Remember When Steve Novak and J.R Smith Hit A Million Threes vs. Boston?
Remember way back in the day when the Knicks had Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and like, a million former superstars? Yeah, it was an awesome time in Knicks history. Sure, the Melo-era only resulted in one playoff-series win, but it was still super fun to watch. Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Baron Davis, Mike Bibby, the list goes on forever. And one of the most memorable nights during this short period was on April 17th, 2012 against a Boston Celtics’ squad that still had Rondo, Garnett, and Pierce.
The Knicks won by just eight points but it was never close. They scored 72 points in the first-half alone, taking a 19-point lead into halftime. The whole scene was nuts. MSG was going out of their minds, KG was pissed, and three-balls were coming at a rapid pace from two guys known for their long-range marksmanship: Steve Novak and J.R Smith.
J.R saw his first three-ball go down near the end of the first quarter and it was off to the races from there. He splashed his next four long-balls within just a few minutes, all while Novak was secretly getting ready to join the act. By the time the four-minute mark came in the second quarter, ‘Swish’ had his five bombs, and Novak had one. But then, things got crazy at the Garden.
First, Novak banged a three, got fouled, and completed the four-point play. Then, Smith poured in another bomb on the next possession. Then Novak, then Smith, then Novak again. They combined for five treys on five possessions and sent the Knicks into halftime straight feeeeeelin’ it. In total, the Knickerbockers cashed in on 14 first-half threes — seven for J.R, four for Stevie.
For whatever reason — and this is strange to say — J.R Smith stopped shooting threes in the second half, missing his only attempt. However, Novak stayed hot. He’d go on to make four more treys in the second half, hitting the Garden with several ‘Discount Double-Check’ celebrations in the process.
On the game, they combined for 15 three-pointers on 75 percent shooting (15-20) while the rest of the Knicks went 4 for 12.
Watch the full video above; it’s Madison Square Garden at its best. Then, if you want, there’s also an interesting feature from MSG on the unlikely J.R/Novak friendship.