INDIANAPOLIS – Knicks guard J.R. Smith is active and is expected to play Thursday night at Indiana.
He has been benched twice in the last four games. Coach Mike Woodson has said Smith needs to be a better "pro" on and off the court.
Smith is averaging 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 32 minutes. Last year, he was the NBA's top sixth man.
But this has been a strange season for Smith.
He was suspended without pay for the first five games for violating terms of the league's anti-drug program. He was then fined $25,000 in November for using hostile and inappropriate language on Twitter. And he was fined $50,000 by the NBA last week for repeated unprofessional behavior.
Smith did not talk to reporters before the game.
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