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MILAN — Juventus took advantage of Atalanta's goalless draw at Genoa with a 2-0 win over Cagliari which inched them closer to Serie A's Champions League places, as Salernitana's trip to Udinese became the season's first coronavirus-related casualty.

Moise Kean's header five minutes before the break and Federico Bernardeschi's precision finish after a break-away late on at the Allianz Stadium moved Juve to within four points of fourth place in Italy's top flight, currently occupied by Atalanta.

A fourth win in five matches means Massimiliano Allegri's side end 2021 on a high but it was another in a long line of underwhelming performances from the Old Lady of Italian football, who sit fifth nine points behind league leaders Inter Milan ahead of their home clash with Torino on Wednesday.

After the winter break they face a true test of their ambitions for the season, with matches against Napoli, Roma, AC Milan and Atalanta all coming by mid-February.

"If we get to the end of February with the same gap between us and the first four places as now I'll be happy," Allegri said to DAZN.

"You can't win all your matches with your direct rivals so from then on they'll have to play each other while we have a simpler calendar.

Juve were missing Paulo Dybala and Federico Chiesa in attack and rarely clicked going forward, while a troubled away side can wonder what might have been with better finishing.

Twice in the second half Cagliari, who are in the midst of a full-blown crisis after failing to muster a league win since mid-October, failed to put away gilt-edged chances following sloppy defending from the hosts.

Under-fire Cagliari coach Walter Mazzarri could hardly believe his eyes when, picked out completely alone on the hour mark by Raoul Bellanova's perfect low cross, Dalbert somehow shanked wide with the goal at his mercy.

And eight minutes later Joao Pedro, just about the only bright sport for the Sardinian side this season with his nine Serie A goals, headed straight at Wojciech Szczesny from point-blank range.

Bernardeschi's first goal in Serie A since July 2020 late on condemned second-from-bottom Cagliari to their third defeat on the bounce, although one that was less humiliating than the previous two 4-0 thumpings.

COVID strikes Salernitana 

They are a point behind Genoa, who didn't have a single shot on target as they held a curiously off-form Atalanta team now winless in three and sweating the fitness of striker Duvan Zapata after the Colombian limped off in the first half at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

The biggest news of the day came earlier at Udinese, as the match with Salernitana officially went ahead despite health authorities in Salerno requesting the away side not leave for north-eastern Italy.

The match was eventually abandoned 45 minutes after the official kick-off time of 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT), with the Udinese players remaining in the Dacia Arena's dressing rooms knowing their opposition was not going to show up.

Before the game Udinese's Pierpaolo Marino expressed annoyance at Salernitana not showing up due to two cases in the squad when just over a year ago his club had sent a team to Lazio despite having seven players and former coach Luca Gotti out with COVID infections.

However, Salernitana sporting director Angelo Fabiani was unmoved, saying the club had organised a charter flight for those who had tested negative, but were contacted by health authorities, who banned the whole team from travelling as they had to isolate as contact cases.

"If we're banned by the authorities from travelling, what are we supposed to do?" Fabiani asked.

Salernitana now await the ruling from the football authorities regarding the result and whether the match will be rescheduled.

However, the head of the Italian FA said on Tuesday that they will be kicked out of Serie A if a buyer for the club is not found by December 31, as they are owned by Lazio chief Claudio Lotito and ownership of multiple clubs in the same division is not allowed.

LOS ANGELES — Joel Embiid scored 41 points and sparked an undermanned Philadelphia squad to victory at Boston on Monday while Oklahoma City spoiled the NBA return of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.

Cameroonian big man Embiid also delivered 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and his last of two steals in the dying seconds to deny the Celtics a chance at a tying 3-pointer in powering the 76ers over Boston 108-103.

The impressive all-around performance together with 26 points by Seth Curry and 25 by Tobias Harris enabled the Sixers (16-15) to snap a three-game losing skid despite being down Shake Milton due to Covid-19 protocols and Tyrese Maxey with a quad injury.

"I thought we had a calm tonight," said 76ers coach Doc Rivers. "The guys were in a great mental place. They really wanted it. You could sense it."

Jaylen Brown led Boston (15-16) with 30 points.

At Memphis, Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seized command down the stretch and finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Thunder over the host Grizzlies 102-99.

