When shooting guard J.R. Smith came to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Iman Shumpert in a mid-January three-team trade with the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder, he brought with him more than just an ability to shoot the basketball.
Smith had a reputation as being a player concerned only about individual success and living the life of a star in New York City. However, since arriving in Cleveland, Smith has gained a new reputation, one that has teammates trusting in his ability to make shot after shot after shot, just as he did in the Cavaliers' 97-89 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Philips Arena Wednesday night.
"That's my 9-1-1," Shumpert said. "If it's anybody that's going to take a shot at the end of the shot clock, I would love for it to be J.R. He's just one of those guys that can always get his shot off, and he loves that big moment. He got in the zone. I've seen the rim get big for him before in the three-and-a-half years I've been playing with him, and tonight was one of those nights.
"If he hits a late shot-clock shot and then, he creates another one, then, you give him that wide-open one, I'm pretty much done trying to run all the rest of those plays. I kind of want to see how many he's going to make. He's one of those guys. When the rim gets big for him, you could just see them pouring in."
Smith knocked down 10 of his 16 field-goal attempts from the field, and eight of his 12 shots from three-point range en route to scoring 28 points in the win over Atlanta, which took away home-court advantage from the Hawks and gave it to the Cavaliers, as they can win the series without having to win another game on the road.
"He gives us extra scoring prowess, especially in a game where the offense is missing shots or our guards aren't able to finish, but J.R., he's a scorer," center Tristan Thompson said. "He's going to score. He's been in this league for 11 years, so he can score in bunches, and that's what he did.
"He's been doing this since high school. That's his calling, those shots that you're like, 'That's a bad shot,' but he'll make them. That's why we say, 'When 9-1-1 takes the shot, it's over. It's an emergency.'"
In the second quarter of the win, the Cavaliers got an offensive lift from Smith, who came off the bench and knocked down three of his four three-point attempts, most of which were pull-up shots contested by Atlanta's Kyle Korver. When Smith was not shooting the basketball, he pulled down two rebounds and handed out two assists for the Cavaliers.
Much like he did in the second quarter, Smith provided a spark for the Cavaliers' offense. Smith knocked down three of his six attempts from the field, and two of those hits were from three-point range. He led the Cavaliers with a quarter-high eight points.
"I kept telling him, 'I'm just going to keep giving you the ball and just get out the way,' especially when a guy like that gets it going," Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving said. "I've seen it in the past before. I've seen J.R. hit a lot of threes, a lot of tough shots, but tonight was just a special night. Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1, we're on the road, that's something he's going to remember the rest of his life, and he's just got to stay consistent and get ready for Game 2. I know he will."
