Cleveland: Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith finally owned up to his monumental mistake in the final seconds of regulation time in game one of the team's NBA finals series against the Golden State Warriors.
With the game tied at 107 and 4.7 seconds remaining following teammate George Hill's missed free throw, Smith came up with a timely offensive rebound – but he dribbled the ball out to midcourt as time expired.
Golden State went on to win 124-114 in overtime.
After Thursday's game, Smith told reporters that he knew the score – unlike what his coach Tyronn Lue said at the podium – and simply assumed the Cavaliers were going to call a timeout.
Smith changed his story on Saturday.
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"After thinking about it a lot obviously the last 24 hours or however many since the game was over, I can't say I was sure of anything at that point," Smith told reporters.
As Smith dribbled out the clock, Cleveland star LeBron James was screaming at Smith and began pointing towards the Cavaliers' basket. James' reaction has become a viral internet meme.
Cavs guard J.R. Smith is defended by Golden State's Stephen Curry.
Photo: AP
"I told somebody right after the game that I'm glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team," Smith said. "To be in that situation is tough, and it's not a situation everybody can handle."
The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and two assists in 39 minutes.
Game two is Sunday night (Monday morning Australian time) in Oakland, California.
Reuters
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