If Dennis Smith Jr. was bothered by his name once again being linked to the federal case involving corruption in college basketball, he didn’t act like it Saturday afternoon at the Garden. For the first quarter of the Knicks’ noon-start game against the Kings, Smith was the best player on the floor.
Smith scored 11 of the Knicks’ first 27 points to get the home team off to an early 13-point lead. Of course, the Knicks couldn’t hold on to the early advantage, losing the lead at halftime and collapsing late en route to a 102-94 defeat.