Thursday Afterschool Special: From Deep

Cavs jack up the treys

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons last night with a very simple strategy: make 20 three-pointers, tied for the most in NBA playoff history. And it only took them 39 attempts, as they shot 52.6% from behind the arc. Leading the way was J.R. Smith, who made seven of his first nine. LeBron James made two threes of his own and did not take kindly to the Pistons leaving him open:

NBA's best ever sharp shooters

On Feb. 10, using the most flawless jump shot in NBA history, Ray Allen surpassed Reggie Miller to become the career leader in three-pointers, with 2,561. Who else did Allen pass on his way to the top? Here are the players with the most three-pointers in NBA history, with the caveat that Paul Pierce and Steve Nash are poised to crack this top 10 soon. (The league introduced the three-point line in 1979.)

Eighteen years, 2,560 three-pointers. Not too shabby. He held the record for nearly six years, but the Pacers' great now ranks No. 2 behind Allen. Miller is still the leader in attempts, with 6,486, and he ranks 42nd in accuracy at 39.5 percent.

The pass-first point guard has never been known for his shooting, but he's nearing 1,800 treys in his Hall of Fame career. Kidd has improved his stroke late in his career: He's a lifetime 35 percent shooter from deep, but he made better than 40 percent in each of his previous two seasons.

The one-time All-Star and former Most Improved Player had a deadly catch-and-shoot game that led to 1,719 three-pointers and 40.3 percent shooting from long range.

The sharp-shooting Serbian, now with the Mavericks, was selected by Sacramento with the 14th pick in the 1996 draft. A three-time All-Star, Stojakovic won back-to-back three-point shooting contests (2002, 2003) and has more than 1,700 career treys. He led the NBA with 240 triples in 2003-04.

The five-time All-Star has been a consistent threat from deep: He annually averages about two three-point makes a game while shooting at a 40 percent clip.

Though he's been in a slump recently, Lewis has earned a reputation for draining threes -- so much so that it helped him land the second biggest salary in the league, behind Kobe Bryant. Since entering the league in 1998, the Wizards' forward has recorded more than 1,665 three-pointers.

The 10th overall pick in the 1999 draft, Terry has accumulated nearly 1,600 threes over his 12-year career.

Rice has some of the most coveted trophies in basketball -- an NCAA title in 1989, an NBA championship in 2000, an All-Star Game MVP in 1997 -- but he also ranks among the NBA's top three-point shooters with 1,559. The three-time All-Star shot an even 40 percent from deep for his career.

The 6-6 guard played for five teams over his 14-year career, raking in three All-Star appearances and 1,546 three-pointers.

"Did you just call me Johnny Jonathan?"

Throw home of the day

Munenori Kawasaki's Jake Arrieta impression

The Iowa Cubs (AAA) are giving out special Jake Arrieta-beard beanies. They enlisted notoriously funny infielder Munenori Kawasaki to help promote them:

More Mascot injuries

If you thought yesterday's embarassing fall from Harry the Hawk was the end, you thought wrong.

Today's Peanuts

(Photo credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)