JR Smith 'forgot' clutch shot during Game 1 of NBA Finals on June 1, 2018; watch video

On Monday, JR Smith completed 2 years of messing up 'that' clutch shot during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals between Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. The JR Smith shot clock miss resulted in fans make multiple JR Smith memes and LeBron James memes. James' reaction to JR Smith shot clock miss was talked about after the game, including Smith costing the Cavaliers the game. 

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JR Smith missed out on scoring during the 2018 NBA Finals Game 1

Two years ago today, JR Smith forgot the score in crunch time of the NBA Finals 😲 pic.twitter.com/pIoI5n1cCr

— ESPN (@espn) May 31, 2020

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With four seconds left on the clock, the Warriors and Cavaliers were tied at 107. Smith was in a position to make a shot, but did do so, taking the game into overtime. Warriors won that game with a 124-114 overtime score. In an interview after the game, Smith explained that he thought the Cavaliers were going to call a timeout and hence he did not attempt the possible game-winning shot.

Smith added that he tried to get enough space as he knew Kevin Durant was standing near him. He apparently 'tried to get enough space to bring it out to maybe get a shot off'. He claimed that he then looked at James, who looked like he was trying to call for a timeout. Smith said that is why he stopped and the game ended. 

With the score at 107, George Hill made one of two free throws and while Smith grabbed the rebound, he missed the second throw. He grabbed the ball and moved beyond the three-point line. With only 2.2 seconds left on the clock, James changed his position to expecting a pass to pointing at the basket and gesturing to Smith to attempt the shot. James did motion for a timeout, but it was not awarded to the Cavaliers.

Smith made one more dribble towards the half-court before stopping and throwing a pass towards Hill, who was at the corner of the court. He caught the pass with 0.5 seconds but was blocked by Draymond Green. However, it would not have counted as the ball left his hands after the buzzer.

On the court, Smith was seen tell LeBron James that he thought they were ahead of the Warriors. However, he later admitted that he knew they were tied at 107. He assumed a timeout will be called as he thought no one would attempt a shot over Durant, who already had four blocks that game. Smith stated that he did not want to be the fifth block. Durant actually had three blocks during the game. 

Their coach Tryonn Lue stated that he assumed Smith thought Cavaliers were up by one point. He added that he did not speak to Smith about it after the game but chose to focus on the overtime. Smith later stated that if he thought they were leading, he would have just held on the to the ball while letting the Warriors foul him. While speaking about the incident, James stated that he did not talk to Smith about it as they needed to move on and he would never give up on him. He added that while he thought everyone knew what was to be done, he does not know what Smith was thinking and was unaware of his state of mind. 

Fans react to JR Smith's missed attempt

LeBron James and JR Smith memes

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(Image courtesy: NBA)