CLEVELAND (AP) — The latest from Game 4 of the NBA Finals:
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8:03 p.m.
J.R. Smith made quite the entrance into Quicken Loans Arena.
Just as Warriors coach Steve Kerr was finishing an interview outside Golden State’s locker room, Smith zoomed by riding a Hovertrax, a hands-free motorized vehicle.
“Hey, what’s up?” Smith said as he rolled by on the carpet.
Smith nearly became the Cavs’ most recent injury when he briefly lost his balance and lunged forward, catching himself before he fell.
He got right back on, though, and continued his journey to Cleveland’s locker room.
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7:55 p.m.
One of the most recognizable faces on the court tonight to many NBA fans won’t be wearing a Warriors or Cavaliers uniform.
It will Joey Crawford, officiating his 50th NBA Finals game — most among active referees.
The officiating has drawn plenty of attention in the finals, though the league has ruled most of the disputed calls correctly. That includes a play late in Game 3 where LeBron James forced Stephen Curry into a turnover on a play that looked like a slide tackle in soccer.
The NBA ruled it a correct no-call, saying “the contact made after the strip is incidental to the players’ attempt to retrieve the ball.”
Steve Kerr gave a sarcastic response when asked for his take at Thursday’s morning shootaround.
“It was the correct call. Slide tackling is perfectly legal,” he said. “I totally agree, I think it was absolutely the correct call. We’re going to teach it. We’re going to teach traveling, too, before next year, because traveling is also.”
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.
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