LeBron James called it the most frustrating loss of his 15-season career.
And why not?
James scored a playoff career-high 51 points, the most in a finals game in 25 years, but the Cavaliers lost 124-114 in overtime to defending champion Golden State in the opening game of the best-of-seven title series, which continues in Oakland on Sunday.
Asked if it was his most frustrating loss, James replied, “Because it’s right now I would say yeah. I always live in the present. I don’t know how frustrated I was after a loss in the past.
“We played as well as we’ve played all post-season and we gave ourselves a chance possession after possession after possession. There were just some plays that were kind of taken away from us. Simple as that.”
During the course of the game, there was one massive self-inflicted turning point that saw Cavs eventually lose the match. James appeared exasperated at teammate J.R. Smith when Smith grabbed a late rebound inside with the game deadlocked and dribbled away from the hoop, Smith later saying he knew the game was tied and expected a timeout. But it was a golden chance to seal the game in overtime that went begging.
King James’ reaction to the blunder, as you would have expected, has now become a Twitter meme.
A collection of the best reactions:
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