OAKLAND, Calif. -- Because of all the hysteria and disbelief surrounding J.R. Smith's inexplicable gaffe at the end of Cleveland's 124-114 Game 1 NBA Finals loss to the Warriors on Thursday, it's easy to forget that the situation could have been avoided altogether if Cavaliers guard George Hill would have made his second free-throw attempt late in the game.

After being held by Klay Thompson on a back-door cut, Hill went to the line with 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter, down one, with a chance to give the Cavs the lead. He sunk the first one, but came up short on the second attempt, leading to Smith's now-infamous blunder.

On Friday, Hill took full responsibility for his role in the Cavs' disastrous ending to Game 1, calling it the worst loss of his career and saying that he feels he cost his team the game. He also, understandably, had a rough time sleeping.

"I don't think anything got me through the night," Hill said. "I stayed up most of the night rewatching the free throw, rewatching the play. Just going over it in my head what I think went wrong.

"As a player, competitive guy, put in a situation to help my team win a game, and 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, even last night and this morning, 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. I blew that opportunity, but the good thing is it's a seven-game series and we have another game on Sunday."

You have to feel for Hill, who has been considered an exemplary teammate over his 10 NBA seasons, but this is the nature of the NBA Finals. Every missed shot, blown defensive assignment and mental mistake is under the brightest possible lights. The question is always how players will respond, and Hill will get his chance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.


Source :CBSSPORT

An autopsy report shows former NBA player Rasual Butler had both drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of the single-vehicle crash that killed him and his wife on Jan 31.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office reports reveals alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamie and oxycodone were in Butler's system. An empty tequila bottle was also found in the back seat of the Range Rover he was driving.

Butler, 38, was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2002 draft out of La Salle. After three seasons with Miami, Butler also played for New Orleans, the LA Clippers, Chicago, Toronto, Indiana and Washington. Butler, a forward, averaged 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game over 13 seasons. He last played during the 2015-16 season with the San Antonio Spurs.

Butler's wife, singer Leah LaBelle, was a finalist on "American Idol" in 2004.



Source:ESPN

The NBA may dream of a fat integrity fee from betting houses but could the league's quirks withstand the added filter of unlimited wagering?

OAKLAND – The technical difficulties during a conference call annoyed Klay Thompson far more than any pain he feels in his left ankle.

Although he described it as “sore” on Friday, Thompson considered it a “great sign” he felt less pain than both during and after the Warriors’ Game 1 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals on Thursday. Therefore, Thompson reiterated he will play in Game 2 on Sunday at Oracle Arena despite nursing what the team called a “lateral left leg contusion.”

“At this point in the year, everybody is going to be banged up and will play through it,” Thompson said Friday on a conference call. “You can be sore going into the summer time. That’s how I look at it.”

It looked gloomier when Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith tried to intercept a pass, lost his balance and crashed into Thompson. He then toppled to the floor and winced in pain. He limped to the bench and then to the locker room to receive treatment with 6:17 left in the first quarter.

Thompson shook off his injury as fast as it takes him to stop a shooting slump. Thompson returned at the beginning of the second quarter and for 45 minutes, 25 seconds of a 53-minute game. He finished with 24 points while shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

“Klay is just a physical specimen,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday on a conference call. “It’s just incredible resilience and stamina to play both ends night after night with 40-plus minutes in the playoffs. He’s a machine.”



That machine only missed nine games this season, including eight to treat a fractured right thumb and one for rest purposes. Through his seventh NBA season, the 28-year-old Thompson has played 537 out of a possible 558 regular-season games. He has appeared in all of the Warriors’ 99 possible playoff contests. And he has no intentions on making an exception.

“The stakes on the line right now are huge. So that helps,” Thompson said. “If this were Game 32 of the regular season, I would not have played [on Thursday]. It’s a long, long grind to get to where we want to be. But since we only need four wins to hoist that trophy, the pain tolerance can go up.”

No wonder Kerr brought up Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) and Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) when asked if Thompson’s pain threshold compared to any of his former teammates.

“Those guys, you just knew were going to be present and were going to be there in the lineup card every night,” Kerr said. “That’s a hugely valuable asset for a team to have. Klay represents that for us.”



Thompson represented that for nearly every team he played for growing up.

