With an open look from three-point range in the closing seconds of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Danny Green had a championship-clinching shot in his hands. He left it short.
In the wake of that miss, Green and his fiancé, Blair Bashen, have received death threats via social media. Green, who said he doesn’t read the messages, addressed those threats on Sunday.
“I’m just not one of those guys that’s gonna live my life that way, worried about what other people think, say or do,” Green said. “I’m usually protected, I’m usually safe, I’m usually OK and confident and secure in my own mind and my own home.”
Green acknowledged that people — specifically, fans — are “emotional,” and that results of a basketball game shouldn’t be taken so seriously.
“I hope (fans) are that passionate about voting or getting justice for these people who deserve justice — and we’ll get some better change along in the country,” he said. “But, it’s a basketball game at the end of the day. I know they’re just taking out their emotions and they need somebody to blame.
“It came down to that last play, and of course I’m the easy target.”
Green and the Los Angeles Lakers still lead the series over the Miami Heat, 3-2, with Game 6 set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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