Contemporary basketball has reached impressive levels of shooting efficiency, more specifically from the three-point line. It is not surprising that all long-distance records are falling, especially in an NBA accustomed to exceeding the limits of what is known almost daily. In last night’s victory of the Dallas Mavericks over the Golden State Warriors by 133-143 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, spectators witnessed an unparalleled three-point recital by both teams: 48 goals in 95 attempts, with a combined success rate of 50.5%
“They controlled the entire game on a night in which we scored 27 three-pointers and did not lose any balls, that is the modern NBA, a completely different world and game,” resigned Steve Kerr, coach of the locals and precisely one of the promoters. of the triplist revolution in the game. “A decade ago, if you saw an attacking statistic sheet like that for a team, it won by 20 or maybe 30 points,” the coach added. His Warriors, with 27 of 54 from long distance, were three goals away from surpassing the absolute record for a single team, held by the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks (29).
A couple of early mornings ago, the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz equaled the previous record of 44 goals, which dated from February 2023 in a three-overtime match between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers. “This underlines the level of skill that exists in the NBA today,” said Will Hardy, coach of the Utah Jazz, about the spectacle experienced in the Jazz’s 126-134 defeat of the Suns, where both teams scored 22 points. triples. It also highlights a record-breaking pitching pace. So far this season, NBA teams are averaging 37.5 three-point attempts per game, a record that represents an increase of 2.4 attempts compared to last season, when the jump was just 0.9 attempts regarding the 2022-23 campaign.
This Sunday, the main reason for the local defeat in San Francisco was an unleashed Luka Doncic, author of 45 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in 38 minutes of play (16-23 in field goals, 6-11 in triples). The Slovenian wonder, on his way to the best score and the ninth triple-double of the course, started inspired and reached 28 points at halftime, very well accompanied by Klay Thompson who finished sinking his former team with his top as a Maverick: 28 points and 7 of 11 in triples. The Mavs’ accuracy and greater efficiency in the paint were enough to finish a game in which they contributed 21 triples to the collective record.
“Today I felt that no one could fail anything. They had 18 triples at halftime and we were still ahead. It was a very fun game,” highlighted the former Real Madrid player after reviewing the statistics and huffing when hearing the historical figure of the 48 goals. Thompson, the player who has scored the most triples in an individual match (14), also remembered the 75 missed triples recently between the Bulls and the Hornets. “I saw what happened in Chicago against Charlotte, and a lot of fans said that there are too many three-pointers being shot. It’s nice to be able to counter that narrative and show that the shooting is at an incredible level in this league. The game will continue to advance and over time we will probably see a four-point line,” the guard noted. That possibility, indeed, has already been raised in the offices of the American league on more than one occasion.
His former teammate and the player with the most triples scored (3,832) in NBA history, Stephen Curry, contributed to the feast with seven goals and 26 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. A few years ago, the point guard reflected on The Players Tribune on the impact of his long-shot focused style on the game: “The three-point shot and shooting in general is a skill that everyone can work on and improve. Not all of us can jump one meter up or stretch 15 centimeters. If you can shoot a basket – regardless of the level, the league you play in or how tall you are – you can play basketball.” Based on a devastating outside game, Golden State has won four rings in the last decade, by far the best harvest of the period.
Returning to today, the Warriors, who started with a streak of 12 wins and 3 losses, have fallen in eight of their last ten games. The Mavericks, on the other hand, have 12 wins in their last 14 games, a record that places them in fourth position in the Western Conference with a balance of 17-9 in total.
