NEW YORK — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry made 13 shots in a row at one point, finished with 27 points in a terrific perimeter display and claimed the 3-point shootout Saturday night at the Barclays Center.
Ten days after hitting 10 3-pointers and scoring 51 points against the Dallas Mavericks, Curry was just as brilliant in his fourth appearance in the event.
He finished the second round with a flourish by making 13 straight before missing his last shot from the right corner in the money rack, which is worth two points.
Curry posted the most points of anyone in history in the finals, eclipsing the record of 25 set by Jason Kapono in 2008.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving placed a distant second as he was unable to win his second title in the last three years. He finished with 17 points in a round that saw him go 0 of 5 from the top of the key and miss four of five money balls from the left corner.
Curry’s teammate, Klay Thompson, finished third with 14 points as he struggled after making six of his first 10 shots.
Thompson won the first round with a display similar to when he scored an NBA-record 37 points in the third quarter on Jan. 23. He had 24 points, hitting 16 of 25 shots, and advanced by beating the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the left corner.
Curry and Irving finished with 23 points apiece in the opening round. Curry hit 4 of 5 from the right corner to advance and Irving beat the buzzer to reach his first-round total.
Portland guard Wesley Matthews barely missed advancing, finishing with 22 points after making eight of his last nine shots.
Atlanta’s Kyle Korver struggled to get into a rhythm and placed fifth with 18 points. Defending champion Marco Belinelli of San Antonio also had 18.
Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Reddick finished with 17 points and Houston guard James Harden had 15. Harden, the NBA’s top scorer, missed eight of his last nine shots.
Earlier Saturday, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh won the shooting stars competition for the third straight time by making all his shots in the shortest amount of time.
On a team with Hall of Famer Dominque Wilkins and New York Liberty forward Swin Cash, Bosh’s group won both rounds, taking 30.8 seconds and 57.6 seconds and edging the team led by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook.
Rockets guard Patrick Beverley, who was a replacement for Washington Wizards guard John Wall, won the skills competition by getting through an obstacle course and making a 3-pointer before Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight.
NOTES: The 3-point shooting contest featured four first-time participants in Portland G Wesley Matthews, Los Angeles Clippers G J.J. Reddick, Golden State G Klay Thompson and Houston G James Harden. … The last time the NBA’s leading 3-point shooter in terms of percentage won the event was 2008 when Jason Kapono had 25 points. Kapono led the league that season by shooting 48.3 percent while playing for the Toronto Raptors. He also won the event in 2007 while leading the league at 51.4 percent as a member of the Miami Heat. That also happened in 1995-96 when Tim Legler won the event while leading the league at 52.2 percent with Washington. … A player from the host city has won the slam dunk contest three times. Michael Jordan won it with his famous foul line dunk in Chicago Stadium in 1988, J.R. Rider won it in Minnesota in 1994 and Blake Griffin won it in 2011 when the event was in Los Angeles.