The highlight play of the Golden State Warriors' 46-point rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday was Stephen Curry’s 51-foot shot to beat the halftime buzzer.
Curry was 0-of-8 on shots 50 feet or longer this season, but that’s not surprising. The league entered Saturday 5-of-211 on them, with the five makes by Patrick Patterson, Andre Drummond, Lou Williams, Semaj Christon and Joe Johnson.
In terms of shots from approximately the same area as Curry's, the NBA entered Saturday 1-of-75 on shots of 50 to 55 feet in 2016-17.
It was the second-longest shot of Curry’s regular-season career. He had a 54-footer against the Jazz on March 9, 2016. Curry had one that was clearly longer on Nov. 21, 2016, against the Pacers, but it came after the buzzer (and we have no records of his practice shots).
Curry is one of three players to make multiple shots from 50 feet and beyond over the past two seasons. The others are Vince Carter and Drummond.
What came next
Curry was unfazed by the intermission. He came out of the locker room and still had the touch. He scored 25 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Clippers 25-23. His five 25-point quarters are the most in the NBA over the past 15 seasons. Kobe Bryant ranks second with four.
