Warriors star Stephen Curry BEATS Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu in historic head-to-head 3-point contest… with Golden State guard winning special WWE-style belt after NBA vs WNBA matchup

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry triumphed when he and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu faced off in their head-to-head 3-point contest during NBA All-Star Saturday.

Ionescu was the first to shoot during the historic matchup and she finished off her round with a score of 26 points after a hot start in Indianapolis.

Curry responded by hitting a score of 29 to win the contest after hitting some clutch shots on his final rack. His prize was a customized 3-point championship belt.

‘I think a night like tonight shows a lot of young girls and young boys if you can shoot you can shoot,’ Ionescu said after the competition. ‘It doesn’t matter if your a girl or a boy. I think it just matters the heart that you have and wanting to be the best that you can be.’

She also stated ‘hopefully, this isn’t the last time we do this.’ 

Curry defeated Ionescu by three points to take home the custom 3-point championship belt

Ionescu scored 26 points which was equal to the highest scores in the general 3-point contest

Curry responded with a 29-point performance to narrowly win the head-to-head contest

State Farm had donated money to charity for every shot that was made during the head-to-head competition. 

Ionescu’s 26 points also matched the top four scores from the opening round of the general 3-point contest which was won by Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.

Lillard, who won with Portland last season, became the eighth player to win at least two 3-point crowns and the first since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008 to do it in consecutive years.

This one nearly ended without Lillard advancing to the final round. Four players – Lillard, Trae Young of Atlanta, Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana and Karl Anthony-Towns of Minnesota – finished in a tie for the three spots in the last round. Haliburton was eliminated in the tiebreaking round with 12 points.

Bucks point guard Damian Lillard won the actual 3-point contest for the second year in a row

Lillard pulled off a late flurry of made shots to successfully defend his shooting title

Then in the final, Young and Towns each put up 24 points, giving Lillard a chance to win it with a late shooting flurry that gave him the title.

Ionescu originally challenged Curry last year, after she won the WNBA 3-point competition.

So far this season Curry has been averaging 28 points, 4.4 rebounds, and five assists for the Warriors, whose record currently sits at 27-26.

Last season in the WNBA, Ionescu averaged 17 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists for the Liberty.