It was a measure of revenge for Oklahoma City. Memphis had beaten the Thunder by an NBA-record 73 points, 152-79, on the same court earlier this month.

Morant, Memphis' scoring and assist leader, ended a 12-game layoff for a left knee sprain and had 16 points and eight assists but couldn't spark the Grizzlies late.

"I was really trusting my knee," Morant said.

Morant's jumper put Memphis ahead 95-94 but Gilgeous-Alexander passed to Josh Giddey for an uncontested layup, then scored one of his own and followed with a steal and two free throws to give the Thunder a 100-95 edge and Memphis missed a desperation half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"We executed well on defence," said Giddey, who had 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. "We knew our coverages and we stuck with them well."

French centre Rudy Gobert scored 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to spark the Utah Jazz over the visiting Charlotte Hornets 112-102.

Gobert made a career-high 15 free throws in 16 trips to the line and matched a career best with his sixth game in one season of 20 or more rebounds.

Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic also scored 23 points while Donovan Mitchell had 21 for the Jazz, who also got 13 rebounds from Royce O'Neale.

"We started the game well right away. We were hitting the shots," Bogdanovic said. "Rudy really dominated in the paint. He played great."

LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges each scored 21 to lead Charlotte, which fell behind 35-16 after the first quarter.

Two triple doubles 

At San Francisco, Stephen Curry scored a game-high 30 points and Draymond Green delivered a triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, as well as contributing two blocked shots and two steals in Golden State's 113-98 victory over visiting Sacramento.

Curry was applauded by Warrior fans in his first home game since breaking the NBA's all-time 3-pointers record.

Golden State became the first NBA club to 25 wins this season and at 25-6 moved within percentage points of Phoenix for the league's best record.

At Los Angeles, San Antonio's Dejounte Murray unleashed another triple double with 24 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds to spark the Spurs to a 116-92 victory over the host Clippers.

Austrian centre Jakob Poeltl had 17 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio while Keldon Johnson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.

Paul George scored a game-high 25 points for the Clippers.

DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and Coby White added 24 off the bench to lead the Chicago Bulls over visiting Houston 133-118.

Orlando's scheduled contest at Toronto was postponed due to Covid-19 issues.

LOS ANGELES — Devin Booker scored 16 points in his return from a seven-game absence as the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns rolled over the Charlotte Hornets 137-106 on Sunday.

Booker, who had been out due to a left hamstring strain, made four three-pointers and had six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes for the Suns, who led by as many as 29 points in the first half.

The Suns own the best record in the league and have now won 23 of their last 25 games, including 14 straight at home.

JaVale McGee scored 19 points as Phoenix set season highs in points scored and three-pointers with 20.

Mikal Bridges scored 16 points and Landry Shamet had 15, while Deandre Ayton tallied 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Miles Bridges scored 26 points and Kelly Oubre had 18 to lead Charlotte. P.J. Washington added 13, Jalen McDaniels had 10 and LaMelo Ball recorded nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The Hornets lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games.

In Chicago, DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points after missing two weeks because of COVID-19 measures to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 115-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Lonzo Ball added 19 points as the Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Bulls were playing their first game since December 11 after two games were postponed because of COVID-19 measures.

LeBron James had 31 points, Carmelo Anthony added 21 and Russell Westbrook 20 as Los Angeles lost their second straight.

In Memphis, Damian Lillard scored 17 of his 32 points in the first quarter as the Portland Trail Blazers snapped Memphis Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak with a 105-100 win.

‘We had to execute’ 

The Trail Blazers won for the second consecutive game after ending a seven-game losing skid with a win over Charlotte on Friday.

“It’s not like we blew them out,” Lillard said. “We had to execute. We had to get stops. We had to weather a few storms. It was a great win.”

Norman Powell finished with 28 points as Portland improved to 13-18 on the season in front of a crowd of 18,400 at the FedExForum.

Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 37 points for Memphis. The Grizzlies lost for the second time in their last 12 games.

Portland took the lead, 94-91, on a four-point play by Lillard with just over four minutes left and regained the lead 97-95 on a three-point basket by Powell three minutes later.

