Knicks guard J.R. Smith, who came into the season thinking he would start for New York, came away with the NBA's Sixth Man Award on Monday. "He didn't like it," coach Mike Woodson said, "but he bought in." Smith received 484 points, including 72 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 writers and broadcasters. The Clippers' Jamal Crawford finished second with 352 points, getting 31 first-place votes. "I just wanted to show everybody that I could be a team guy and it's all about the team," Smith said at a news conference attended by his family, teammates and coaches. Smith averaged 18.1 points in 80 games, all off the bench. He had 29 games in which he scored 20 points as a reserve, tying Crawford for the NBA lead. "Couldn't have happened to a better guy," said Woodson. "I'm so proud of him, in terms of buying in to what we wanted him to do earlier in the season. And it started this summer. I wasn't going to start him, coming into this year, and I knew that. And he bought in. He didn't like it, but he bought in. And it couldn't have happened to a better person, because he put in the time and he worked his butt off to get to this point, and he got rewarded for it. I'm happy for him." Read more http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/9199154/jr-smith-new-york-knicks-wins-sixth-man-award
