New York Knicks swingman J.R. Smith returned to the court on Saturday to help his team register a 102-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, and then shared what he learned after being benched for a game and one quarter for his shoelace antics.
"Don't goof around, I guess. Be serious. Be a professional. And just don't take this opportunity here you have for granted," he said as quoted by ESPN.com. "There's a lot of people in this world that want our jobs. You can't take it for granted. It can be taken away just that fast."
Smith finished with 14 points, 11 of them in the second quarter, as the Knicks outscored their opponents and turn an eight-point deficit into a 12-point lead by halftime.
"I thought he was a real pro tonight, man, despite everything that's going on," franchise star Carmelo Anthony said. "For him to bounce back the way he did today and obviously put that stuff behind him and move forward, that was big-time for him as a person."
"I just wanted to be aggressive, attack, get back to my old self, play with a chip on my shoulder," Smith said. "And it worked."
His shoelace antics cost him a $50,000 fine and led to his benching on Thursday when the Knicks upset the two-time defending champs Miami Heat.
"It's the worst feeling in the world," Smith said of getting benched.
Asked about his shoelace stunt, Smith said as quoted by NYDailyNews.com: " "Honestly, I've been (untying shoelaces) for four, five years and I've only seen it from a joking side. . . . I guess some people don't have a sense of humor that others have."
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