Stephen Curry Did Damian Lillard’s Classic Wave Before Dame’s Game-Winner

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: a long-range assault in the NBA All-Star Game, a deathmatch that wasn’t so deadly and more.

Never a doubt

The NBA All-Star Game was a three-point bonanza. Of the 221 shots taken by Team LeBron and Team Durant, 113 were threes (60.1%). Stephen Curry only attempted three two-point shots, Damian Lillard took four and James Harden only tried one shot from inside the arc.

Curry and Lillard weren’t taking run-of-the-mill threes, either. They pulled up a couple of times from half court, just for fun.

DAME, STEPH BACK-TO-BACK FROM HALFCOURT.. FLIP THE CHANNEL TO #NBAALLSTAR ON TNT!

Unlimited range from the NBA's two leaders in threes made! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/qeVGcLIo0Y

— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2021

As Steph and Dame’s Team LeBron approached the 170-point target score, Curry tried to win the game with a shot on the run from the logo. When that didn’t fall, Lillard came back on the next possession and hoisted one from just inside the halfcourt line.

🚨⌚️ LOGO LILLARD CALLS GAME FROM HALFCOURT!

Dame's 8TH three of the #NBAAllStar Game WINS it for #TeamLeBron! pic.twitter.com/9ZdsurzZBQ

— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2021

Curry knew the game was over before Lillard even came close to shooting it. Curry inbounded the ball to Lillard, immediately turned to the Team LeBron bench and started waving goodbye as Lillard brought it up the floor. He didn’t even bother going to join the rest of his teammates in the offensive half. He knew it was over.

Steph knew it was over 💀

He started waving goodbye before Dame pulled up from half court pic.twitter.com/T8cisFf57F

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 8, 2021

Look familiar? Curry was mimicking the wave Lillard did after sending the Thunder crashing out of the 2019 playoffs with a 40-foot game-winner over Paul George.

“That’s a bad shot,” George famously said after the play. But now he’s changed his tune.

George, who was also on Team LeBron, admitted after the game that he was wrong about Lillard’s range.

“Well I guess I was criticized for the right reason, for calling Dame’s shot in the playoffs a bad shot.” George said with a chuckle. “I mean, I see these guys’ range is crazy. They have the ability to knock those shots down. It’s not like it’s a half-court heave. These are shots that are well within their range. They probably can shoot it deeper.”

The best of SI

Winners and losers from a very strange NBA All-Star Game. ... Ross Dellenger reflects on his relationship with Les Miles after the allegations against him. ... 10 takeaways from the first half of the NBA season.

Around the sports world

Cleveland stars José Ramírez and Franmil Reyes have been sent home for violating COVID-19 protocols by dining in a restaurant. ... A man who lives near the Tiger Woods crash site signed an affidavit saying he found Woods unconscious in his car. ... Bryson DeChambeau didn’t quite drive the green on No. 6, but he did win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. ... The Bears are reportedly focused on trading for Russell Wilson to solve their QB problem. ... Zlatan Ibrahimović is reportedly set to play for the Swedish national team for the first time since 2016.

One year into the pandemic and Reggie Miller is still getting used to the fake crowd noise

Steph was unstoppable in the three-point contest

AEW Revolution’s Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch ended with a total dud of an explosion

The finish to Memphis–Houston was pure anarchy

CHAOS! pic.twitter.com/y7vhL28Pbz

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 7, 2021

THIS IS MAAAAAAAAAAARRRRCH!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/M1fJ9bnYf4

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 7, 2021

Mat Barzal may have scored the best goal of the year

In fairness, can you tell which team is which?

he tackled his own teammate 😂 @fcflio pic.twitter.com/qMlyQ9yyv6

— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) March 7, 2021

Look alive, Luka!

Steph caught Luka napping in the dap line pic.twitter.com/mg0SET9EqU

— Will Laws (@WillLaws) March 8, 2021

He lost by one stroke but he did get one over on Bryson

Lee Westwood's reaction to his 306-yard drive on No. 6 Sunday was priceless. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/C3WoSYaS58

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 8, 2021

March Madness, Indiana edition (featuring a bounce pass)

Oh my Lord. Boston Steers at the buzzer. Central pulls off the upset with a 54-51 victory over Harrison.

Watch this 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/qTv96439wM

— Kyle Sokeland (@kylesokeland) March 6, 2021

Flawless one-touch finish

This was special, Harry Kane 💫

(via @TelemundoSports)pic.twitter.com/L91UhJUz4O

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 7, 2021

Not sports

A snorkeler in the Florida Keys found 70 pounds of cocaine floating in the ocean. ... 100-million-year-old bacteria from the bottom of the ocean have been resuscitated and are reproducing like nothing happened. ... Buying tweets is the hot new thing and Jack Dorsey’s first tweet might fetch $10 million.

The tale of the secret room behind the mirror had me riveted last week

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.