“It was a big play,” Powell said. “I was just trying to find an opening. We are not going to get too excited, but it’s a great win for us. It was great to get a gritty win.”

The Grizzlies had a chance to tie it with five seconds to go, but Desmond Bane’s long shot hit the rim and bounced harmlessly away.

Elsewhere, Saddiq Bey scored 26 points and the Detroit Pistons ended their franchise record-tying 14-game losing streak with a 100-90 victory over the Miami Heat.

Hamidou Diallo finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, who recorded their first victory since a 97-89 decision over Indiana on November 17.

Max Strus led the Heat with 24 points off the bench. Kyle Lowry tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Dewayne Dedmon had 11 points for Miami, which had won four of its last five games.

ADELAIDE, Australia — Joe Root fell in the final over of the fourth day Sunday to leave England in deep trouble at 82 for four chasing a massive 468 to win the second Ashes Test and needing a history-making miracle to avoid slumping 2-0 down in the series.

No team has ever posted such a big score in a fourth innings to win in the history of Test cricket — with the West Indies' 418 for seven in beating Steve Waugh's Australia at St John's in 2003 the highest.

It is an even harder task at the Adelaide Oval, where Australia's 315 for six to defeat England in 1902 remains the best fourth-innings run chase.

England's problems stem from losing seven wickets for 86 runs as they collapsed to 236 all out on Saturday in reply to Australia's 473 for nine declared.

They reached the close with ailing skipper Root out in the last over of the day, leaving Ben Stokes unbeaten on three.

England is still 386 runs adrift, facing the near impossible task of batting three sessions on the final day to salvage a draw with only six wickets left and the world's number one ranked Test batsman, Root, back in the pavilion.

"Any time one of your best players is out the team takes a knock but what you have to understand and believe is that the rest of the guys are going to fight as hard as he would," England bowling coach Jon Lewis said of Root.

"They will try to survive the day tomorrow to get ourselves out of this game with a draw. It's a big ask, I know."

The host resumed second innings at 45 for one and declared on 230 for nine before tea, giving their bowlers a crack at England with the pink ball as twilight loomed.

They immediately made inroads with Jhye Richardson steaming in to Haseeb Hameed and the ball flying off his glove to wicketkeeper Alex Carey without scoring.

Malan trapped 

Then Dawid Malan, who hit 80 in the first innings, was trapped lbw by Michael Neser for 20.

Opener Rory Burns was desperate for a big score after a lean spell and managed 34, but was then beaten by Richardson's sheer pace, edging to Smith at slip.

Root hurt his abdomen during a warm-up and missed the opening 85 minutes while he went for a scan.

He appeared mostly untroubled while batting but late in the day took a nasty blow in the same, sensitive, area from Mitchell Starc to leave him writhing in agony.

Root gingerly got up, but in a huge blow was out for 24 in the final over, caught by Carey off Starc.

With England crashing by nine wickets in the first Test at Brisbane, their hopes are all but over of going into the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in a week's time only 1-0 down.

A 2-0 deficit in the five-match series will mean the Ashes are as good as gone. The only instance of a team coming from 2-0 down to win the urn was by Australia in the 1936-37 series

"Fantastic to get out of the night session with four wickets down and a big day tomorrow," said Australia vice captain Travis Head.

"They've still got some quality players ... I think Nathan Lyon will play a massive part, the ball is turning."

Hero and villain Buttler 

Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head both made 51 for Australia, steadying the innings after England took three wickets for seven runs to start the day.

Marcus Harris resumed not out 21 with nightwatchman Neser on two after they lost David Warner to an amateurish run-out the previous evening.

Neser only survived seven balls before Jimmy Anderson rattled his middle stump, and Harris departed to a blinding catch from wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Buttler's celebrations were short-lived when he incredibly missed a regulation catch off Smith the very next ball, in a blunder reminiscent of the two sitters he put down from Labuschagne in the first innings.

But he made amends by taking another fine diving catch to remove Smith for six off Ollie Robinson.

Head raced to an eighth Test half-century from 49 balls, but then pulled Robinson to Ben Stokes in the deep.

Labuschagne took 96 balls to reach his 50 but also holed out to Stokes, becoming part-time spinner Malan's first Test wicket, before late cameos ahead of the declaration.

