LeBron James on J.R. Smith’s hot shooting night: ‘It was the shoes’

J.R. Smith moved to 14th on the NBA’s all-time three-point shooting list after he knocked down 5 of 7 from deep against the Bucks.

Smith is having a rough go from deep this season, only shooting 30 percent overall on the year, so Tuesday night was a pretty huge change of pace for the Cavaliers shooting guard.

What was the difference? It had to be the shoes, according to LeBron James. Smith wore the LeBron 15s last night while he went on a tear against Milwaukee, so of course James was pleased.

“I told him it was the shoes. He finally decided to wear my shoes after a long conversation, he finally decided to wear them and had a breakout game,” James said jokingly to reporters.

And you know what they say — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

This isn’t the first time Smith has worn the shoes, however. He wore the same pair earlier this season against in the Cavaliers’ matchup against the Boston Celtics. Here they are up close.

Smith shot 1 for 3 in that game, which isn’t terrible. It also isn’t great, either. To be fair to James, Smith hasn’t worn the shoes exclusively throughout this season. He’s been seen in Kobe AD’s and LeBron 14s throughout most of it.

So maybe the 15 is a good change of pace for Smith? Who knows. Whatever he’s doing, though, I’m sure he’ll try to keep doing it after last night’s performance.