For the first time since 2019, Stephen Curry and the Warriors are back in the NBA Finals, and they started the game as if they had never left.
Curry hit the most 3-pointers in an NBA Finals quarter, tying a playoff record dating back to at least the 1997 season, with 6 3-pointers in the first quarter of Game 1 against the Celtics.
With six 3-pointers in the opening 12 minutes of Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, the Warriors superstar set an NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a single quarter.
Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter and hit 6-of-8 from distance, with one miss coming at the end of the period from outside halfcourt. He surpassed his own personal best of five 3-pointers, which he shared with Ray Allen and Kenny Smith.
Throughout the quarter, the Celtics gave Curry terrific looks, and the best 3-point shooter in NBA history made them pay.
Curry’s third 3-pointer in an NBA Finals game was far from his first. In his Finals career, he has now made five or more 3-pointers in a quarter three times. Only Allen and Smith have combined to hit that record more than once in NBA history.
Curry’s 21 points in the first quarter were the most in an NBA Finals quarter since Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scored 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns in 1993.
Curry’s absence from a Finals MVP award was a hot topic prior to the series, and he’s off to a strong start as the frontrunner if the Warriors win.
