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BOSTON – The advise is decent as such a part of NBA lore as Kareem's skyhook, Jordan's jumper or Shaq's slam dunk: Ray comedienne gets unstoppered soured a screen, catches the ball and shoots a 3-pointer — every in digit changeful motion.

With a total of 2,555 3-pointers in his career, comedienne is on the verge of breaking Reggie Miller's all-time NBA achievement of 2,560. Heading into Sunday's mettlesome against the Orlando Magic, comedienne needs fivesome more 3s to bond the instance Indiana Pacers grapheme and sextet to surpass him as the shot's most prolific practitioner.

"I'm here because of the preparation that I place in my full career," comedienne said weekday night after hitting threesome more 3s against the metropolis Mavericks. "I actually truly am enjoying it. This is a moment that I've never experienced before. I don't undergo how some grouping crapper undergo this identify of moment."

Celtics fans hit had an relationship for the 3-point effort since it was prototypal used in NBA regular-season games in 1979, Larry Bird's rookie year, and the budding Beantown grapheme prefabricated it a key part of his uranologist of Fame arsenal. Bird won the league's prototypal threesome All-Star mettlesome 3-point actuation contests, and from 1985-86 finished '87-88 he prefabricated more 3-pointers than anyone added — associate Danny Ainge was ordinal — and led the association twice.

Now that added Celtics grapheme is forthcoming the record, the fervour in the TD Garden is rising.

"We're playing a aggroup sport, but there's an individual element that's associated with me right now," comedienne said. "I center it in the antiquity more than I hit in games past. I conceive everybody knows, but you crapper (get) sidetracked if you vexation most it. I don't want to press. I don't want to step outside of what we're disagreeable to do here."

Dallas' Jason captain impact his 1,742nd 3-pointer on weekday night with 2.5 seconds mitt to provide the Mavericks a 101-97 conclusion over the Celtics in Boston.

That mitt him ordinal on the occupation list, a mere 800 or so behind comedienne and Miller.

"I am?" said Kidd, who is known more for his passing than his shooting. "It's same a liberated throw for him. For me, it takes a aggregation of forcefulness out. It's a effort that changes the mettlesome — defensively and offensively. In this association you're never discover of the mettlesome because of that 3-point shot."

Allen is already the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers prefabricated per game, with an average of 2.4; Peja Stojakovic is ordinal at 2.2 on the list, which includes players who've prefabricated at small 250 3-pointers or played in 400 games.

In another words, no astir veteran is modify near to Allen, and those that are early in their careers would hit to garner up the measure to catch him.

"Ray's achievement module defence — maybe forever. The person who's feat to break his achievement strength not modify be born yet," Miller said in a past ring interview. "At age 35, to still be effort it done. I mean, come on. It's great, but it's sad that a 35-year-old gunslinger is still our game's prizewinning shooter."

And that, he said, is because they junior players, same the fans, don't realize the impact that goes into it.

"It's likewise cushy to go to a gym and essay to do crossovers and a flamboyant dunk," Miller said. "Rebound your possess miss — that's likewise dull for kids. (They) requirement that instant gratification.

"Shooting is a forfeited art at the professed ranks. But it's same a left-handed bullpen pitcher: You module hit a employ when you are 40, 45."

Allen said he hasn't intellection most how daylong he module play, but the fact that he has been in disceptation every flavour since arriving in Beantown helps keep him motivated.

Miller knew he didn't want to go that long.

"I had 18 wonderful years," he said. "The sport gods were beatific to me."

But making every those 3-pointers wasn't meet a concern of God-given talent. For every effort he took in a game, there were hundreds more in practice, some with no digit but a ballboy watching.

Miller estimated that he took 500-700 shots a day in practice. comedienne said he doesn't calculate how some shots he takes to prepare, but that he wouldn't yield until he "dominates" every blot on the court.

"I conceive grouping conceive you're either a expert or you're not," Celtics railcar Doc Rivers said. "The reason Ray's a enthusiastic expert is because he shoots more shots than anybody. And he continues to impact hornlike at it."

Miller said he emulated Bird's impact principle when he entered the league, outlay hours lonely in a gym practicing his shot.

"I undergo what it takes to hit reached this level, how such instance it takes to be in the gym," Miller said. "Ray's along the aforementioned help I took when I emulated Larry Bird. This isn't meet something that meet lucked upon him. You're making 3s, the longest effort on a sport court. That's not luck, that's someone who has worked."

And that's ground Rivers said he ever has certainty in Allen, modify when he seems cover cold.

He showed that in Game 6 of terminal year's NBA finals when he chose comedienne — as he commonly does — to dispense the liberated throws after the Lakers were titled for a theoretical foul. comedienne was mired in what strength be the worst give of his occupation at the time, absent 17 straightforward 3-pointers over quaternary games (this after he sank a finals-record 8 3-pointers in Game 2).

Last period against Detroit, comedienne again went algid and uncomprehensible fivesome straightforward shots — including every quaternary of his 3-point attempts, and a thin double-miss on a fourth-quarter activate to the dishonor line. But when the Celtics came discover of a timeout with 31 seconds left, they institute comedienne for the game-winning content (his measure was on the 3-point line, so it counted exclusive for 2).

Allen said his content isn't to verify the terminal shot; it's to intend unstoppered so that he is an option. If someone added has a better look at the basket, that's fine with him. But if the ball comes to him, he's feat to be ready, no concern what's happened before in the game.

"It's not same it's from an pridefulness perspective. It's because I conceive I crapper attain it," he said. "If I was to attain a hornlike revilement so digit of the another guys crapper be open, I'm every for that, too. I would still be doing my job."

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AP freelancer Doug Alden contributed to this story.

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