Harden ranks second on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointer list

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – James Harden passed Ray Allen for second on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers list Sunday night against the Utah Jazz.

Harden made two 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds to help the LA Clippers to a 116-105 victory at the Intuit Dome.

“Unbelievable performance,” Harden said of the 3-pointer he hit with 6:09 left in the first quarter to move into second all-time in league history. “Just a testament to the amount of work I’ve put in. As I get older and just start an incredible career, (I’m) starting to do things like that. So I’ll never take it for granted.

“I just want to give motivation to the youth and any other person who is chasing a dream of playing professional basketball or whatever it is. So it’s an honor.”

As for anyone who dreams of catching all-time leader Stephen Curry, Harden says no one will ever break Curry’s record. Harden now has 2,975 career 3-pointers to pass Allen’s 2,973. Curry, whose Warriors face Harden and the Clippers on Monday, currently has 3,782 career 3-pointers.

“I’m one of the most confident guys we have in this league,” Harden said. “But no, I probably won’t catch Steph. And I don’t think anybody will honestly… I don’t know man… he can shoot the s— off the ball. And given a lot of these guys are on that list for (being) catch-and-shoot players, so they came from pindowns, they were spot shots or whatever, as the game has evolved, guys like Steph come from pindowns isos, he comes from pick-and-roll So there are so many different variables to could shoot the 3, make shots and do it at an efficient high level.

“So somebody’s got to have an incredible career, shoot the ball well and make a lot of 3s. I mean, if that happens, it’s going to be when we’re not here anymore. So it’s going to be in there for a while. .”

Harden recently cracked in an interview with ESPN’s Shams Charania that “Steph doesn’t count” and that he considers himself the No. 1 in most 3-pointers because of how insanely good a shooter Curry is.

Harden, 35, and Curry, 36, are part of the same 2009 draft class, with Harden going No. 3 to Oklahoma City and Curry no. 7 to Golden State.

Together, they have helped change the way the game is played in today’s perimeter-oriented style and how creative shooters have come to score from beyond the arc.

“To be a scorer, the way he can score at all three levels,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “And then to be second all-time in 3-pointers made is crazy and a lot of hard 3s — off the dribble, step-backs, pocket 3s, pull-ups off the dribble and pick-and-rolls and just to see what he has accomplished.

“To be a 2-guard coming into the league and then switch to a point guard his whole career…that’s a crazy stat, a crazy accomplishment, and I’m just happy for him.”

The Clippers posted a video of Kevin Durant, Harden’s former teammate in Oklahoma City and Brooklyn, and watched footage of him assisting Harden on his first 3-pointer made with the Thunder.

“Congratulations on a great accomplishment,” Durant said in the video. “All the work you’ve put in has paid off. You inspire so many people around the world with the way you play. You’ve been a great teammate, a great friend.”

Harden credited Durant and former teammate Russell Westbrook for creating a foundation of the work ethic he needed to reach this point in his career.

“Longevity man,” Harden said of his former Thunder teammates. “They set the plan. When I got there, they already had the plan of how to work, how to be a professional in this league, and so all I did was just fall in line.

“… From that point on I was so comfortable and sure of myself that when I was traded to Houston I just knew I was going to be successful. I learned to work at a young age. So shoutout to KD , shoutout to Russ and an entire Oklahoma City organization for the foundation they gave me.”