjoying his show too much to keep going as the game went on, though the boos returned when he was presented the MVP award.
MVP, MVP, MVP pic.twitter.com/cSOg11emqV
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 21, 2022