OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry set an NBA Finals single-game record for most 3-pointers in a 122-103 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.
In 38 minutes, Curry finished with 33 points on 11-of-26 shooting while hitting 9 of 17 3-pointers.
"He was tremendous," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. "You know, nine 3s and seemed to hit the big shot every time we needed one. But yeah, he was fantastic."
Former Celtics star Ray Allen set the previous record when he made eight 3-pointers against the Lakers in Game 2 of the 2010 Finals between Boston and Los Angeles.
"It's a pretty cool deal to accomplish knowing who's held the record," Curry said of breaking Allen's mark.
Curry left the game with less than four minutes to go and the Warriors comfortably ahead. In addition to his game-high point total, Curry also added eight assists and seven rebounds.
When asked if it was Curry's best Finals performance, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: "Yeah, it's hard to think back to all of the games."
The 17 attempts also were a Finals record -- the previous high had been 15, which has been done twice.
"It looks like he's lining himself up for something great if we continue to win," Draymond Green told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
His most memorable 3-pointer came midway through the fourth quarter with the Warriors holding on to an 11-point lead. Big man Kevin Love was switched onto Curry with the shot clock winding down. Curry dribbled the ball around the perimeter to free himself and momentarily lost the ball, but gathered it going away from the basket and launched a high-degree-of-difficulty, off-balance 28-footer over Love's fingertips that found nothing but the bottom of the net to beat the buzzer.
"A big moment where we had a significant lead, we could extend it a little bit and create some separation down the stretch," Curry said. "It was a cool moment for sure."
"Every shot that he takes, he has the business of making them," LeBron James said. "That's what he does. So we shouldn't be surprised or deflated at it. Take the ball out, move it forward and try to execute on the other end."
Love found himself defending Curry on numerous occasions.
"It's tough, really tough to guard Steph anywhere out there on the floor," Love said, "but he's just so good at finding himself open."
The series heads to Cleveland with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday.