NEW YORK — On Sunday, playing near his Lakewood, N.J., home, J.R. Smith shot as though he were in his backyard. The Nuggets guard went 7-for-9 in the first three quarters and finished 7-for-12 for 16 points, two days after he hit seven 3-pointers in Denver’s home win against Philadelphia.
“It’s the best feeling, man,” Smith said of playing in New York.
The unflappable Smith also hit a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, giving Denver a four-point lead.
Smith wasn’t the only Nugget on a homecoming visit. Renaldo Balkman used to play for the Knicks, Kenyon Martin played for nearby New Jersey, Dahntay Jones grew up in New Jersey, Linas Kleiza’s parents live in New York City and Carmelo Anthony won an NCAA title for Syracuse. Anthony had the most ticket requests with 25.
Gobbling minutes.
Balkman, a seldom-used forward, played early in Sunday’s game. The former Knick received some applause in his first game back at Madison Square Garden and made numerous “energy” plays in the first half, logging seven points in 11 minutes.
“I think the combination of being in New York and adding a defensive dimension to a four-man who can cover threes and twos fit the personality of playing New York,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “He gave us good minutes tonight.”
Reserve post Chris Andersen did not play. Karl said because Balkman was playing, “I didn’t want to go one more man.”
Balkman played early because forward Martin picked up his second foul with 5:36 left in the first quarter. Balkman finished with nine points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
