In fact, Lillard’s shot was the culmination of 12 months of intense and purposeful work with Phil Beckner, his longtime player development trainer, and Ben Kenyon, the Blazers’ sports performance coach. The three men decided at the beginning of last summer that extending Lillard’s range was their offseason priority. The goals were simple: to give Lillard a weapon that could stretch opposing defenses past the breaking point, and to prepare Lillard’s mind, body and shooting stroke for a moment just like the closing seconds of Game 5.

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“Those situations are handled way before the time comes,” Lillard said. “In the summer, when you truly prepare yourself with training and conditioning. When you cheat yourself, you fail in those moments and crash. When you really put the time in, it always comes to light.”

A calculated approach

Deep three-pointers have long been anathema to basketball coaches because they are generally low-percentage shots that don’t tax the defense. Despite a marked rise in recent years — thanks to Stephen Curry, the NBA’s leading long-ball Pied Piper — the stigma lingers. Oklahoma City largely ceded the deep three to Lillard, and George derisively described Lillard’s winner as a “bad shot.”

Yet Lillard was an ideal candidate to push the shooting envelope. Careful tutelage from his father, Houston Lillard Sr., prepared him with a clean shot release and strong mechanics. He hit 39 percent of his threes during four years at Weber State, where he met Beckner, and launched more than six threes per game during his NBA rookie season of 2012-13.

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As his profile increased and the NBA’s three-point revolution unfolded, Lillard realized that defenses were paying more attention to him and working harder to take away three-pointers in general. His summer plan centered on a calculated trade: Lillard would absorb some risk by shooting from farther away, but would benefit by facing less defensive pressure.

“The truly elite players like Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are using a different three-point line now,” Beckner said. “Their line is about four feet behind the normal line. He wants to be one of those guys.”

Lillard’s previous shooting work was already demanding. Twice in college, he made 50 of 51 three-pointers in a competition called “Celtic 50.” Over the years, Beckner prodded Lillard’s perfectionist tendencies by demanding what the two call “high-quality makes.” If Lillard’s shot hit the rim before going in or if his body mechanics were off, the shots wouldn’t count. During an average day early in his pro career, Lillard would sink 700 or more “high-quality” makes during twice-daily sessions.

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In a new drill called “NBA 100” that Beckner designed to test shot-making and endurance, Lillard starts by hitting as many consecutive shots as he can from the right corner, earning one point for each make. When he misses, he steps forward into the midrange and hits as many shots as he can until he misses. Then he takes a layup before repeating the process at the right wing, the top of the arc, the left wing and the left corner.

A winning score is 100 points. The record, set by one of Beckner’s other NBA clients, was 207.

“On his first try, he got over 100 but didn’t break the record,” recalled Beckner, 36. “He wouldn’t even look at me or say a word. He walked to the far baseline and put his hands over his head like he had just lost an NBA game. Then he walked back to the corner and said, ‘Again.’ He was so pissed. He didn’t just want to win; he wanted the record. That’s Kobe Bryant status.”

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On his second attempt, Lillard scored 311 points, meaning he made 311 of 321 shots. Subtract the five layups, and that equates to a preposterous 96.8 percent on three-pointers and midrange jumpers.

Lillard has worked with Beckner for a decade, and he hired the former Boise State associate head coach last summer as his full-time adviser. Beckner tracks all of Lillard’s three-point attempts during the season, grading each on a numbered scale based on factors such as degree of difficulty, mechanics and the time/score situation. Those grades and personalized video edits allow Lillard to trim the fat from his shooting diet.

Building on that, the duo began studying tape of Durant and legendary shooters such as Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki about four years ago. As a result, Beckner encouraged Lillard to raise his release point so he could shoot from farther out without succumbing to a heaving or “cranking” motion that leads to inconsistency.

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But that was only half the battle. Kenyon, 35, spent most of last summer traveling with Lillard to Arizona, New York and Los Angeles so the superstar could maintain his workout routines despite his many off-court commitments. The performance coach, who has been with the Blazers since 2013, crafted a program that would provide Lillard a better base for his long shots.

The routine focused heavily on the lower body, including dead lifts, lunges and single-leg exercises. Lillard also did targeted work to address his hamstrings and calves while also attending hot yoga sessions to hone core strength and flexibility. With Kenyon preaching the virtues of mindfulness, Lillard began taking 10 deep belly breaths while laying on the ground to practice centering himself after strenuous exertion.

Both coaches have also tried to shape what they call Lillard’s “emotional intelligence.” Beckner has spent years building Lillard’s confidence by “speaking greatness into him” through setbacks, such as multiple all-star snubs and a string of 10 straight postseason losses.

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“You fail a lot before you succeed,” Beckner said. “We have a formula that pays off for him, but it’s not for everybody. He doesn’t just want a game-winner; he wants to make the Hall of Fame.”

Kenyon has keyed in on Lillard’s self-control and leadership, recommending two books by author Ryan Holiday: “Ego is the Enemy” and “The Obstacle is the Way.”

“The best of the best stay composed when their team is down 15 points, or they’re in foul trouble, or when [Blazers center] Jusuf Nurkic breaks his leg and it feels like the world is ending,” Kenyon said. “No matter what, [Lillard] keeps his composure and leads by example.”

Throughout the regular season, Beckner traveled to Portland roughly twice a month for shooting work. Soon, the fruits of their labor went public. Lillard began pulling up from beyond 30 feet regularly, and the local media dubbed him “Logo Lillard” because of his proximity to the markings near midcourt.

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According to ESPN shot tracking data, Lillard attempted 51 three-pointers this season from 30 to 40 feet, making 39.2 percent. By comparison, NBA players as a whole made 35.5 percent of their overall three-pointers and just 25.9 percent from the 30-to-40-foot range.

Considering that Lillard hit 36.9 percent of his threes from any distance, his decision to launch deeper attempts in search of cleaner looks paid off. Blazers Coach Terry Stotts understood the logic and the math behind the long-distance approach, and he wasn’t complaining about the results.

“He’s had a special year,” Stotts said. “He’s in a category with [Curry and] all those guys. People in Portland know he’s been doing it [all season]. I’m thankful for it.”

Practicing a ‘bad shot’

When Portland’s first-round ­series shifted to Oklahoma City for Games 3 and 4, Beckner and Lillard went through workouts at Chesapeake Energy Arena. ­During one session, Beckner encouraged Lillard to shoot from beyond 35 feet and counted down “3 ... 2 ... 1” to mimic an endgame situation. Kenyon snapped a photo of Lillard shooting from virtually the identical spot on the court as his eventual series-winner.

“We were working out the other night,” Lillard recalled after Game 5. “[Beckner told me]: ‘Take a few deep ones off the dribble. I’m telling you, you’re going to hit one of these.’ ”

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Beckner watched Game 5 nervously from his Arizona home, while Kenyon took in the action from his seat on the team’s bench. Both coaches knew what was coming. Despite the high stakes and George’s defense, Lillard tap-danced toward a spot he targeted, uncorked a smooth shot and barely reacted as time expired. Beckner screamed so loudly that he went hoarse. Kenyon’s mind flashed back to the trash talk Lillard and the Blazers faced earlier in the chippy series.

“He didn’t take the bait,” Kenyon said. “We could have derailed mentally, but he didn’t allow it. I knew he was going to pull up because he had done it all summer. When he hit the shot, everything we worked on came together.”