Cleveland Cavaliers

Brian McKnight is reminding the world that J.R. Smith isn't traveling alone on the screw-up train ... telling TMZ Sports George Hill deserves just as much blame for the Cavs' loss.

You already know the play by now ... but McKnight says Hill's missed free throw that led up to J.R.'s brain fart is just as bad ... and says the people are giving him the pass J.R. should've given LeBron.

Earnest Byner knows what it's like to make a major mistake with the game on the line (remember the '87 AFC Championship?) ... so, he's got some advice for J.R. Smith.

Byner is a legend in his own right -- he's a 2-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowls as a player and a coach.

But back in 1988, he fumbled on the 2-yard line with time winding down costing the Cleveland Browns a shot at the Super Bowl. It's been ranked as one of the biggest in-game mistakes in NFL history.

The good news ... Byner didn't let the play define him and went on to have a great career.

The refs screwed up the Cavs-Warriors game so bad last night, the league should allow the teams to replay the final 60 seconds of the game ... seriously -- according to former NBA ref Tim Donaghy.

Here's the deal ... Donaghy was an NBA official for 13 years before he was sent to prison for gambling on games -- but knows the rulebook inside and out.

In fact, he even cites a REAL situation when the NBA acknowledged it screwed up a ruling -- and had the teams reunite to replay the end of a game nearly 4 months later (Hawks vs. Heat 2007).

In this case, Donaghy is honing in on that late 4th quarter foul involving Kevin Durant and LeBron James -- when two refs disagreed on who was at fault ... was it a charge or a block.

Donaghy says instead of going to the replay monitor and changing the call to favor the Warriors, it should have been ruled a jump ball.

"J.R. Smith ran away from that basket the way Pusha T claims Drake ran away from his responsibilities as a father."

That's why Charlamagne tha God awarded Smith his "Donkey of the Day" title on "The Breakfast Club" Friday morning ... blasting the Cavs player blunder that cost LeBron Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"I don't know if J.R. Smith uses drugs," Char said ... "but if he does, I think it's his duty as an American citizen to tell us what the hell he's on or has been on so we don't make the same mistakes."

Charlamagne also blasted Smith for his explanation of the blunder ... saying Smith clearly did NOT know the game was tied.

Good signs from Jesse Jackson ... he's not letting his Parkinson's diagnosis stop him from attending massive public events like the NBA Finals!

The Reverend was front and center for Game 1 of the Cavs vs. Warriors series in the Bay Area on Thursday flashing a big old smile.

76-year-old Jackson was diagnosed back in 2017 and said, "recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful."

He also noted that he "must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease's progression."

But, the NBA Finals are clearly the exception!

Charles Oakley says it wasn't just the last play of regulation that J.R. Smith screwed up Thursday night -- he also made a crucial mistake in the 1st half that cost his team 3 points ... and maybe the game.

Oak was pretty upset with Smith's decision to go for a steal instead of playing shutdown defense on Steph Curry in the final seconds of the 1st half.

Smith missed the interception and Steph bombed a 3 ... Oakley says that was a major momentum change.

"Why are you going for a steal on the best shooter in the game?!"

Oakley says he hopes the Cavs can recover and bounce back strong in Game 2.

NFL star Jalen Ramsey basically spoke for everyone Thursday night when J.R. Smith brain-farted at the end of the NBA Finals ... questioning how the hell Smith screwed up so badly!

With the game tied, Smith got a crucial rebound with just seconds left in the game -- and instead of taking a shot or passing it to LeBron -- he tried to run out the clock, forcing the game into OT.

And you know the rest of the story goes ...

Jalen Ramsey was so baffled by J.R.'s move, he went to Instagram and fired off a 50 Cent-style rant.

So, the Golden State Warriors celebrated their Western Conf. Championship Monday night by bumping Usher on the team jet.

Funny, since Usher happens to be a minority owner of the Cleveland Cavs ... and it's almost like Nick Young and company were trying to send a friendly message -- "We're coming!"

While passing around the trophy, Swaggy P took over music duties -- and busted out Usher's greatest slow jams hits ... from "Nice & Slow" to "U Remind Me" and even "Burn."

Most of the players were diggin' it -- singing along and even dancing.

Serge Ibaka has a plan to stop the yearly butt kicking his Toronto Raptors get from the Cavs -- don't worry about LeBron, worry about ourselves.

For the last 3 years straight, Bron's Cavs have bounced the Raptors from the playoffs -- the last 2 years were a clean 4-0 sweep.

So, when we saw Serge at LAX, we asked what he plans to do to stop the LeBron domination.

"It's not about LeBron, it's about us," Ibaka said ... "We have to learn from this playoffs and work hard this summer and get ready."

