Draymond Green On JR Smith Play -- 'You Gotta Know The Score'
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Cleveland's JR Smith could have been basking in the glory of being a hero Friday, but instead it was the limelight of another variety that enveloped him after Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Smith's faux pases in the final moments of both halves of the Cavs 124-114 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors were reverberating on social media, sports talk radio and television.
With the clock ticking down toward halftime, Smith lunged for a steal and missed, freeing Warriors star Steph Curry for a 3-point buzzer beater that knotted the score at 56.
Then came his mental meltdown with 4.7 seconds remaining.
George Hill made the first of two free throws after being fouled by Klay Thompson, but when Smith secured the rebound of the second, he dribbled back toward halfcourt instead of shooting, apparently thinking the Cavs had a lead. The mistake sent the game into overtime.
At half court, Lebron James -- who scored 51 points in the game -- scowled and gestured to Smith.
"He thought it was over. He thought we were up one," coach Tyronn Lue said.
Yet Smith insisted he knew the score. Draymond Green figured Smith was simply looking for James, saying, "I would have looked for LeBron, too."
"I just thought we were going to call a timeout. Because I got the rebound, I'm pretty sure I couldn't shoot it over KD," Smith said of Kevin Durant. "If I thought we were ahead, I would have just held on to the ball so they could foul me. Clearly that wasn't the case."
Green said called Smith's play a lucky break for the Warriors.
"Sometimes, you need a little luck," he told reporters. "It's good to be lucky sometimes so I'll take it. When he got the rebound, he probably could have laid it up. But none the less, that's a part of the game. Being locked in, I mean you gotta know the score. That's just basketball, you gotta know if you are winning or losing."
Kevin Durant, who missed a block out of Smith on the play, said he felt he could have blocked Smith's shot if he would have attempted to shoot.
"There was enough time to get a shot off," he said. "I was right there. If he would have tried to put a layup up I thought I had a good chance to contest it," Durant said. "I'm glad we don't even have to think about that."
