The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night after the most bizarre and possibly the worst play ever in sports history.
With 4.7 seconds left in the game, the Cavs' J.R. Smith dribbled out the clock. Problem was, it was a tie game.
What was J.R. doing? 😐
The game went into overtime and the Golden State Warriors won 124–114.
It looks like Smith thought the Cavaliers were ahead, but they were actually tied 107–107 when he got the rebound from a free throw.
“I thought we were ahead.” - JR Smith
Coach Tyronn Lue also said at the postgame conference that "he thought we were up one."
Although Smith told reporters afterward that he knew the game was tied.
JR Smith: "I was trying to get enough to bring it out to get a shot off. I knew we were tied, I thought we were going to call timeout. If I thought we were ahead, I'd have held onto the ball and let them foul me."
"I was trying to get enough to bring it out to get a shot off," Smith said. "If I thought we were ahead, I'd have held onto the ball and let them foul me."
The mind-blowing defeat was especially devastating for LeBron James, who, in his eighth straight NBA finals, scored 51 points for the Cavaliers.
James' face when Smith dribbles past him really says it all.
[SCREAMING INTERNALLY]
And, of course, the memes are even better.
#NBAFinals
When the Chopped contestant goes to the ice cream machine
“HOW THE F—- YOU HEARING ‘YANNY’?” #nbafinals
This is why I hate group projects
It truly was a historic play.
Put this in the Smithsonian
SPOILER ALERT: The plot of Avengers: Infinity War even made an appearance.
“We almost had the glove off, Star Lord. Why would you do that?”
"What if JR Smith saw 14 million possible outcomes and this is the only way the Cavs win this series?"
What if JR Smith saw 14 million possible outcomes and this is the only way the Cavs win this series?
Drake, too.
But no one seems to know exactly what he was doing.
@jayrashad__
Game 2 tip-off is at 5 p.m. PST Sunday.
#NBAFinals