Thursday night's opener of the 2018 NBA Finals featured one of the more perplexing plays in finals history when, with the game tied and a few seconds remaining, Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and then appeared to forget the score. The brain lapse resulted in a lot of hilarious memes and also a very angry LeBron James. The Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors 124-114 in overtime. The two addressed the media prior to Sunday night's game Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors. "I can't say I was sure of anything at that point," Smith said of the incident. When a reporter asked Smith about a video that appeared to show Smith saying "I thought we were ahead" he told reporters Saturday, according to USA Today, "I might have said that. Not sure, but I might have." James showed no ill feelings toward his teammate Saturday, saying Smith will be ready for Game 2 against Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the Warriors. "I think J.R. is one of the most resilient guys I've ever been around," James said. "I think it just comes from not only him personally but his household... He probably took that loss as hard as anybody on the team." "But one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back," James continued. "I think people have seen that throughout our postseason runs. For me, I don't think I need to say anything to J.R... J.R. knows what I expect out of him." For those experts out there, best not to bet against James and the Cavs in games after a loss. According to ESPN, James has been a monster statistically this year after losing a postseason game. The Cavs are 5-1 in those games and James is averaging 39.7 points, 8.7 assists and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. Official betting odds for Sunday's game, despite the numbers above, have the Warriors with a huge edge over the Cavs (-12). The game between the Cavs and Warriors is on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. For those wanting to stream Game 2 of the NBA Finals, you use the WatchESPN app on your smart TV devices, as well as the ABC app.<doc-sep>Game 2 of the NBA Finals cannot come quick enough for J.R. Smith. His now-infamous blunder of running out the clock with the game tied instead of giving the Cleveland Cavaliers a chance to take the lead over the Golden State Warriors at the end of regulation in Game 1 is the story that won’t quit. J.R. Smith changes story after time to think about Game 1 With two days off between Games 1 and 2, Smith has had extra time to linger over the incident and has changed his tune about what he was thinking — or not thinking — when he dribbled away from the basket. After the game, Smith said he knew the game was tied. On Saturday, he had a different story. JR Smith on whether or not he knew the score at the end of regulation: “After thinking about a lot the last 24 hours…I can’t say I was sure of anything at that point” pic.twitter.com/FJovbweZFz — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 2, 2018 “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. That seems as close to an admission as we’re going to get from Smith that he thought the Cavaliers had the lead. He also admitted that he “might have” said as much to LeBron James on the court. JR Smith was asked if he told LeBron he thought the #Cavs were up at the end of regulation in game 1: "I might have said that" pic.twitter.com/G4EOHoMESR — Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 2, 2018 It seems in Smith’s and the Cavs’ best interest to try to put an end to this story and move on to Game 2. This is probably his best effort at doing so. More from Yahoo Sports: • Eric Adelson: Soccer star rejects USWNT because of LGBTQ gear • Love explains why he left bench during G1 skirmish • Scary moment as tennis player collides with ballboy • LeBron has testy exchange with reporter over Smith’s blunder<doc-sep>The NBA Finals continue Sunday night in Oakland, and after a thrilling Game 1 that ended with officiating controversies and J.R. Smith mysteries, it's time for Game 2. It'll be difficult for the encore to live up to the madness we got Thursday night, but here are three questions to track as the game unfolds. 1. How will J.R. Smith and the other Cavs respond? The Cavs just lived through a nightmare. They responded to every Warriors run, the defense held up reasonably well, they got an all-time great LeBron James performance, and... it all fell apart in the cruelest way possible. At this point, there are many reasons to trust LeBron to respond, but the supporting cast is trickier. J.R. Smith will be the first Cavs role player to watch -- for obvious, was-recently-internationally-trending reasons -- but the question applies to the entire team. On Friday, George Hill said Game 1 was the worst loss of his career. "I stayed up most of the night," he said. "Re-watching the free throw, re-watching the play. Just going over it in my head what I think went wrong. I didn't come through. So for me, it sucked. It was one of the worst feelings ever. But I have great teammates who have been in my ear telling me to forget about it, continue to just focus on the next game and don't let it linger. So it is what it is.” And Saturday afternoon, LeBron echoed those sentiments. "It's one of the toughest losses I've had in my career as well," he said. "Because of everything that went on with the game and the way we played. Obviously, we all know what happened. So it was a tough 24 hours not only for G-Hill and for myself, but for our whole ballclub. We put ourselves in a great position to be successful. But like I said, you give yourself a day -- if you need to take two days, OK. But today you should feel excited about the opportunity to be better and be great, and move forward." There was also Smith speaking Saturday, and he addressed the nightmare in the final seconds. "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.” That logic checks out. Baffling/blissful detachment from reality is a core feature of who J.R. Smith has always been. Sometimes it hurts his team and drives half a billion people insane, but there other times when his immunity to pressure has made him invaluable. In any case, that quality -- "J.R. being J.R." -- probably gives him a better shot at staying productive than almost any other player would have in a similar situation. But beyond J.R., and beyond the agony of that final minute for the Cavs, the biggest problem is that stealing Game 1 was probably Cleveland's best shot at stealing this series. Players have to know that, too, or at least wonder about it. We'll see how they respond Sunday night. Getty Images 2. What's Going on with Kevin Durant? This deserves a longer conversation at some point, but Kevin Durant has been out of rhythm for many of these Warriors wins. He's still effective at various points, and the Warriors are generally dominant regardless, but it's been strange. Durant is doing most of his work in