Ray Glier

Special for USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver has extended record three-point streak to 118 consecutive games

Korver has built up penchant for shooting through years of hard work%2C focusing on repeated motion

He won%27t compete in Three-Point Shootout as he wants to stay home with family for All-Star Weekend

ATLANTA — To shoot his threes, Kyle Korver does 35 to 40 minutes of vigorous leg lifts two times a week — dead lifts of more than 300 pounds — to make sure his legs are strong enough for the fourth quarter.

To shoot his threes, Kyle Korver sprints into his jump shot in pregame workouts to make sure he practices his specialty at game speed.

To shoot his threes, Kyle Korver has to be a thorny defender, or else he is not going to get on the court in the first place.

To shoot his threes, Kyle Korver walks to his car following the morning shootaround with his knees encased in ice.

The party line is to throw an elbow at a three-point shooter like Korver, to dismiss him, to make him caricature. Soft. One-dimensional. Easy prey off the dribble.

Korver is the Atlanta Hawks' 32-year-old, 6-7 swingman who owns the NBA record for consecutive games making a three-pointer (118). He recoils at the notion he is a merely a specialist, some kind of hood ornament. He is a dutiful NBA player.

"Three-point shooting better be the best part of my game, but if that's all you do, you don't get to play that much in the NBA," Korver said. "I try and be solid all around. I enjoy basketball, not just shooting."

Korver was invited to the All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout in New Orleans but declined so he could spend time with his family. He broke Dana Barros' record for consecutive games with a three-pointer (89) back on Dec. 6 and would have been a favorite in the contest. Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has the second-longest active streak, 39 games, and will be in the contest.

There are fundamentals to Korver's success as a shooter. For instance, repeated mechanics is more important to him than finding rhythm, which is the case with most shooters.

"If I look back at the greatest shooters of all time, I can find all kinds of mistakes in mechanics, but if you look at it, they are the same mechanics every single time, so the first part of shooting is finding the shot you can make every single time," Korver said. "It doesn't matter what it looks like, but you have to be able to replicate it every single time.

"Eventually, you get to a point where you recognize what's wrong. When I am warming up I would rather miss a shot than make it. If I am making it and they are going in and all I have is a good rhythm, well, that rhythm may not be there during a game."

The essence of Korver's success is playing off screens and spacing.

Also, the transition three, once shunned in the NBA, is a part of his repertoire. According to statistics compiled by Synergy, in the last five years, Korver connects on transition threes at a robust 45.9%. His threes in the halfcourt are 44.9%.

Korver does everything he can to help the Hawks win. He sets screens, draws defenders out of the lane, makes himself a pesky defender, finds the open man, helps on defense and scuffles for the loose ball. It is fantasy to think a guy with one trick could survive in the NBA for 11 seasons. Korver is a responsible player all over the floor, not just at that arc 22 feet to 23 feet, 9 inches from the rim.

But Danny Ferry, general manager of the Hawks, understood Korver would not neglect the rest of the game when he was acquired from the Chicago Bulls in July 2012.

"He really wants to play the right way on both ends," Ferry said. "Obviously his shooting is what he is known for. But he brings so many intangibles on both ends. He works to rebound, or least put a body on someone. If you are guarding the ball you can trust that, if he is supposed to be there behind you, he'll be there."

Korver's true shooting percentage, which factors in the value of the shots taken, in 45 games is .655, which is third among players who have played 40 games. His job is not to average 25 points. His job is to take shots he can make and spread the floor. He shoots 46.3% on threes, 51.1% from two-point range and 92.2% from the free throw line.

Korver said the streak is intact not because he is chasing it every night but because his job is to shoot the long ball. The streak is also intact because other people were looking out for it.

On Feb. 13, 2013, in Orlando, the Hawks were pummeling the Magic when Korver was pulled from the game for good — without a made three. A few seats away, there was a humming in assistant coach Bob Weiss' pocket. It was Weiss' wife texting him that Korver did not yet have a three. The streak was in jeopardy. Korver was reinserted into the game.

"I didn't like it, I didn't like it one bit, that's not who I am as a player," Korver said. "I went in, missed two threes and looked at the bench like, 'Get me out of here.' Then I made one."

Korver's skill set was validated by USA Basketball leaders Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski when they selected Korver as one of 28 players for the 2014-16 USA Basketball player pool, which will compose the rosters of Team USA in the 2014 World Cup of Basketball in Spain and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

"It's kind of cool that it's happening now; I've never been the most talented guy on a team, but I've always wanted to be a good teammate," he said. "I don't need the ball a lot, I'll try and create some space for you, when you get double-teamed I'll try and knock it down, and try and play the right way. They are trying to build the best team, and to be thought of maybe being a piece of the best team is very cool, an honor."