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NEW YORK –– On a night when they had no Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks lived by J.R. Smith for nearly four quarters.
And then they ultimately died with him, too.
Trailing Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-94, Smith had not one, but two chances to be the hero in the final seconds before a raucous crowd at Madison Square Garden.
But he misfired on a 3-point attempt with 32 seconds left and then missed a 2-point turnaround over Russell Westbrook as time expired.
Smith finished with a season-high 36 points, including 6-of-13 from the arc, but conceded he probably should’ve attacked the basket instead of settling for a turnaround on the last attempt. He could have spun right and driven uncontested through the lane because the other Thunder defenders were all occupied.
“I tried to get to my spot where I really wanted to get to,” he told a slew of reporters in the locker room. “A turnaround jumper’s a tough shot in that situation. I really should’ve went to the basket and take a page out of LeBron’s book yesterday and just try to go to the basket. Worse comes to worst, get the foul. But it didn’t work quite there. My jumper was pretty much good all night except for the fourth quarter and it just didn’t go in.”
Smith shot 2-for-9 in the fourth quarter, making just 1-of-5 from the arc.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson agreed that Smith had an opportunity to attack the basket on the final play.
“The play was for J.R.,” he said. “And I thought once he actually caught it, he looked up at the clock and he caught it and faced. He could’ve just gone with it. He could’ve ripped through and went to the rim but he didn’t and he settled for a jump shot. He’s made a couple of those in the past that have won games for us. It was a helluva game and they played their hearts out against one of the best teams in the league.”
Asked what Woodson told him in the huddle, Smith said, “Win the game. They didn’t really tell me to go to the basket. Take what the defense gives me and try to win the game the best way we know how.”
On a night when Durant went for 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and Westbrook tallied 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, the Thunder credited Westbrook’s defense on the play.
“Russell is one of our best defenders,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s been defending his entire career, but I thought he did a great job making them take a tough shot.”
There was no denying the Knicks were going to live or die with Smith.
He scored 13 points in the third quarter when the Knicks outscored the Thunder, 25-16, to take an 81-75 lead. During the period, Smith went 5-of-6, and 3-of-4 from deep.
“When I got that rhythm in the third transitioning into the fourth, I really thought that it was going to be a better night than it was,” he said. “I missed a lot of shots in the fourth quarter, took a few bad shots and that was really key for us.”
For better or worse, Smith knows that he will be the go-to guy when Anthony is out. On this night, Anthony missed his second straight game with fluid on the knee. The Knicks dropped to 4-5 without the NBA’s second-leading scorer.
“Whenever Melo’s out and it’s a close game, [Woodson] always gives me the ball, gives me the leeway to do what I think is right,” Smith said. “That shows a lot of confidence that he has in me, as well as my teammates.
“From one through 15 off the bench, everybody was pretty much expecting me to make it…It just didn’t work.”
It remains unclear when Anthony could return, although Woodson didn’t rule out that he could play Saturday against Utah. The Knicks will take Friday off.
“He’s still day-to-day and we’ll know a little bit more tomorrow,” Woodson said.
If he’s not ready to go Saturday, the Knicks will likely again live and die with J.R. Smith.
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