J.R. Smith rewards coach Derek Fisher for starting him with his best game
New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith is defended by Denver Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo in the first half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2014 in New York City. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
There were three explanations for J.R. Smith's season-best 28-point outing in the Knicks' 109-93 victory over the Nuggets Sunday at the Garden.
From coach Derek Fisher: "With J.R., today started yesterday. He had a workout after practice yesterday for maybe 10 minutes. It was as intense and as hard as an individual player can work in the shooting session, and I thought it raised his level of play and intensity for today."
From Smith, who found out 20 minutes before game time that he was going to start for the first time this season in place of the injured Iman Shumpert: "I wanted to be aggressive, but at the same time, I didn't want to force anything. I tried to let the game come to me as opposed to forcing it."
And finally, from Amar'e Stoudemire: "He shot the ball well. He shot his normal shots and they went in."
Whether the answer is physical, metaphysical or plain old good shooting, Smith tied Carmelo Anthony for the game's high point total as the Knicks snapped a seven-game losing streak.
"I didn't have to do it all," said Anthony, who scored 46 points in a heartbreaking two-point loss at the buzzer to Utah on Friday.
Smith had been averaging 9.6 points. On Sunday, he shot 10-for-16 (2-for-6 on three-pointers) and added four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 36:32.
"When he plays like that and with that type of emotion, it is good for us as a ballclub," Stoudemire said.
Smith matched Anthony with eight first-quarter points as the teams played to a 31-31 tie. Smith scored seven in the second quarter, which was one fewer point than Denver scored. Yes, the Knicks held the Nuggets to eight points in the quarter and went into halftime with a 62-39 lead.
Fisher said he selected Smith to start over Tim Hardaway Jr. because "we thought J.R. could give us some punch with our offense, not only with his ability to make shots but his ability to make plays."
It was shot-making that Smith worked on during the 10-minute post-practice session Saturday.
"I was going game speed," Smith said. "A lot of times, when you get shots up in the practice facility, it is more technique. I did more game speed. I was cutting hard and taking shots I would take in the game, and it transitioned over."
Fisher hopes Smith's post-practice shooting session and immediate positive results will rub off on the rest of the team.
"I think it is a great teaching lesson for all of our guys," he said. "The performance on the Garden floor doesn't start the day or night you play. They start the day or the week before."
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
