Golden State star Stephen Curry has been draining 3-pointers like the average NBA player makes layups. His accuracy impeccable. His range ridiculous.
It’s that range that reminded me of someone else who liked shooting from incredibly far distances: Former Nuggets guard J.R. Smith. While he was (and is still) not nearly as consistent, when Smith felt the touch, he was unconscious from the outside.
So on this Throwback Thursday, here’s a look at Smith’s best game from beyond-the-arc — April 13, 2009, the night he nailed 11 3-pointers. The NBA record is 12, by the way.
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In the second to last game of the 2008-09 regular season, the 23-year-old Smith caught fire against the Sacramento Kings, leading Denver to a 118-98 win and the Northwest Division title.
From the Post’s Benjamin Hochman’s game story:
Monday’s win will go down in Nuggets lore — not just for the historical significance, but because Smith shot out of his mind.
The reserve guard and resident firestarter made 11 3-pointers, a record for 3s made by a Nuggets player in one game (Michael Adams and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf each had nine).
The Kings (16-65) were actually in the game, down just three with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, Smith’s shot was flammable — he made five of his eight 3-point attempts and all eight free throws, finishing with 23 fourth-quarter points.
“You know the water hoses they use to put fires out?” Carmelo Anthony asked. “They needed that tonight (for Smith).”
Smith finished the game with a career-high 45 points. For the month of April, he averaged 22.4 points and 48.5 percent from 3-point range. His 33 buckets from the outside was an average of 4.7 a game for the month — a pace that would’ve equated to 387 if he could have maintained it all season long.
Nuggets players have connected on at least eight 3-pointers in a game 14 times. Smith accounts for seven of those. And here’s a nice trivia factoid: He’s second in NBA history with 14 in his career, only behind Curry (22).
Now, about that consistency.
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Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or @joenguyen
