The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Smith’s smothering defense paves way for victory
A quick look at the box score at the end of the game on April 25 showed J.R. Smith was 0-for-6 on 3-point attempts and 0-for-8 overall with two rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes.
“Swish,” was more like “Brick,” but Smith is a major reason the Cavaliers took a 3-2 series lead after beating the Pacers, 98-95, on a dramatic buzzer beater by LeBron James in Game 5 at The Q. The Cavs can put an end to this grueling series on April 27 in Indianapolis.
Smith played relentless, smothering defense. He frustrated Victor Oladipo every time he was covering the Pacers star, and when he wasn’t on Oladipo he was doing the same to whoever else he was guarding.
With 6:43 left in the third Smith, close enough to smell Oladipo breath, forced a pass Oladipo threw out of bounds. Smith’s shot wasn’t dropping, but he clapped and had reason to after that.
Oladipo finished 2 of 15 from the field. After scoring 32 points in Game 1, his scoring has steadily declined - 22 points in Game 2, 18 in Game 3, 167 in Game 4 and only 12 in Game 5.
“I got off his body a few times in the first half,” Smith said. “We came in at halftime, (Coach Tyronn Lue) challenged me to do a better job and be more physical. Whenever he’s not in the scoring area, deny him the ball and make it tough,”
Smith’s defense was contagious. Larry Nance Jr. brought the house down when he blocked a shot by Oladipo with 2:46 left in the third period to preserve a 76-66 Cavaliers advantage.
The Pacers committed only five turnovers while building a 56-49 halftime lead. They committed six in the third period while the Cavaliers were harassing them on the defensive end and outscoring them, 32-17, in the quarter that gave the Cavaliers problems in the last Games 2-4.
The Pacers tried to get the ball to Oladipo late in the game, but they often had to go another route because of the way Smith
defended.
“I thought the second half he really did a good job paying attention to detail,” Lue said. “I thought he did a good job being physical on Oladipo and denying him the basketball. The physicality J.R. brought in the second half really got us going offensively.”
Lue talked about the importance of the Cavaliers connecting on 3-point attempts — a problem for them in losing Game 1 and Game 3.
The Cavs were just 1-of-9 on 3s in the first quarter. They fell behind, 25-15, and then closed out on an eight-point run.
Four of the long range misses in the first quarter were by Smith. Kyle Korver was 1-for-3 on 3s in the first quarter. Never one to be discouraged by a couple
misfires, Korver made four of his next six three-point attempts.
The Pacers beat the Cavaliers three times in four regular season games, yet the Cavaliers approached this series confident it would be different.
Game 5 was another pass the Pepto-Bismol game. Oladipo, after being fouled by Korver, made two free throws to shrink the Cavs lead to 93-89 with 4:56 remaining. And the Pacers wouldn’t quit.
The score was 95-95 when Oladipo drove the lane with a chance to give the Pacers the lead with three seconds left. Smith was on Oladipo originally, but the Pacers forced a defensive switch. James swatted Oladipo’s shot away, called a timeout and then, of course, was the hero.
James pounded his
chest. The crowd at The Q went wild. James’ teammates mobbed him.
The end of the game begs the question, “Why would LeBron ever want to leave here to play somewhere else?”
But that’s a topic for another day.
James finished with 44 points. He was 15 of 15 from the free-throw line. The Cavs as a team were 26 for 27 from the stripe.
James deserves every word of praise he gets. He scored 46 points in Game 2 when the Cavaliers eked out a 100-97 victory.
Yes, James made the game-winner, but without Smith’s defense this game would not have had a happy ending.
Reach Schudel at JSchudel@NewsHerald.com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider