CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers' once-22-point lead was slashed to just three by the Orlando Magic three times in the fourth quarter Saturday.

And all three times -- with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining; with 2:46 to play; and, finally, with 31.5 seconds left -- J.R. Smith bit back with a 3 of his own to double Cleveland’s lead and take back control of the game.

It was Game No. 3 of the Cavs’ young season and their third victory, as they held on to beat the hapless Magic 105-99 for their 15th consecutive victory against the franchise. While it was the worst of these first three games for Cleveland as a team, it was the best for Smith personally; after a combined 16 points on 6-for-21 shooting in the first two games, he put up 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting just against Orlando, with most of his damage coming in the fourth.

It was just over two weeks ago that Smith and the Cavaliers agreed to a four-year, $57 million contract extension after negotiations took from July until mid-October to finally come together.

The holdout had its cost, mainly literally to the Cavs’ eventual luxury-tax bill next summer, but also to Smith’s conditioning, something coach Tyronn Lue said needs more work.

“He’s playing to exhaustion,” Lue said before Saturday's game. “He’s giving everything he’s got, he’s diving on the floor for loose balls, he’s in passing lanes, he’s blowing up screens. He’s playing hard. If there’s any way you want to get in shape, you’ve got to play hard, and that’s what he’s been doing.”

After a bumpy first two games, J.R. Smith found his stroke in Saturday's fourth quarter, when he had 11 of his 16 points as the Cavs held off the Magic. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports

The fact that Smith’s best came in minutes 44 to 48 against Orlando not only shows that his conditioning will likely be up to snuff sooner than later but also goes to remind everyone of the extra dimension he brings to the Cavs’ dynamic.

Friday it was Kyrie Irving hitting the biggest shot of the night against the Toronto Raptors. Often that guy will be LeBron James, naturally. Sometimes Kevin Love will get the call. To throw Smith on the floor with that group in crunch time is almost unfair.

“J.R. is the lifeblood of our team,” Love said. “It wouldn’t run like it does without J.R. J.R. is a special player for us.”

No one is calling him the perfect player. At 31 years old and in his 13th season, that big contract sounds a little risky when you hear him saying things such as, “Don’t expect too many of those. ... I’m getting too old,” when asked about a putback dunk he had against the Magic.

And after Lue called Smith the Cavs’ “best” defensive player a season ago, the coach had criticism for him on that end Saturday for the way Smith let Evan Fournier (22 points) elude him.

Still, seeing Smith try to pump up the crowd after he blocked one of Fournier’s shots on the baseline in the fourth quarter, or seeing Smith twirl around in what he called his “Carlos Santana celebration” -- alluding to the Cleveland Indians slugger -- after his third triple of the fourth quarter, makes it hard to picture him playing anywhere else.

“I knew whether it was this jersey or another jersey, they would still embrace me and still feel the same way,” Smith said of the Cleveland fans. “It’s just a great fit for myself, the fans, the community -- the way they opened up to me and the way I opened up back. So it’s just, I would say, the perfect fit.”

There is an alternate NBA universe where Smith is still toiling under Phil Jackson’s triangle offense in New York, having never been traded to Cleveland. And yet another bizarro world where he signed with Phoenix or Boston or Philadelphia or some other team this offseason.

They are not scenarios the Cavs care much to consider.

“I didn’t look at it without him,” Lue said. “Nope. I knew he was coming back. I’m glad they got the deal done.”

“We don’t need to imagine [life without him],” James added. “He’s here.”

Here hitting shots. Here making plays. Here cheering on the Indians during their postseason run as if he, too, was born on the shores of Lake Erie.

And here hoping everyone in a situation such as the one he’s in -- a winning player on a winning team -- can leverage it to its maximum.

As Game 4 of the World Series between the Indians and Cubs played out on the television in the Cavs’ postgame locker room Saturday, Smith noticed Chicago’s Dexter Fowler flash across the screen.

“He’s going to be a free agent, right?” Smith said out loud, to no one in particular. “Get that $300 [million], Dex! Hold out for $300 [million].”

Hey, when you put it that way, maybe the Cavs got a bargain in Smith.