On Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers came up short on the opportunity to steal Game 1 in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors and reclaim home advantage, with 4.7 seconds to play; things took a turn for the absolute worse.
Although many believe the refs handed the game to the Warriors with clean strips called as fouls and the controversial overturned charge/block on LeBron James, the Cavs still had a chance up until the end of the game.
In the tie game, with just seconds left on the clock, Cavaliers guard George Hill was at the free throw line with the last chance to snag the lead and win, but he missed. However, Jr Smith heroicly managed to avoid Kevin Durant and get the rebound, but instead of putting up the ball for a quick two, dishing it out to LeBron James for a quick shot or even calling timeout to figure out a new plan to win the game, Earl J. Smith Jr. dribbled out the ball and let the game end in a tie. Doh!
Of course, the Warriors came back stronger than ever in overtime, outscoring the Cleveland team 17-7, to win 124-114, but the Internet refused to let Jr. live it down. From pulling up old tweets, creating memes and videos to mock the horrible play, JR was once again the center of attention for a bonehead move.
But, there was one person, outside of James who gave the baller an earful on the court but refused to bad mouth him in the press, who defended JR in his difficult time: His wife.
Friday morning, as the backlash continued, Jewel Smith took to Instagram to remind everyone that JR. isn’t the first person to be crucified in the public eye.
“Friendly reminder: they crucified Jesus too…be careful of what you say and who you put your mouth on,” she wrote, with the hashtag, “Immaletthatsitritehere.”
What are your thoughts? Should JR be blamed for such a bonehead play?
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
![Tia Kemp Tells Yung Miami and Other Celebs to Pull Up to Court for Diddy [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/balleralert.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/update-2025-06-13T190314530.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1 "Tia Kemp Tells Yung Miami and Other Celebs to Pull Up to Court for Diddy [Video] - Baller Alert")
