GREENBURGH, N.Y.

It was 69 and sunny in Westchester County, the sort of irresistible spring day that makes a gymnasium seem dull and dreary. Naturally, J. R. Smith’s mind drifted to outdoor pastimes.

“I would have been playing golf today,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon as the Knicks prepared for a taut Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

By “would have been” Smith meant the Knicks would have been off Tuesday, if only they had swept the Celtics on Sunday. If only they had not sputtered in overtime. If only they had not fallen behind by 20 points in the first place. If only their offense had not disintegrated. If only they had had their second-best scorer available.

If only Smith had played in Game 4.

“Oh yeah,” he said, “it’d have been over. It would have been.”

And Smith might have been strolling a fairway Tuesday instead of being hemmed in by 40 reporters on the Knicks’ practice court.