LAUSANNE — FIFA's controversial project to stage the World Cup every two years instead of the current four-year cycle is back on the table on Monday as world football's governing body holds a virtual global summit with its 211 member federations.

There will be no vote, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said the idea is to find a consensus — do national federations really want more regular World Cups, or is the plan promoted by Arsene Wenger doomed?

Former Arsenal manager Wenger, now FIFA's head of global development, championed the idea of having a major international tournament every year, alternating between a World Cup and different continental championships.

"There won't be more matches than before. The idea is about improving the quality of football and competitions. It is not about money," Wenger told French newspaper L'Equipe in September.

It would be a radical change, given the men's World Cup has always taken place every four years since its inception in 1930, and the women's event since 1991.

It is also a change that not everyone seems keen on.

European governing body UEFA and CONMEBOL, its South American counterpart, have led the opposition.

"I don't see the point," remarked Real Madrid and Croatia star Luka Modric, while clubs in the English Premier League have united in opposition and the head of global players union FIFPro recently suggested that the project had little chance of succeeding.

"It is probably dead in its tracks," Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, whose organisation is comprised of national member associations from 64 countries, told AFP.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football, with its 54 member associations, appears in favour — last month it gave support to the "decision of the FIFA Congress to conduct a feasibility study".

Tensions 

There is plenty of tension, with the current international men's calendar up for renewal in 2024 and many different parties trying to influence how the future of the sport will look.

Holding the World Cup every two years would have consequences for the health of players, with FIFPro already regularly citing concerns about their workload in a crowded calendar.

There would be economic consequences too, and potential issues could arise if clubs are not willing to release players for an international tournament every year.

Wenger's idea is to stage all qualifier in two windows a year, in October and March.

Thereby clubs could actually benefit, rather than losing players to international call-ups on four or five separate occasions each season.

"Too many players do not have enough opportunities to develop," he said in November.

The Frenchman said the tournament has served as a "unique window" for players to make their names but pointed out that "133 countries have never taken part" at a World Cup.

Critics might point out that there will be more opportunities in future anyway, with the World Cup set to expand to feature 48 teams rather than the current 32 from 2026.

Europe, South America unite 

FIFA also claims it is what fans want, and on Friday it published the results of a survey of over 30,000 people "who said football was their favourite sport".

It claimed a majority wanted to see World Cups more often, saying 63.7 per cent favoured biennial men's tournaments, while 52.4 per cent favoured a biennial women's version.

Given that each of the 211 member federations has an equal vote, the chances are there will be enough support for the project to be submitted to a vote at the next FIFA Congress on March 31 in Doha.

Back in Europe, meanwhile, UEFA recently commissioned a report which estimated that more regular World Cups would lead to a total shortfall over four years of between 2.5 and 3 billion euros ($2.8 to 3.4 billion).

It is instead focusing on developing closer ties with CONMEBOL.

This week it announced that Euro 2020 winners Italy would play Copa America holders Argentina for a new intercontinental crown next year.

On Friday it also confirmed to AFP that it was working on a joint Nations League which would see the 10 South American national teams go into the existing European competition after 2024.

LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry followed up his record-setting night earlier in the week with 30 points in Boston as the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the Celtics 111-107 on Friday.

Curry's Warriors survived to win a tight game down the stretch after Golden State blew a 20-point lead against the undermanned Celtics.

One game after breaking Ray Allen's all-time record for three-pointers, Curry was facing Allen's former team at the Boston Garden arena.

Curry nailed consecutive threes on his first two shots of the game, giving the Warriors an 11-point lead just four minutes in.

"We're coming off the emotional roller-coaster ... a lot going on around the league," said Curry, who made five threes, referring to his record-breaking Tuesday night and the growing number of COVID cases in the NBA.

"You try not to get distracted by all the things that are outside the locker room."

Andrew Wiggins added 27 points, Andre Iguodala chipped in 12 points and Draymond Green tallied a team-high eight assists for the Warriors, who have won five of their last six games.

Jayson Tatum had 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead Boston, who have dropped five of their last seven.

Boston were missing starting centre Al Horford and forwards Grant Williams, Jabari Parker, Juancho Hernangomez and Sam Hauser, all because of the league's COVID-19 measures.

