Steph Curry knew Dame Time was approaching.
With Curry and the Team LeBron needing three points to win the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard pulled from just inside the half-court line and drilled the game-winning 3-pointer.
Curry, who scored an All-Star Game career-high 28 points, didn't try to take the shot himself. He knew it was Lillard's moment to shine. And he knew Dame would come through in the clutch.
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Before Lillard even took the shot, Curry, who was in the game at the time, could be seen turning to the limited capacity crowd in Atlanta, Ga., and started waving, signaling that the players were about to leave.
"It all happens naturally," Curry told reporters on a Zoom conference call after the game. "We didn't choreograph that at all. As soon as he got the ball, I'm starting the celebration before he even shoots. Same with me. Just feeling the game out and taking shots we think we can make, we know we can make but we're just trying stuff."
What happened at the end of the first half of Sunday's game was as precursor to Lillard's game-winner.
Curry and Lillard pushed the limits of their range with back-and-forth half-court shots.
"We've been on All-Star Game together, been teammates before but a lot of the talk about us extending our range chatter over the summer and all that, you couldn't draw it up any more perfect, especially the end of the first half with him taking the first half court shot," Curry said after the game. "It kind of surprised me that he was launching it and he barely missed. Came back, redeemed himself and then I got to finish it off before the half. Obviously showing off our skillset and I've been trying to do it for a long time. It was good energy going back and forth. Just showing off what we can do."
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Golden State Warriors
Curry won the 3-point contest earlier in the day, but he didn't get to face Lillard in that competition. Instead, they held a mini 3-point shootout during the All-Star Game, and in this case, Dame called game.