Article content continued

And that’s not to say Miles is not bothered by his 0-for-5 night from his office behind the three-point line. Or even his combined 8-for-41 (19.5%) from three over his past six games. It’s just that, with 12 years in the NBA, he has learned how to deal with slumps of any kind. It’s quite easy, really.

“I don’t,” Miles said. “It’s over. I don’t deal with them. I used to try to deal with them. But how do you try to deal with something that’s not there no more?”

“There used to be a carryover,” Miles added. “I used to carry it with me, like, a lot. Don’t get me wrong, after the game (even now), I digest it, I think about it, I watch some clips from the game. I’m one of those guys, good or bad, I replay the game in my head no matter what. It’s a never-too-high, never-too-low thing. You’re never as far away as you think and you’re never as good as you think. You can always get better.”

So, the mini slump he’s in will not affect Miles but, like any good pro, he’s always learning from his struggles. If the 31-year-old Texan had a complaint about Saturday’s tough outing — besides the technical he was assessed — it was how he allowed the Celtics to bait him, even a little, which perhaps got him off his game.

“They did a good job and obviously tried to get me frustrated, also, just little stuff after plays,” Miles said.

“I know what it is. Teams have been doing it all year, just holding and grabbing. That’s what you do to keep a guy from getting in a rhythm, especially a shooting guy, you try to take (away) his legs, try to get physical with him. I can withstand that.