NBA Finals: Cavs pair escape suspension, JR shocks the world

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Tristan Thompson from the Cleveland Cavaliers was fined 25,000 US dollars by the NBA on Friday for "failing to leave the court in a timely manner" after he was ejected in overtime of Game 1 of the Finals.

Fortunately for his team, Tristan will not be suspended in Game 2 and neither will be his teammate Kevin Love who stepped into the court from the bench when a clash happened.

In the last minute of the game when the Golden State Warriors led 122-114, the team's guard Shaun Livingston made a shot that was contested by Tristan Thompson who was assessed to have committed a flagrant foul and immediately ejected. The Warriors Draymond Green clapped hands to Tristan who was irritated and shoved the ball in Draymond's face. A clash almost broke out before players of the two teams separated them apart. The referee gave both Tristan and Draymond a technical foul.

Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors exchange words in overtime during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018, in Oakland, California. /VCG Photo

Tristan said he contested Livingston's shot because making a shot when the outcome of the game was decided was disrespectful. "I contested a shot that shouldn't have been taken. I mean, it's like the unspoken rule in the NBA. If you're up 10 or 11 with about 20 seconds left, you don't take that shot. I make the contest, and next thing I know, I was being kicked out for a good contest that we learn in training camp. I don't know why I got thrown out," said Tristan.

Also in the last minute of the game, Cavaliers' Kevin Love stepped into the court and stayed there when Tristan and Draymond were arguing. The league's rules provided that no player from the bench can enter the court when there are clashes happening. Love himself did not worry and said that he was already on the court before the argument happened and had been trying to draw attention from the referee.

In the end, the NBA announced that neither Tristan nor Love would be suspended. Tristan's two fouls were also downgraded to one.

NBA referee report: Block foul judgment on LeBron in the last minute was correct

Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket defended by LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018, in Oakland, California. /VCG Photo

When there were about 36.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Game 1, The Warriors' forward Kevin Durant knocked down LeBron James when he was holding the ball. The referee Ken Mauer first called charge foul on Durant but changed the judgment into block foul over LeBron after checking the video replay. Golden State got two free throws and made them both, equalizing the score.

"The reason for the trigger is that we had doubt as to whether or not James was in the restricted area. When over at the table, we then are allowed to determine whether or not he was in a legal guarding position. It was determined he was out of the restricted area, but he was not in a legal guarding position prior to Durant's separate shooting motion. So we had to change it to a blocking foul," said Mauer, explaining why he changed the judgment.

George Hill #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots a free throw in the closing seconds of regulation against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018, in Oakland, California. /VCG Photo

However, the referees missed two other key moments in the last 13 seconds of the fourth quarter. First, LeBron James was handling the ball and met double team by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He passed the ball to George Hill but was pulled by Draymond when he was trying to get the ball again. If that foul was called, Cavaliers should have got two free throws shot by LeBron.

Second, before George Hill shot the second free throw, Draymond Green stepped into the lane, which should have been called a lane violation. If the judgment was made, Hill who missed the second free throw would have been given another opportunity to shoot again. This happened when the two teams were on 107-107 with only 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

J.R. Smith is ridiculed for game-changing error

JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dribbles in the closing seconds of regulation time as LeBron James #23 attempts to direct the offense against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018, in Oakland, California. /VCG Photo

When George Hill missed the second free throw in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Cavaliers' J.R. Smith took the rebound in front of Kevin Durant but then took a move that no one could even imagine. Instead of shooting immediately of passing the ball to his teammates, he dribbled the ball out as the clock expired. The game then entered overtime.

The broadcast caught how furious LeBron James was when J.R. seemed to be saying he thought they were leading. Cleveland's Head Coach Tyronn Lue said J.R. told him the same story after the game. However, J.R. denied it by saying, "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."

The gaming-changing mistake has become a popular joke on the Internet. Many NBA players have tweeted about it.

J.R. Smith's mistake has become a joke around NBA players. /Twitter Screenshots

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said in a podcast by Zach Lowe on Friday that the Cavaliers have been disappointed at J.R. not just for this mistake, but for his performances the whole season.

"The Cavs have been extremely disappointed with J.R. all season. They feel like some of the good habits that he developed a couple of years ago when they gave him that contract have gone away. He’s been all over the place this year, he’s had some miserable moments this season and he’s had some games in the playoffs where he’s been absolutely a ghost. So there is that frustration within the team with J.R. for a long time now," said Windhorst, as reported by Clutch Points.