Game One of the 2018 NBA Finals featured the GOAT and a goat.
Lebron James was fantastic. 51 points on 19-32 shooting with 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
He willed his inferior Cleveland squad to what could have been a stunning road win over the Warriors, only to be done in by the refs and that basketball goofball JR Smith.
With the Cavs down one in regulation and 4.7 seconds left, George Hill went to the line. His first free throw tied the game. He missed the second, but Smith got the offensive rebound.
Instead of attacking the basket or passing it to a player who could, Smith darted toward half court as if the Cavs were ahead. The clock ran out and the Cleveland lost in overtime.
After the game, Smith tried to claim he knew the score was tied.
In his own words: JR Smith on the final play of regulation. pic.twitter.com/UTmzwH5yo5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 1, 2018
"George shot the free throw I got the rebound. It was a tie ballgame and we had a timeout," Smith said. "I tried to get enough space because, obviously, KD [Kevin Durant] was standing right there. I tried to get enough space to bring it out to maybe get a shot off. And then I looked over at Bron, and he looked like he was trying to call a timeout. So I stopped. And then the game was over."
Smith's explanation doesn't really jell with logic or the fact that his mouth appeared to make the words "I thought we were up" when an exasperated James confronted him at the buzzer.
What do you think?