HOUSTON — At 5:52 p.m. Central Standard Time, J.R. Smith saved himself from being served court documents.
After news of his unpaid debt to attorney Rusty Hardin, Smith, with the help of the organization, moved to settle it before it got to court. Hardin and his attorney, Dale Jefferson, wanted a down payment toward settling a debt of $22,753 by 6 p.m., and they got it eight minutes under the bell.
“Obviously it’s a situation they don’t want to happen,” Hardin said Wednesday night. “They didn’t know it existed. It existed for a couple of years. We don’t have an interest in really embarrassing anybody. They say they’re going to get it taken care of, and I think that’s what will happen.”
Smith now has 30 days to pay the entire $22,753 and other fees he owed to Hardin. Smith retained Hardin to settle a 2007 civil suit filed against him for assault in an incident with a player in a summer basketball game at Fonde Recreation Center in Houston. Smith called the situation a “misunderstanding.”
Nuggets cautious with Melo.
If the stakes were higher, forward Carmelo Anthony (sprained left ankle) might have played against the Rockets.
“In general, if it was a playoff game, he’d probably be going,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I think it’s probably the wise thing to do.”
Anthony is expected to play Friday at Oklahoma City.
