J.R. Smith’s 2nd Buzzer Beater of the Month

The New York Knicks played the Phoenix Suns last night in Phoenix. Since Nash left to join the Lakers during the off-season the Suns just have not been the same. Before last night’s game the Suns record was 11-17, so this should have been a pretty easy win for the 20-8 Knicks. Then came the news that two of the Knicks starting players, Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton would not be playing in the game. Anthony was out with a hyper-extended left knee and Felton out with a fractured right pinkie finger.

Last night the Knicks starting five were Tyson Chandler (12.6), Jason Kidd (8.1), Ronnie Brewer (5.2), Kurt Thomas (2.2), and James White (1.6). All together the starting five have an average of 29.7 points per game; only about one more point than Anthony’s average of 28.5 ppg. Maybe this game would not be as easy of a win as it should have been.

For most of the game the Knicks kept a good lead, 54-44 at the half and 68-54 with 7:13 left in the third. After that the Suns took over the lead with a 20-4 run. With only 34.5 seconds left in the game the Suns were up 97-95. Then with 10.6 seconds left J.R. Smith made a fade away that tied up the score 97-97. The Suns next possession resulted in a turnover when Sebastian Telfair stepped out-of-bounds with only one second left in the game. After the Knicks 20-second timeout J.R. Smith walked onto the court preparing himself. Smith said, “I was like you’re going to make it! You’re going to make it!”

Jason Kidd had the ball looking for an open teammate to pass the ball to and Smith was that guy. Kidd said, “We looked at each other and he knew he was going to get the ball.” Smith caught the pass and took the last shot of the game. As the ball left his hands it soared in the air to the basket, the buzzer went off, and then the ball went in. A dramatic game winning shot that was very exciting to watch. The Knicks won the game 99-97 thanks to J.R. Smith.

This December has been pretty exciting for J.R. Smith since this was J.R. Smith’s second buzzer beater this month. The first came in the Knicks game against the Bobcats in pretty much the same location on the court. J.R. Smith is doing his part on the court and has proven to be someone the organization and his teammates can count on. The 21-8 Knicks have been a pretty exciting team to watch this season. They are playing well together and, as seen in last night’s game, seem to have all the right backups when unexpected injuries happen. I would not be surprised to see the Knicks make it far this year in the playoffs.

Resources:

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400278141

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8782994

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/smith-nails-buzzer-beater-knicks-top-suns-article-1.1227975

http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Cnf.htm