The game was out of hand at this point—San Antonio, playing their fourth in five nights, had benched most of the starters, and the Knicks had followed suit. That doesn't take a thing away from the athleticism required to put home this reverse alley-oop, fired by Pablo Prigioni from about 15 feet away. It had his teammates in awe.

"I was like, ‘J.R., really?' You're just gonna catch it and dunk it backwards with one hand? Is it that easy?'' Stoudemire said. "I wish I was 27 again."

It's been about a week since we last saw Smith do something unlikely through just his upper-body strength. This is New York's first full season living the J.R. Smith Experience, and it's been educational, infuriating, and always a bit ridiculous. The Knicks have slipped a little off their early-season pace (they now trail Miami by a game for the East lead), but an unexpected truism is emerging: you can win with J.R. Smith as your second-best player.