NBA

Knicks’ Smith admits he partied too much last season

SAN ANTONIO — J.R. Smith is picking his spots on the court and on the party scene.

Responding to Knicks coach Mike Woodson’s remarks he has become “more professional’’ this season, Smith candidly confessed he partied too much last season because he was swept away by Manhattan’s bright lights.

“I’m not going to lie, the New York City nightlife pretty much got to me,” Smith said at Thursday’s morning shootaround at the At&T Center before he scored 17 points to help the Knicks rally to a 104-100 win over the Spurs. “I was going out pretty much every other night and not focused on the task at hand.”

Smith, the Freehold, N.J., product, is on a scoring tear, averaging 18.0 points per game and hitting 14-of-19 3-point attempts. The Knicks’ sixth man said he’s more focused at practice this season than at any time in his nine-year career.

He came to the Knicks last season after a rocky stint in China, bearing that flaky reputation. (The Post reported last June he sued his Chinese team $1.07 million for docking his pay. The club, Zhejiang Chouzhou, charged he missed 80 practices and shootarounds.)

“Every day I’m getting into the gym, getting in as much work as I can,’’ Smith said. “A lot of times previously in my career, I had negative energy coming into the gym, not wanting to be there, joking around, goofing off. This year, it’s been more serious. I understand every road trip we take is a work trip, not just a play trip. You come and work hard. If I work hard, maybe the next guy will see me work hard. ‘’

Asked why he didn’t take practice seriously enough, Smith said, “I thought I could get by on talent a lot more than I thought. I’m trying to think the game, taking my time, slowing it down. So far it’s been working. I’m trying to stick with it as much as I can.’’

The Post reported soon after Smith signed with the Knicks that Carmelo Anthony, his teammate in Denver and friend, told a confidant he was against adding Smith to the mix. Anthony was concerned Smith could be disruptive. (Anthony denied the report last season.)

Anthony acknowledged Smith has a different approach this season.

“It’s night and day off the court,’’ Anthony said. “Just being maturing and growing up. Willing to lock in and focus in, it carries over to the basketball court. His commitment and focus level, I haven’t seen that.’’

Last season, Woodson said he wanted Smith to become more professional regarding his wardrobe and other matters. On Wednesday, Woodson cited Smith being more focused, wearing suits to games instead of his former hip-hop look of sagging jeans.

“Being around the coaching staff, they’re very professional,’’ Smith said. “They’ve been on me about being professional since … [the] day I got here.’’

Smith expressed his extreme disappointment during training camp after Woodson declared he wouldn’t start this season. Since then, Smith has piped down, embracing the sixth man role and emerging as one of the best in the league in the role.

“My thing is being professional 24 hours a day — 24 hours a day, seven days a week,’’ Smith said. “I can’t let myself slip as well as my teammates slip. In order for me to hold them accountable, I have to hold myself accountable. I go out here and there. I definitely have to choose my spots. Definitely not before games. I’ve been smart about it.’’

Woodson said he is glad Smith confessed to not being a perfect teammate last season.

“That’s a good thing,’’ Woodson said. “This is an important year for all of us. He’s a big piece of what we’re trying to do. He’s got to be professional and got to be ready to play and do all the necessary things on and off the court. I applaud him for that.’’

Of course, his Twitter followers know he still is no angel based on his occasional wee-hour tweets from clubs, but he has toned it down. Last season, the NBA fined him for tweeting a naked picture of a woman in his Milwaukee hotel room at 4 a.m.