Give the New York Knicks bonus points for consistency.
Just a few weeks back, Knicks big man Andrea Bargnani took a boneheaded shot that almost cost his team a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Knicks were fortunate to escape that game with a win in double overtime, but it might never have been necessary if Bargnani hadn’t taken a 3-pointer with the Knicks ahead by two points and less than 15 seconds remaining.
The Knicks were not so lucky on Friday. Locked in a tie game with the Houston Rockets, the Knicks came up with the offensive rebound on Beno Udrih‘s miss with less than 24 seconds to go. The Knicks were literally in a no-lose situation; all they had to do was hold for the last shot and they were guaranteed to either win the game or head to overtime.
Instead, J.R. Smith got the ball at the top of the key and immediately let a shot fly. Not only did Smith miss, but the Knicks also fouled Houston guard Aaron Brooks on the ensuing rebound. Brooks hit both free throws to give the Rockets a 102-100 victory.
Smith’s explanation was almost as shocking as his shot. He admitted that he thought the Knicks were down by two, even though the Knicks were coming out of a timeout, where the score probably should have come up, and despite the fact that Smith easily could have looked up at the NBA’s largest scoreboard, hanging directly over his head at the Toyota Center.
Check out Smith’s inexplicable shot in the video below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JkGPwYDZUE&w=640&h=360]