isolation, and the difference between KD and the rest of the Warriors offense has never been easier to spot. Matt Moore of The Action Network did a nice job distilling this phenomenon on Saturday, including this note: "In the entirety of last year’s playoffs, Durant had 37 isolation possessions, via Synergy Sports. [In these playoffs] he has… wait for it… 128." In Game 1, he scored 26 points, but it came on 8-22 FG, including more iso-ball that generally led to long-pull-ups. For his part, Durant admitted he took some bad shots in Game 1, but he’s not worried. When asked about striking the balance between playing within the offense and taking over on his own, he said, "I think it's definitely gotten better since last season. That's on me to know the flow of the game. I think I've done a solid job of that throughout this season and throughout the playoffs. I had some games where I struggled a bit, and that's just a part of it. But just kind of feeling the game, how each game might be different, and I think that goes into focus. So if I come into the game knowing and being prepared for anything, then I can conquer it." The past few weeks may not mean anything. And even if on-court chemistry issues with Durant are real, it may not make a difference against Cleveland given Golden State's advantages everywhere else. But watching this story -- how Golden State uses KD, how it's changed, and what it means -- has been one of the better subplots of the past month. And after a shaky Game 1 from Durant on both ends of the court, it'll be interesting to see where things go next. 3. Can Golden State end this series Sunday? It possible the Cavs can win Game 2 and battle their way back into this series. Cleveland's role players were solid on defense for most of Game 1, but offensively they offered almost nothing. The team shot 27% from three, while Kevin Love and Jeff Green combined to go 2/14. So there's room for Cleveland to make this interesting: execute the same defensive game-plan, trust role players to hit more shots, and count on LeBron to continue being completely out of this world. The Cavs blueprint isn’t easy to execute, but it’s doable. Or ... Golden State could come out and vaporize this team. A blowout could break Cleveland and end the series Sunday. Now, there are reasons to wonder whether the Warriors even care enough to hit that gear. The team has been weirdly sluggish for weeks, they've rarely put together a full four quarters of dominance, and the roster looks shockingly thin in Andre Iguodala's absence. Now Klay Thompson is questionable, himself. But at some point, if they're the most dominant team in a generation, we should probably get a few wins that nobody can argue with. That could be Game 2. LeBron is on the ropes. Oracle will be nuts. There's never been a better opportunity for the Warriors to show the world exactly how unfair they really are.<doc-sep>
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Two days later, there is still no clarity on what J.R. Smith knew when he grabbed that offensive rebound in the final seconds of regulation of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Not even in Smith's own mind. "I can't say I was sure of anything at that point," Smith said. All he and the Cleveland Cavaliers are sure of now is this: They're down 1-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, with Game 2 on Sunday night and Smith knowing that he's going to be booed, made fun of, mocked and probably worse by the crowd at Oracle Arena. Smith became one of the big Game 1 stories for all the wrong reasons . He grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw in the final seconds of regulation with the game tied, then ran toward midcourt as if he was running out the clock and thinking Cleveland had a one-point lead. The Cavaliers wound up losing in overtime. "He probably took that loss as hard as anybody on the team," Cavs star LeBron James said Saturday. "But one thing about J.R., he has an uncanny ability to bounce back. I think people have seen that throughout our postseason runs, where he hasn't played well or played to his ability that he thinks he should have played, and then the next game he comes on and shoots the ball extremely well." SMITH: James Harden's playoff shortcomings keep him from the ranks of the great That bounce-back tendency for Smith will be tested now like perhaps never before. This wasn't just a gaffe. This was a huge gaffe, in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the game on the line. And in the immediate aftermath, it appeared Smith said to James on the court that he thought the Cavs were leading — something he denied afterward. "I might have said that," Smith said. "Not sure, but I might have." To say Smith was the reason Cleveland lost Thursday night isn't right, or fair. There's no guarantee that Cleveland would have scored to win the game in those final seconds if Smith had done anything differently. Still, he was blamed. "I'm glad it happened to me as opposed to anybody else on my team," Smith said. "To be in that situation is tough and it's not a situation everybody can handle, so I'm glad it happened to me." Smith spent Friday in his hotel room for the most part, watching the Memorial ("Tiger played really well," Smith said), talking with Kyle Korver and visiting with his kids over FaceTime. He knows he's a punch line. He's been there before. "That's pretty much who I've been my whole life," said Smith, who bonded with a therapy dog earlier this season during a rough stretch. "I've always been the one guy who's the butt of the jokes, or that one guy who does something crazy and everybody's got to look at or whatever the case may be. And then I come back and be myself and play the next day. I don't really dwell on things too much. It's been like that my whole life. That's what it looks like it's going to continue to be." The Cavs have made clear that they're not quitting on Smith. They need him. "He's going to start. And no, I haven't lost confidence," coach Tyronn Lue said. "J.R. can shake off anything, and when everybody tends to count J.R. out, that's when he comes through. So he's definitely going to start again. He's a big part of what we do. That last play is over, it's behind us and now we've got to move on." A bounce-back game would be more than welcomed by Cleveland. When Smith is good, the Cavs are really good. Cleveland is 10-1 this season, including playoffs, when Smith scores more than 15 points. The Cavaliers are 19-5 when he makes more than half his shot attempts. They're 20-9 when he makes at least three 3-pointers. Those are some of the many reasons why Lue still has confidence in him, and Smith clearly appreciates that. "I've been playing like dogcrap all year and he's stuck with me," Smith said. "So he's one of the people who gives me the most confidence." And he's due, too. Smith has missed more than half his shots in eight straight games — his longest such cold streak since November.