J.R. Smith led the Knicks in scoring Saturday in a win over the Sacramento Kings, with 25 points. Amar’e Stoudemire and Steve Novak scored 21 and 15 points, respectively while coming off the bench as well. The bench combined for a total of 82 points, outscoring the entire Kings roster.

This type of explosiveness off the bench is more then the Knicks could’ve ever dreamed of when they entered the season. J.R. Smith is a dynamic scorer for the Knicks who can shoot from behind the arc and take his defender off the dribble.

Smith is becoming a more consistent scoring threat for the Knicks off the bench and gives Coach Mike Woodson the majority of the credit. Since entering the NBA right out of high school in 2004, Smith has been a problem for his coaches. But under Coach Woodson and the multitude of veterans on the Knicks roster, Smith is finally starting to grow up.

Smith wasn’t the only one to score as Stoudemire had yet another great game off the bench for the Knicks. He totaled 21 points on 10 of 10 shooting with 6 rebounds in 21 minutes. He continues to have explosive games off the bench for the Knicks since coming back from injury.

With this kind of explosion off the bench for the Knicks on any given night, teams should be scared. Very few teams have a second unit that can come in and out score their starters any given night. Watch out for the Knicks as they continue a strong push for the Championship as they pull within half a game of the defending champion Miami Heat.