Veteran guard J.R. Smith has had an up-and-down season for the Cavaliers, but on Wednesday night, he found himself on fire. Smith shot 8-for-9 from the field and scored 19 points off the bench. Smith is a prolific scorer, but he excelled in other aspects of the game, too—he snagged five boards, three assists, and copped three steals. It was arguably his best all-around game of the season.
So, what took J.R.'s game to the next level? The team credits a Golden Retriever named "Remi."
As ESPN's Dave McMenamin detailed, Remington, a therapy dog, typically sticks with the University of North Carolina's baseball team. During their stop in Charlotte, however, the Cavs got to spend some time with the canine.
Head athletic trainer Steve Spiro, who had read an article about Remi, arranged the meeting between the UNC baseball team (and the dog) and the Cavs.
"We had a great opportunity today to do something for our players outside of the normal routine on a back-to-back," Spiro told ESPN. "We looked for it to be a potentially very positive impact in a casual setting where the guys could enjoy being around Remington, who is an extremely loving and talented service/therapy dog."
McMenamin reports several Cavs, including Kevin Love, really enjoyed their time with the dog, but J.R. Smith especially loved Remi.
Smith had totaled only six points in his previous two games. After chilling with Remi, he went off against the Hornets.
Could Remi really have helped Smith's game? He thinks so.
"It was right on time, especially for me," Smith said, according to ESPN. "I'm an emotional person. I live in my head. I don't really express a lot of things. But let's just say it was right on time."
It was the second night of a road back-to-back for the Cavs, but they pulled out a 118-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
