Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith made a statement on December 14 when the Eastern Conference champions defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavs survived the gritty Lakers, 121-112.

In the game, J.R. Smith became the second player this season to wear Supreme merchandise. The Cleveland Cavaliers shooter sported a Supreme arm sleeve.

Smith may have defied the NBA by what he just did. On December 12, the Washington Wizards' Kelly Oubre Jr.

rocked a Supreme leg sleeve in the first half of their outing against the Brooklyn Nets. However, he changed it before the second half. After the Wizards lost to the Nets, Oubre revealed that he was told by their trainer to take the Supreme off at halftime. It was something he could not understand since the Supreme sleeve is a licensed product from Nike and the NBA as well.

Only exception

Supreme sleeve or not, J.R. Smith still had an efficient shooting night for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Smith shot 3-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from the three-point territory. The veteran finished with eight points, which came with two rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.

Smith was the only starter for Cleveland that failed to reach double-digits in scoring.

LeBron James, Kevin Love, Jae Crowder, and Jose Calderon all did. Love led the way for the Cavaliers in scoring with his 28 points. He grabbed 11 boards too. James tallied 25 points and completed a triple-double performance with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Calderon and Crowder chipped in 17 and 11 points respectively.

New streak

On December 8, on the road, J.R. Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a 106-102 heartbreaker versus the Indiana Pacers. That loss snapped a 13-game winning streak that helped them climb in the Eastern Conference standings.

From the looks of it, Smith and Cleveland have moved on from that as they start a new streak.

Following that untriumphant outing, the Cavaliers have succeeded in three consecutive games. They have bested the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, and the Los Angeles Lakers all at home.

Smith and the Cavaliers will continue their homestand on December 16 when they host another rebuilding squad in the Utah Jazz. When the homestand concludes, the Cavs are going for a quick Eastern Conference road trip. On December 17, they are in the capital to face the Washington Wizards. Then they are taking on the Milwaukee Bucks on December 19.
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