J.R. Smith fined $5,000 for flopping
J.R. Smith looks on in the first quarter of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. (May 5, 2013) Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for a flop during Game 1 of their playoff series against Indiana.
Smith was defending Pacers guard Lance Stephenson when he ran into a pick set by David West. Smith fell to the court and threw his arms up, exaggerating the contact and fooling the referee into believing it was much more severe than it really was.
The NBA instituted a system of penalties for flopping this season. The Sixth Man of the Year on Friday became the third player to be fined during the postseason, following Indiana's Jeff Pendergraph and Oklahoma City's Derek Fisher.
