[troutman]

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/06/01/jr...s-lebron-james

Smith’s second explanation came later in the locker room, when he told a media horde that he was expecting someone on the Cavaliers to call timeout.

“I thought we were going to take a timeout because I got the rebound,” Smith said. “I looked over at LeBron and he looked like he was trying to get a timeout. I stopped, and the game was over.”

In this version of events, Smith insisted that he was reluctant to shoot out of deference to Durant’s length. He added that he would have held on to the ball and allowed himself to be fouled if he had thought his team was leading. His pass to Hill, Smith argued, was evidence that he knew the correct score all along.

“I knew it was tied,” he claimed. “I tried to get enough space because Kevin was standing right there. I tried to bring it out and get enough space to maybe get a shot off. He already had [three] blocks so I wasn’t trying to become the [fourth].”