That said, Ibaka tells us James is nothing short of "amazing" -- and said the 33-year-old legend isn't just an inspiration to future NBA stars ... but to current ones as well.

Roger Goodell is doing a helluva job as NFL commish ... and that's coming from a guy who ran the NBA for 30 years, David Stern.

TMZ Sports saw Stern in NYC ... and with the debate over the NFL's new rule on the National Anthem protest raging ... we asked the former commish how he'd handle the controversy.

Stern didn't exactly answer the question ... but he did offer a ringing endorsement to the NFL's head honcho.

"I think that commisioner Goodell is doing a great job in difficult circumstances."

He went on to say ... "I think every league needs rules to cover every situation. I don't know what rule I would implement, but there should be a rule that treats everyone fairly, and uniformly."

FYI -- the new regulation has been polarizing. Prez Trump and VP Pence applauded the league ... while others have been super critical of Goodell and the NFL.

"Get Out" star Lil Rel Howery is a Boston Celtics fan ... but he says there's a silver lining to the team losing a couple games, and he's telling TMZ Sports his glass-half-empty theory.

If you're asking why Lil Rel is a Celtics fan in the first place, he says it's because he developed a kinship with Kyrie Irving while the two men were shooting Irving's upcoming "Uncle Drew" movie.

Rel says it's that friendship that makes it kinda okay ... hell, he almost even likes it ... that the C's seem to be struggling to beat LeBron with no go-to NBA superstar.

"I've been watching all these stories about how the team is better without Kyrie and all this dumb sh*t and I was like, ah, no, this is superstar time."

"So, I'm just saying like, Kyrie, that's his team, man. So, don't ever question that sh*t again. It's his f*cking team. He's a superstar. They need to win with him."

Shannon Sharpe wanted to rub Skip Bayless' nose in LeBron James' greatness Monday morning -- so, he put on the goat head, ditched his sleeves ... and even busted out a Black & Mild!

... and it was HILARIOUS (and weird).

Sharpe LOVES Bron -- Skip's a lifelong doubter -- so ... after James brought the Cavs back to life with a dominating 30-point win on Saturday, the ex-NFL star was hyped about it on FS1's 'Undisputed.'

LeBron James had a rough night ... but his wife was LIVING IT UP in Australia!!

Savannah James was spotted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday ... rockin' some pretty cool lookin' sweatpants.

Of course, Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Boston -- where the Celtics beat the Cavs to go up 2-0 on Tuesday.

LeBron was laser-focused on Game 2 -- and showed up to the TD Garden hours before the game to shoot and prepare. Ultimately, it didn't help ... Cavs lost 107 to 94.

Meantime, there were a bunch of huge stars at MBFW ... including Shaun White, Joe Jonas and Elsa Pataky.

LeBron James got Michael Rapaport to cut the trash talking and shut his mouth ... and even Rapaport says he's pretty damn impressed.

Look, Rap has said a lot of crap about Bron over the years -- he famously called him a "motherf*cker" for dissing his kids back in the day.

But now, Rapaport says LeBron is playing on such another level ... he's been rendered speechless.

"I've never seen anybody do what he's done this playoffs," Rapaport says ... "The biggest sh*t-talker, myself. I've got nothing to say. He's been unbelievable."

There is one guy who's still getting the wrath of Rap -- Drake -- who didn't show up to Game 4 of the Cavs vs. Raptors series to watch his team get swept out of the playoffs.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are taking their rekindled relationship to the next level ... with a daytime movie date.

The 2 were at a cinema a few miles outside Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, and looking very much like a couple again. Khloe and Tristan grabbed snacks together before the movie and were seen leaving in the same car afterward. No word on which flick they caught.

We broke the story ... Khloe's family is the opposite of thrilled about her getting back together with Tristan, but they're backing off pressuring her to dump him for good.

Khloe Kardashian's family is not happy she's getting back with Tristan Thompson -- and that's a major understatement -- but they're not going to lobby her to kick his ass to the curb.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe was spotted with TT at a Cleveland restaurant Friday having lunch with friends and then showed up at the Cavaliers' game Saturday to support her baby daddy.

Our Kardashian sources say Khloe's family is outraged he humiliated and betrayed her right before she gave birth to their daughter. We're told they WISH she'd remain civil with him for the sake of their daughter, but move on. That said, they have enormous respect for Khloe and think she's capable of making decisions for herself.

We're told the family is somewhat surprised by the turn of events, because not long ago it looked like she was done with Tristan ... and the family was down with that decision. She was staying in Cleveland because Tristan was on the road and the baby wasn't able to fly.

And this is interesting ... we're told the family privately feels they may never forgive Tristan, but they're not going to attempt to torpedo the relationship.

Thanksgiving should be interesting.