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Pat Riley Clarifies Lakers 'Asterisk' Comments: 'Their Title Is Legitimate'

president walked back some of his controversial words on Sunday.

"The asterisk is next to the Heat's name, not the Lakers," Riley said, per David Wilson of the Miami Herald. "Their title is legitimate. Our loss has an asterisk [next] to it. The Lakers were the better team. Period."

Sam Quinn of CBS Sports explained Riley previously turned heads when he suggested the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA Finals win over the Heat should come with an asterisk because of injuries to Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo:

"They were the best team, but there's always going to be asterisk, that caveat.