1. David Blatt has been promoting J.R. Smith as a two-way player since shortly after Smith arrived here in a January trade from the Knicks. Smith strung together one of his finest defensive performances of the season Saturday, so Blatt stuck with him in the game’s most crucial moments.
2. Smith nearly made him regret that decision. But LeBron James is strong enough to wash away the most egregious of basketball sins.
3. It was curious to me that Blatt left Smith on Joe Johnson for the final two possessions Saturday. Smith did a nice job throughout the night – he had a career-high four blocks and he baited Johnson into an offensive foul earlier in the fourth – but the game’s final minute is typically the time James takes over the opponent’s top shooter.