J.R. Smith cannot escape it any longer.

The shooting guard desperately has been trying to avoid an MRI exam on his left knee, but he landed awkwardly and jammed his knee after making a jump shot with 1:52 to play in the first quarter of the Cavaliers’ victory Monday night in Toronto.

After hobbling back down the court in noticeable pain, he lay face down on the floor and thumped the court with his fist in frustration. The Cavaliers responded by calling a timeout, and Smith limped back to the dressing room while biting a towel.

“I mean, I got to get it done now, so, yeah, I just can’t put it off no more,” Smith said, according to ESPN.

Smith has been limping noticeably for at least the last week, but was dead set against further examination. The knee injury could sideline him for the game Wednesday against the Knicks in New York.

“There’s nothing I can do about it right now because I don’t want to get an MRI,” Smith told Cleveland.com last week.

Those comments came even though Smith was mired in an awful shooting slump. At the time of the injury, he had made just of seven of his last 42 field-goal attempts.

“I just landed wrong,” Smith — described as despondent postgame — said. “Was just trying to shoot my normal floater and I came down on it wrong.”

With AP