The Cleveland Cavaliers managed to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Indiana Pacers with a 104-100 victory inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday night. While there were many interesting takeaways from the game, it seems Lance Stephenson’s on-court antics are getting most of the attention, which led to a sneaky Instagram reply from J.R. Smith.
Sunday night’s game was physical. The Cavs held a 10 point lead at halftime, but just as they did in Game 3, the Pacers came storming back in the second half. On one play in the closing seconds of the game, Stephenson received a foul for wrestling Jeff Green to the court in an attempt to tie up the ball.
Stephenson’s take-down attempt sent the social media world into a frenzy. One post depicting the wrestling match between Stephenson and Green seems to have caught Smith’s eye, though. In fact, Smith decided to reply with an amusing message.
Smith, now 32 years of age, has provided a boost to the Cavs’ starting lineup in this series. In his 35 minutes played on Sunday night, “Swish,” as he’s more commonly known, racked up 12 points on 4-12 shooting from the field (4-10 from beyond the arc) and five rebounds.
Smith is known for his accuracy at range, as most hoops fans know. Just before the end of the first quarter in Game 4, the sharpshooter casually knocked down a 61-foot heave. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Smith is now the 5th player to make a 60-foot shot in a game over the last 20 postseasons, joining Stephen Curry (2015), T.J. Ford (2011), Mo Williams (2009, and Nick Collison (2005). To put this into perspective, NBA players were a combined 1-177 from beyond 60 feet in the 2017-18 regular season.
Wednesday night’s Game 5 tilt is set to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 7:00 p.m. EST with ESPN, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Indiana having live broadcast coverage.
