HABOOB

LeBron James dunks on JaVale McGee, but Jeff Van Gundy is in awe of Rihanna

Jun 1, 2017, 7:10 PM | Updated: 9:59 pm

One of the most hyped NBA Finals matchups began with missed layups but otherwise elite basketball playing.

The latter was expected with MVP-caliber talents like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on the court for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

But in the first quarter, when a pretty pass by Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson found James for a violent slam dunk over 7-footer JaVale McGee, ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy was a little distracted.

“I don’t know about this, but Rihanna just walked in front of me. Are you kidding me?” Van Gundy said as the TV crew readied to head to a commercial break.

“Stay with the game,” said play-by-play Mike Breen while trying to hold it together without laughing.

“LeBron makes a spectacular play like this and that’s what you deal with?” added fellow analyst Mark Jackson.

“Yeah, what a play!” Van Gundy continued.

In his defense, maybe Van Gundy really couldn’t see the play as Rihanna walked in front of him.

Warriors forward Kevin Durant later found himself in some hot water after he hit a transition three and appeared to stare down Rihanna, a noted LeBron fan who’d been heckling him on the play.

Asked about the exchange after the game, Durant and Curry steered far clear of any anti-Rihanna controversy.

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