Vince Carter on game-winner: 'I had already made the shot before the play happened'

Visualize success.

It's something many motivators and psychologists will preach to professional athletes, encouraging them to picture themselves succeeding to better help them prepare for success. Well, whether or not Vince Carter subscribes to that dogma, he was practicing it on Saturday night.

Carter hit an unbelievable game-winning 3-point shot for the Mavericks, helping them to a 2-1 series lead, almost identical to the same shot he missed for the Toronto Raptors in the 2001 playoffs.

Whether from experience or simply being confident in his bad self, Carter knew the shot was going in.

"To be honest, I thought about that as we were coming out of timeout," Carter said of the 2001 miss. "'Hey, let's make this one.' In my mind I was ready for it. I had already made the shot before the play happened if I got the ball."

And make it he did.

It's a nice feather in the cap on yet another successful season for Carter, one he surely hopes won't end with a round-one exit as many assumed was inevitable. Through three games, Carter is averaging 9.7 points and three rebounds in 25 minutes, shooting 44 percent from the floor.

This season, the 37-year-old UNC product averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists, somehow still producing in this, his 16th season. Quietly, Carter ranks 25th in all-time NBA scoring now while also checking in at 85th in assists, 64th in steals and seventh in 3-point field goals, perhaps none bigger than his marker on Saturday.