Former Sacramento Kings point guard George Hill, to say the least, has endured an eventful NBA Finals for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are now down 0-3 in the series to the Golden State Warriors.
Hill, who was traded from Sacramento to Cleveland on Feb. 8, was part of one of the most memorable NBA Finals moments in the history of the league during Game 1.
With just 4.7 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers down by one point to the heavily-favored Warriors, Hill stepped to the free throw line in hopes of putting his team in the lead by making two shots. He calmly drilled the first one to tie. However, the second free throw is when the chaos ensued.
Hill missed the second shot off the front rim and it bounced right to Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith. Instead of immediately shooting the ball, Smith dribbled out to half court, thinking his team had the lead, and the clock ran out. The Cavaliers were shell-shocked and would go on to lose handily in overtime to the Warriors.
"I don't think anything got me through the night," Hill said the day after the game, according to USA Today. "I stayed up most of the night re-watching the free throw, re-watching the play. Just going over it in my head what I think went wrong. As a player, competitive guy, put in a situation to help my team win a game, and I didn't come through. So for me, it sucked. It was one of the worst feelings ever."
Since that blunder, the Cavaliers have played inconsistently en route to their 0-3 deficit. Hill has been mostly ineffective overall, much like his time with the Kings earlier this season.
The point guard is averaging 9 points, 2.7 assists, and 2 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals while shooting 37.5 percent from the field and a solid 50 percent from three-point land. In Sacramento, Hill posted similar stats of 10.3 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds. He shot 46.9 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from behind the arc with the Kings.
Hill and the Cavaliers will try to extend their season Friday in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors.