NEW YORK (AP) — NBA players can now fire up those end-of-quarter heaves from deep without their shooting percentages being adversely affected.

The league has approved a change in the way statistics on those shots are recorded, which could spur players to take more heaves from very, very deep with hopes of a miracle make. It was finalized at the league's board of governors meeting on Wednesday.

The rule change was tried out at Summer League in Las Vegas back in July, as well as the smaller leagues that month in Utah and California.

For stat-keeping purposes, the NBA will tell teams that any shot taken within the final three seconds of the first three quarters and is launched from at least 36 feet away on any play that starts in the backcourt will count as a team shot attempt — but not an

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