Celtics guard Dennis Schroder also missed the game with a non-COVID illness. Boston guard Romeo Langford left the game with neck pain in the second quarter and did not return.

It was Warriors coach Steve Kerr's 400th coaching victory over eight seasons. "It means I'm incredibly lucky to coach a bunch of talented guys," said Kerr.

COVID bites 

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves won their third straight game with a 110-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Minneapolis.

D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley scored 17 apiece and Jaylen Nowell came off the bench to score 14 points for the Timberwolves.

LeBron James struggled, scoring just 18 points, while Anthony Davis finished with only nine before limping off to the locker room in the third quarter with a sore knee. Davis got the injury shortly after taking a pass from James.

The Lakers said Davis had a left knee contusion and would undergo additional evaluation in Chicago on Saturday.

Isaiah Thomas scored a team-high 19 points for the Lakers in his season debut.

In Florida, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent delivered career-high performances as the Miami Heat rolled over the short-handed Orlando Magic 115-105.

Strus scored 23 of his 32 points in the opening half and Vincent finished with 27 as Miami sent the Magic to their seventh straight loss.

The Magic had just 12 players on their roster because of injuries and COVID-19.

Mo Bamba, Terrence Ross, Moe Wagner, R.J. Hampton and Ignas Brazdeikis were placed into the league's health and safety protocols. Another six players were sidelined by injury, including leading scorer Cole Anthony (ankle).

The Heat came into Friday's game with six players out, including leading scorers Jimmy Butler (tailbone), Tyler Herro (quadriceps) and Bam Adebayo (thumb).

Damian Lillard scored a season-high 43 points and added eight assists as the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 125-116 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

BERGAMO, Italy — Tammy Abraham struck twice as Roma ran out 4-1 winners at fancied Atalanta on Saturday, in the biggest win for Jose Mourinho since returning to Serie A.

English striker Abraham opened the scoring with less than a minute on the clock at the Gewiss Stadium and rounded off the match late on as Roma closed the gap between them and the Champions League places to five points.

"What a win, what else can I say? A lot of people doubted us today but this is by far one of the best wins we've had this season," said Abraham to DAZN.

"We needed to win and what a win."

Nicolo Zaniolo and Abraham's countryman Chris Smalling also netted in an impressive win, their first against one of Italy's top teams this season, which took them fifth and dented third-place Atalanta's burgeoning title hopes.

Gian Piero Gasperini's side sit third, six points behind champions and league leaders Inter Milan who crushed Salernitana 5-0 on Friday.

They will drop to fourth if Napoli win at fellow title-chasers AC Milan on Sunday following a defeat in which they dominated proceedings for large spells but were punished by Roma who were clinical in a classic Mourinho style.

Roma's goals came from five shots on target after having less than 30 per cent possession and no corners.

"There was a great spirit. It's clear that playing against Atalanta you can never be in control of the match for 90 minutes... the team was great in every department today," said Mourinho, who won the treble with Inter in 2010.

"I think Inter are on another level to everyone else but to beat the top teams like Milan, Napoli and Atalanta you can't just have good organisation or tactics, you need a certain type of character which we had today."

Roma took the lead in an odd fashion when, after charging into the box, Abraham poked a close-range finish which looped high off Marten de Roon and into the net.

The away side were pinned back in their own area for long periods but, like Villarreal who performed their own smash-and-grab in Bergamo a few days ago, Roma struck on the break through the marauding Zaniolo to double their lead against the run of play in the 27th minute.

It was the Italy forward's first Serie A goal since July last year.

Atalanta continued to push and got back into the game in first half stoppage time when substitute Luis Muriel's low drive took a wild deflection off Bryan Cristante and left Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio with no chance.

And the home fans thought they were set to witness a grandstand finish in the 68th minute when Duvan Zapata's flick was touched home but Jose Luis Palomino was ruled offside by VAR after challenging for the ball with Cristante.

The decision infuriated Gasperini who raged to DAZN that the referee told him a Palomino goal had been ruled out even though the Argentine had not, in fact, touched the ball.

"If Palomino didn't touch the ball, then why is it offside? If Cristante got the ball, then what difference does it make?" he asked.

