Curry and Thompson among four All-Stars to compete in Three-Point Contest

NEW YORK -- Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, the record-setting duo known as the “Splash Brothers” for their long-distance prowess, fellow All-Stars James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the player on pace for a historic shooting season, Kyle Korver of the Atlanta Hawks, will showcase their range in the 2015 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The eight-player field also features defending champion Marco Belinelli of the San Antonio Spurs, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews and the Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick.

The Foot Locker Three-Point Contest is part of State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night, which will be exclusively televised by TNT. This marks Turner Sports’ 30th year of NBA All-Star coverage.

Curry, the top vote-getter in NBA All-Star Balloting 2015 presented by Sprint, became the fastest player to hit 1,000 three-point field goals in NBA history when, on Jan. 8, he accomplished the feat in his 369th game. He drilled 10 three-pointers in a season-high 51-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 4, becoming the second player in league history (along with J.R. Smith) to have multiple games of at least 10 threes. The sixth-year guard will be competing in his fourth Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and he’ll also participate in the Degree Shooting Stars during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night.

Thompson, a first-time All-Star, set an NBA record for most points in a quarter on Jan. 23 against the Sacramento Kings, piling up 37 in the third period of a career-high 52-point barrage that included 11 three-pointers and a league-record nine in one quarter. Curry and Thompson are the only teammates ever to combine for 400 three-pointers in back-to-back seasons.   

Harden, the league’s leading scorer (27 points per game) and the Kia NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for both December and January, ranks fifth in both three-pointers made (130) and attempted (336). The All-Star quartet is rounded out by Irving, the 2013 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest winner. Irving sank a Cavs-record 11 three-pointers during a career-high 55-point outburst against Portland on Jan. 28, a performance that helped him earn NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.

Korver leads the NBA in three-point accuracy at 53.2 percent, and his 53.6 percent shooting through 41 games was the highest mark in league history at the halfway point of the season. Set to make his third appearance in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and first since 2005, Korver is on track to become the first player among qualifiers ever to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc and 90 percent from the free throw line.

Belinelli will defend the crown he won by defeating Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal in New Orleans in 2014. Matthews leads the NBA in three-pointers made (151) and attempted (376). The Clippers’ Redick is enjoying a career year from deep, connecting on 43.2 percent and threatening to shatter his previous high of 165 triples in a season (he is currently at 114).

In the two-round competition, five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc. Four of the racks contain four orange balls (each worth one point) and one multi-colored “money” ball (worth two points). The fifth rack will be a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five shooting locations. Every ball on this rack will be worth two points. The players have one minute to shoot as many as the 25 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round. Complete rules can be found at mediacentral.nba.com.

NBA All-Star 2015 in New York City will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 64th NBA All-Star Game, set for Sunday, Feb. 15, will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 13th consecutive year, as well as the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 13, and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. Other events at Barclays Center include the NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA Development League Dream Factory presented by Boost Mobile on Sunday, Feb. 15, both airing on NBA TV. Madison Square Garden will host Friday night’s ESPN-televised Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.