Say what you want about J.R. Smith. The man simply gets buckets.
The Knicks were down two starters in Phoenix on Wednesday, playing without Carmelo Anthony due to soreness in his left knee, and Raymond Felton due to a sprained pinky finger on his shooting hand.
Both injuries were sustained in New York’s loss to the Lakers on Christmas day, but the team was able to recover the very next night on the road thanks to Smith’s heroics.
With the game tied and just one second on the clock, Smith caught a pass from Jason Kidd who was inbounding, and turned and fired an acrobatic, fading jumper over the outstretched arm of P.J. Tucker that somehow went down, and gave his Knicks the 99-97 victory.
Smith finished 11-of-27 from the field for 27 points, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
He also took out Suns starting point guard Goran Dragic with this flagrant foul near the end of the first half, but Smith’s 10-point final period and clutch shooting down the stretch likely had more to do with the game’s ultimate result.
