Although he originally said he was thinking of a timeout after grabbing the rebound, he copped to what seemed apparent: That he did not know that the score between the Cavaliers and Warriors was tied.
"After thinking about it a lot the last 24 hours or however many since the game was over, I can't say I was sure of anything at that point," Smith said.
'The Mistake' in game one was a shocking lapse and the Cavaliers never recovered, losing in what forward LeBron James said was "one of the toughest losses" of his career. James was yelling at Smith as he continued to dribble and then appeared to say, "I thought we were up."
Immediately after the game, Smith said he was waiting for someone to call a timeout and that he didn't shoot because of the estimable presence of Kevin Durant.
"The video where I said I thought we were ahead? I might have said that," Smith said. "I'm not sure, but I might have."
Got it.
James can't be surprised, given that he and Smith have known each other for years and were on the Cavaliers' team that won the championship two years ago. Still, it isn't easy living up to James's standards. And it's especially awful when a 51-point performance is wasted by a brain-freeze moment.
"It's a lot of pressure," Smith told reporters. "Not for myself or my teammates, but just playing on his team. It's almost ... it's a blessing and - it's a gift and a curse. You play on his team, and you're playing with the best player in the world and you get to witness some great historic things and be a part of it.
"Then, on the other side, if you don't help that person win, they're looking at you, too. So it's a lot of pressure, depending on how you look at it."
Smith joked about his take on their relationship. "I tell him all the time he has the opportunity to play with me as well."
Which means that if anyone can forget game one, it's J.R. Smith. "I told somebody right after the game that I'm glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team," he said. " ... It's not a situation that everybody can handle."
James concurs and said he didn't think he needed to say anything more to Smith.
"I think J.R. is one of the most resilient guys I've ever been around," James said. "He probably took the loss as hard as anybody on the team, but one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back."
