Many blamed J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers for his mental breakdown in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, however, praised Smith for his efforts on the boards.
After snagging the offensive rebound, the Cavaliers had one timeout remaining. They could've called it and had a great chance at winning the game but Smith thought that his team was up and continued dribbling the ball.
Durant, however, admitted that every player has done some dumb plays like that. Instead of laughing at Smith's mistake, Durant did a classy move of commending Smith for his great offensive rebound. According to Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, Durant said:
“We've all done stuff like that on the basketball court. I can't talk about a situation that way because I've done some dumb stuff… I don't know what was going through J.R.'s head but he made a great rebound.”
As seen in the clip below, right after the George Hill miss, it was a battle for the offensive boards between Durant and Smith. While Durant had the better position, the ball arched over him. Smith immediately grabbed the ball in the air.
Durant admitted that he should've done a better job at boxing out Smith, per Keith Smith of RealGM:
“I should have blocked JR out better than that. I need to fix that.”
It's always easy to blame the players for their mistakes on the court. We never really know what's going on through their minds during high-pressure moments like this. Durant did a classy move by defending his foe. Hopefully, the haters will get off Smith's back after this.
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