"We would then have been level with 20 minutes to go, it's a very different game."

Four minutes later Smalling hit Atalanta with a sucker punch, meeting Jordan Veretout's superb free-kick to jab home the third from close range.

Abraham made it six league goals for the season with eight minutes remaining, lashing home a powerful first time finish after Veretout's blocked shot fell to him perfectly in shooting range.

Juventus aim to get their season back up and running again later on Saturday as they travel to Bologna, while Cagliari try to get out of the relegation zone when they host Udinese in the day's late match.

NEW YORK — Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry eclipsed Ray Allen's all-time record for NBA three-pointers on Tuesday, savouring a "beautiful moment" at storied Madison Square Garden.

Curry, whose remarkable shooting range has revolutionised the NBA in his 13-year tenure, matched Allen's record with his 2,973rd career three-pointer.

It came on his first shot of the clash with the New York Knicks, less than two minutes into the contest, and had the crowd on its feet.

He then missed a chance at breaking the record, but with 7:33 remaining in the opening period, Anthony Wiggins kicked the ball to him from the paint and he swished in number 2,974, letting out a yell as teammates celebrated with him and the New York crowd cheered.

"I can't say it enough, I appreciate so much the way the fans embraced the moment with me and let me just get kind of lost in it," Curry, 33, said.

"Hell yeah!" teammate Draymond Green shouted as the Warriors called a timeout and photographers gathered around Curry. "That's greatness!"

Curry has been scorching towards overtaking Allen's record for years. He finally surpassed the milestone in his 789th career game; Allen achieved his old benchmark in 1,300 appearances.

Curry exchanged an emotional hug with coach Steve Kerr, who corralled the ball used in the record-setting shot. 

Curry then embraced his father, former NBA player Dell Curry, as well as Allen, who was courtside.

"There was a lot of emotion for sure because I know how much work has gone into this, dreaming big from the time I first picked up a basketball," Curry said.

Kerr said the moment was "more emotional" than he had expected.

"It was just an outpouring of love and support for Steph from seemingly everybody in the building," Kerr said. "Beautiful, beautiful moment."

Curry is on pace to make well over 400 three-pointers this season, which would put him at more than 3,200 for his career.

He finished the night with five three-pointers as the Warriors pulled away late to beat the Knicks 105-96 and improve their league-leading record to 23-5.

Curry's long-range prowess is such that there was real belief he could break the record with a single-game mark of 16 in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers last Wednesday.

That didn't happen, but he did not have to wait too much longer.

Electric atmosphere

Curry's 54-point performance against the Knicks on February 27, 2013 at Madison Square Garden was a harbinger of a career that now includes three NBA titles and two Most Valuable Player awards.

"It's been a long week since our last home game, where everybody was talking about 16," he said.

"[It] seemed like every shot I took there was another level of anticipation and anxiousness around it. 

"I was just trying to play my game. Tonight it kind of set up perfectly, made that first one, get that one out of the way and then just let the record-breaker come to me."

The atmosphere was electric even before the game, with Allen courtside and Reggie Miller, who held the three-point record at 2,560 before Allen broke it in 2011, on duty as a television commentator.

Both chatted and shared a hug with Curry before the game, with filmmaker and Knicks super-fan Spike Lee catching the moment on his phone camera.

After the game, Allen and Miller presented Curry with a jersey with the number 2,974 emblazoned on it.

"Basketball history, this is pretty special," Curry said. "These two, legends. I watched them growing up and understood what it meant to shoot the ball because of them and my dad.

"Full-circle moment, man. I'm blessed, blessed for sure."

Reaction from around the league was swift.

"Just landed in Dallas to see @StephenCurry30 broke the record and to make it even doper he did it in the GARDEN!!" Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James tweeted. "WOW CONGRATS BROTHER!! INCREDIBLE."

Curry and the Warriors won NBA titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018 against Cleveland Cavaliers teams led by James.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Curry's achievement "thrilling."

"He has revolutionised the way the game is played and continues to leave fans in awe with his amazing artistry and extraordinary shooting ability. We congratulate him on this historic achievement."

Former Lakers great Magic Johnson congratulated Curry "for making history."

"Thank you @StephenCurry30 for revolutionising the game of basketball forever!"