The Los Angeles Lakers had an opportunity to win the NBA Championship on Friday night during Game 5 against the Miami Heat. However, two late-game miscues resulted in a Heat win, and now fans are lashing out. Danny Green, the man who missed a wide-open shot late in regulation, said that he and his loved ones have received death threats.
Green spoke about the missed shot during a Sunday press conference. He explained that he wished he had the shot back and that he should have taken more time to set up. Green then revealed that both he and his fiancée have been targets of death threats. While the Lakers player said that he isn’t taking the threats seriously, he did wish that the fans would put that energy to better use.
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“It’s a basketball game. People are emotional. Fans are emotional. I hope that they don’t take it that seriously,” Green said. “I hope they’re that passionate about voting, or injustice for these people who deserve justice — we’ll get some better change in the country.
“It’s a basketball game at the end of the day,” he continued. “I know that they’re just taking out their emotions and they need somebody to blame. And it came down to that last play. Of course, I’m the easy target.”
The missed shot in question took place with the Lakers trailing during the final seconds of Friday’s game. The Lakers had possession when LeBron James drove toward the basket. He was triple-teamed but threw a pass to a wide-open Green, who missed the basket with 7.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Markieff Morris grabbed the rebound and had the option to pass to a wide-open James, but he instead targeted Anthony Davis. However, he was off the mark as well and sent the ball out of bounds.
The missed three-point shot would have given the Lakers the lead with the opportunity to secure a 4-1 series win and the championship. However, the Heat held on and won the game. They moved the series to 3-2 and set up a pivotal Game 6 on Sunday night.
“I mean, if you just look at the play, I was able to draw two defenders below the free throw line and find one of our shooters at the top of the key for a wide-open three to win a championship,” James said Friday after the loss. “I trusted him, we trusted him, and it just didn’t go.”
