Security escorts Cavs' J.R. Smith off court after late-game jawing with Heat

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, left, restrains J.R. Smith, right, after an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Miami. The Heat defeated the Cavaliers 120-92. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The Cleveland Cavaliers basically waved the white flag before the opening tip on Saturday night, as head coach Tyronn Lue elected to rest both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in a visit to American Airlines Arena to take on the Miami Heat. By the time the buzzer sounded on a 120-92 blowout Heat victory, though, one Cavalier — injured swingman J.R. Smith — appeared to be ready for war:

As the final seconds ticked away in Miami’s win, Smith — who’s still on the comeback trail after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right thumb back in December — started jawing from the Cavaliers’ bench with the Heat’s Rodney McGruder. Moments earlier, the Miami forward had put an exclamation point on the victory with a putback dunk over the top of Cleveland center Channing Frye … and by appearing to offer a little celebratory shove to the veteran big man’s back after landing:

Rodney McGruder finishing the win strong! ???? pic.twitter.com/aFxK064yFX

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 5, 2017

As the woofing continued, security guards began to congregate around Smith, evidently trying to get the veteran shooting guard to pump the brakes and keep things cool … until the final buzzer sounded.

 

From Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:

Former Cleveland guard Dion Waiters approached the Cavs bench while yelling and pointing in Smith’s direction.

Heat security personnel intervened, as did Cavs center Tristan Thompson, who attempted to reason with Waiters. Kyrie Irving also could be seen shouting something in Waiters’ direction.

Smith, flanked by team personnel, made his way to the Cavs’ locker room before the situation escalated beyond yelling and pointing.

After scoring seven points with two rebounds and two assists to help the Heat notch their 18th win in their last 22 games, improve to 29-34 and move within 1 1/2 games of the Detroit Pistons for the East’s eighth and final playoff seed, McGruder pleaded ignorance about any behavior that might have raised Smith’s ire, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“I was surprised from their reaction,” McGruder said. “It took me for a surprise, it really did. I didn’t see a dirty play on that play, so it took me for a surprise.

Smith, though, was unrelenting in his smack.

“I wasn’t listening to him,” McGruder said. “I was just focusing on our team and closing the game and getting to that win.”

It’s perhaps worth noting that McGruder — a 25-year-old rookie out of Kansas State who earned his way onto the Heat after spending the last two seasons in the D-League, and has fought his way into a spot in Erik Spoelstra’s starting lineup with his defense, energy and tenacity — was also involved in a bit of a dust-up with Paul George last week, which resulted in the Indiana Pacers star getting himself ejected:

Gotta love McGruder. This was the possession leading up to Paul George's ejection the other night. Love PG's game but man is he soft here… pic.twitter.com/CXTNhbeLzX

— Josh Baumgard (@joshbaumgard) February 28, 2017

“Rodney’s a sweetheart,” Heat guard Tyler Johnson said after Monday’s game, according to Winderman. “He bats them eyelashes he’s got. He’s got them pretty eyes. So nobody in here’s afraid of Rodney. But word around the league is that he might be a bully.”

The Cavs, for their part, seemed intent on downplaying the incident, according to Joe Vardon of cleveland.com:

“It’s not really a story, man,” said Frye, who led Cleveland with 21 points and had an icepack on the back of his neck when it was over. “Tempers flared, it is what it is, it’s over now. The game’s over. They won. Congrats. We play another game on Monday. It’s all good.” […]

Richard Jefferson, who was dressing next to Frye, demanded that reporters “stop trying to make it a story.”

“We got J.R. off the floor,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s fiery, he’s feisty. He’s ready to get back on the floor. It happens throughout the course of a game. It’s nothing, though.”

The two teams square off again on Monday, back at Quicken Loans Arena. We’ll have to see if “nothing” turns into “something” by then.