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Steph Curry beats Sabrina Ionescu by 3 in All-Star shootout

The highly-anticipated NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest was the first of its kind. Curry beat Ionescu 29 to 26.
Steph Curry beats Sabrina Ionescu by 3 in All-Star shoutout
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NBA's Steph Curry and WNBA's Sabrina Ionescu went head-to-head in an unprecedented 3-point shoutout during the NBA's All-Star Weekend.

Curry came out on top, but only by three points, winning 29 to 26.

The NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest, which took place Saturday night, was the first of its kind.

It was a highly anticipated match-up, with the Golden Warriors guard considered perhaps the best 3-point shooter in basketball history.

Ionescu, a guard for the New York Liberty, opted to shoot from the men's 3-point line at 23 feet, 9 inches, instead of the women's line of 20 feet, 6 inches, to level out the playing field. She did of course use a WNBA ball.

After the showdown, dubbed "Stephen vs. Sabrina," as if it were a boxing match, a heavyweight belt was presented to the winner.

Curry commented after his win.

"I saw the first rack ... and I was having flashbacks to watching her this [past] summer," Curry said, according to ESPN. "It added a lot of pressure, for sure, and I just wanted to get off to a good start, settle in and thankfully I made enough to get over the top."

"But that was perfect. Great entertainment, great shooting — both sides — and an awesome 70 seconds for both of us," he continued.

Ionescu hinted at a possible rematch.

"Obviously Steph won for a reason, and I'm going to have to try to beat him next time," she said.

Before the game, both players were gracious for the opportunity.

"Me and Sabrina talked about how cool of an opportunity it is to do something that's never been done before in our game," Curry said. "And for her to have a presence on this stage is going to do a lot to inspire the next generation of young boys and girls that want to compete and see themselves in either one of us."

Ionescu shared similar sentiments.

"Being able to have this crossover and understanding the respect that I've been able to receive from a lot of the NBA guys — just knowing that Steph wanted to do this as well, in terms of just respecting another shooter — I think it's going to show a lot of kids out there, a lot of people that might not have believed or even watched women's sports, that we're able to go out there and put on a show."


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