Reliving Another Infamous NBA Finals Buzzer Beater Mishap

CLEVELAND, OH — The sting of Thursday night's NBA Finals loss is still fresh for the Cleveland Cavaliers fan base and, probably, its players. But the most memorable play of the game — JR Smith's inexplicable decision to not shoot the ball with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the game tied — has some similarities to another infamous NBA moment.

To find this similar instance in NBA Finals history, one has to go all the way back to 1984 and revisit the NBA's other storied rivalry: the Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, the world was excited to see two star players — Larry Bird and Magic Johnson — square off again. The two had met once before in the NCAA Finals in 1979, a game that Magic's Michigan State squad won easily.

The 1984 Finals is arguably the most competitive, hard fought match-up between the NBA's marquee franchises. That's largely because it featured two of the league's most historically iconic players. But at the time, it appeared to feature the demise of one of those icons.

After the Lakers won Game 1 of the series, in Boston no less, Magic had the chance to give his team a commanding 2-0 lead. When the pressure was on though, he wilted.

With the game tied at 113 and the seconds ticking away in regulation, Johnson got the ball off an inbound pass. He turned, faced his man, surveyed the court, and then started slowly backing his defender down. He dribbled and dribbled and dribbled. Then he faced his man again. He kept dribbling.

With a second left on the clock he seemed to realize his mistake and passed the ball...but it was too late. The time had run out. Regulation was over. The game would go into overtime.

And the Celtics handily took care of business in extra minutes. (Sound familiar Cavs fans?)

In the process, Magic earned himself a new nickname..."Tragic" Johnson.

JR Smith is probably having a bad Friday morning and his connection to one of the worst moments in a Hall of Fame player's career is probably cold comfort. But the Lakers still managed to force the 1984 Finals into a seventh game. They lost, but at least it was entertaining and competitive. That's more than what most pundits are expecting from Cleveland at this point.

Sports Illustrated speculated at the time that Johnson was looking for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the post. And JR Smith claims he was waiting for someone, anyone, to call a timeout.

Everyone else on the planet thinks Smith got confused as to what the score was. Head coach Ty Lue confirmed as much to the media in his post-game press conference on Thursday night, saying Smith thought the Cavaliers were up by one point. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr quipped that his team "got lucky."

Johnson seemed unaware of his own clock, though certainly he had to have known the score of the game.

Still, Johnson got his redemption...several times over.

Will the Cavaliers get theirs? Time will tell.

Photo by: Mike Powell/Getty Images