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J.R. Smith bungled Game 1 of NBA Finals for Cavs and the Twitter reaction was ruthless

Cody Brunner

It just had to be J.R. Smith, didn’t it?

Already known for some pretty ridiculous highlights on and off the court throughout his career, the Cleveland Cavaliers guard may have delivered his masterpiece in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

With the game tied at 107-107 and 4.5 seconds left on the clock, Smith grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw by teammate George Hill and proceeded to … dribble the clock out? As a result, the game went to overtime where a visibly (and understandably) deflated Cavs team lost 124-114 to the Golden State Warriors.

Naturally, NBA Twitter was quick to pile on and the memes were strong with this one.

Best reactions from Twitter:

Postgame reaction

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that Smith thought they were winning – hence the dribbling out of the clock. Meanwhile, Smith said he knew the game was tied and was trying to clear the ball so somebody could call a timeout.

Whatever was going through Smith’s head, it was an absolutely brutal way to lose a game and now Cleveland has to try to regroup for Game 2 on Sunday.

What can we say? J.R. gonna J.R. … We feel for him, but man, that’s a tough way to lose a game.

J.R. Smith lost track of the score at the worst possible moment in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The NBA Twitterverse couldn’t believe it.
J.R. Smith lost track of the score at the worst possible moment in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The NBA Twitterverse couldn’t believe it.

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