He first developed toughness by playing sports with his brothers, Mychel and Trayce. Mychal Thompson, Klay’s father and former player of the Showtime Lakers, said that it became inevitable those games resulted in broken furniture, a twisted ankle or an argument over someone cheating.

That mindset carried over into youth sports. Although Mychal described his son as a “skinny little quarterback” when he played youth football in Lake Oswego, Ore., Klay remained durable. After twisting one of his knees, Klay refused to tell anyone for a few days and then healed quickly enough to keep playing.

“Being able to have brothers beat up on in the driveway and playing football my whole life helped,” Klay said. “You never know what it’s like to be hurt until you play the sport of football. You arguably can get hurt every play. I developed that as a child. I just want to continue.”

Therefore, imagine how Klay felt when he was forced to miss a Little League tournament after injuring one of his feet. Klay kept pleading to play despite Mychal saying his son’s foot “looked black and blue.”

“He was devastated and such a competitor,” Mychal said. “He loved playing on the team. He was one of the best players. They definitely missed him.”

The Warriors have not missed Klay as much. They saw a glimpse this season on how he plays through pain, though.

Thompson fractured his right thumb on March 11 in Minnesota after trying to swipe the ball from Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague. Then, Thompson recalled that he could not feel his thumb. Thompson still played, though, and went 8-of-22 from the field. Afterward, the Warriors determined Thompson had a fracture instead of a sprain.



In Game 1 against Cleveland, Warriors fans both gasped when Thompson fell and booed Smith for his role in the injury. Though Thompson looked in pain and limped to the locker room, the Warriors only needed to retape him. They expressed relief the injury has not affected Thompson’s left knee.

When it happened, though, did Thompson feel as concerned as Warriors fans?

“No. I felt it in my ankle. I thought I just rolled it,” Thompson said. “But there’s nothing in my knees or legs. It was a high ankle [injury]. It just trickled down lower as the night went on. I knew it would be sore. I’ve had that injury plenty of times. Luckily we have a couple of days between games. So I’ll be able to get it right.”

Klay learned to have that mindset partly because Mychal often shared stories about how former Lakers A.C. Green and Kobe Bryant played through injuries. As Mychal noted, “guys would play 82 games and not even think about the schedule being too long or too tiring.”

After playing in all but seven minutes and 34 seconds of Game 1, Klay did not sound tired. Instead, he sounded anxious to play again.

“I’ve been very blessed not to have any catastrophic injuries in my whole basketball career,” Thompson said. “I’ve had some knick knacks as far as sprained ankles and thumbs, but nothing that was too detrimental in my future. But I’ve had a high pain tolerance since I’ve been a kid.”



Source:Mercurynews

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The NBA's "Last Two Minute Report" for Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday revealed two infractions that should have been called on Golden State's Draymond Green in the waning seconds of regulation ahead of the Warriors' 124-114 overtime win.

The league said Green committed a lane violation by entering into the paint to establish rebounding position prior to George Hill releasing the second of two free throw attempts with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Hill missed the shot, leading to a wild sequence in which JR Smithgrabbed the offensive rebound and dribbled out past the 3-point line with the score tied 107-107 rather than looking to score before the clock expired.

Had the lane violation been called, Hill would have been awarded another attempt to make the free throw.

The league also said Green should have been called for a foul with 12.1 seconds to go for grabbing LeBron James' arm and affecting his freedom of movement. That contact preceded James' pass to Hill that led to Klay Thompson fouling the Cavs point guard and putting him on the line.

The Cavs were in the bonus at the time, meaning if the foul on Green was called, James -- and not Hill -- would have been the one attempting two free throws with the Cavs down 107-106.

James shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the defeat.

The L2M also offered an explanation as to why the charge call on Kevin Durantwith 36.4 seconds remaining was overturned and ended up as a blocking foul on James.

"The crew was not reasonably certain whether James was in the restricted area after an offensive foul was called against Durant," the report said. "Upon replay review, it was confirmed that James was outside the restricted area. The referees also reviewed whether James was in a legal guarding position, which is an additional reviewable matter for this replay trigger. Replay showed James was not in a legal guarding position because he was turning his body and moving into Durant when contact occurred. Thus the initial call on the floor was overturned and James was assessed a blocking foul."


Source:ESPN