{"id":1984272,"date":"2026-06-11T10:45:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T07:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1984272"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:45:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T07:45:33","slug":"deaaron-foxs-fateful-decision-haunts-the-spurs-after-devastating-game-4-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1984272","title":{"rendered":"De\u2019Aaron Fox\u2019s fateful decision haunts the Spurs after devastating Game 4 loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK \u2014 What De\u2019Aaron Fox thought versus what De\u2019Aaron Fox did were two very different things. And the disastrous disconnect between them, make no mistake, might have cost the San Antonio Spurs a title.<\/p>\n

In his mind, as the veteran Spurs guard explained after the worst collapse in NBA Finals history against the New York Knicks, a 107-106 loss<\/a> in Wednesday\u2019s Game 4, he would turn on the afterburners for which he has long been known and leave the Knicks\u2019 OG Anunoby in his wake. The Spurs guard\u2019s nickname is \u201cSwipa,\u201d after all, a hat-tip to the elite speed that has always been his greatest superpower.<\/p>\n

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Surely, then, he could chase down the ball that he\u2019d tipped to himself and finish the break as if he were in the pregame layup line while putting the Spurs up three with 11 seconds to go. Even with the ailments that slowed him last month, including a high ankle sprain that he reinjured in the Western Conference finals<\/a> against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Fox was sure that his wheels would still work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought I\u2019d be able to outrun him,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thought wrong.<\/p>\n

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The remarkable part, given the plot twist at the end of the game\u2019s second-biggest play, is that Anunoby was running the wrong way when it began. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound wing was chasing the long rebound off a Jalen Brunson missed 3, only to see Fox poke the ball right past him and head the other way. That he found a way to catch up, after getting caught flat-footed and facing the wrong direction, shocked everyone in the building. No one more so than Fox himself.<\/p>\n

Fox, who lost some speed at the start of his sprint when Anunoby bumped him as he ran by, clearly saw Anunoby by the time they reached the paint, and still decided to go ahead with the plan. It backfired dramatically, with Anunoby swatting the layup<\/a> and the greater basketball world immediately wondering why Fox instead didn\u2019t dribble the ball out to kill time while waiting for the foul (and subsequent free throws).<\/p>\n

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Fox faced the media music afterward, answering every question that came his way and insisting that these Spurs can still somehow come all the way back from this 3-1 series deficit. But his explanation, it\u2019s safe to say, will do little to dissuade those who disagreed with his choice.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTry to get a layup, get up three and force them to need a 3,\u201d Fox said when asked about why he made the choice. \u201cOG made a good block.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be fair, a 48-minute game never truly comes down to one play. As coaches so often say, the ones on the front end matter just as much as the ones at the back. Yet while plays like this one will be forever remembered because of the timing and stakes, there are always others \u2014 like Victor Wembanyama\u2019s two missed free throws with 1:47 left and the Spurs up one \u2014 that don\u2019t draw the same scrutiny or spotlight despite factoring into the result.<\/p>\n

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Not that Wemby doesn\u2019t know this awful feeling. It was his late-game blunder in the Spurs\u2019 Game 2 loss<\/a> \u2014 a pass to the back of Stephon Castle\u2019s head \u2014 that was widely deemed the reason the Spurs fell down 2-0. You simply can\u2019t stack up these kinds of basketball sins and blow games that are right there for the taking and still expect to walk away with the hardware.<\/p>\n

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There will be no forgetting this one for Fox, just as there wasn\u2019t for Wemby. Not unless these Spurs join the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers as the only other team in league history to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the finals (15 teams have done it in the playoffs<\/a>). And to make matters worse, this was hardly the only tough moment for the 28-year-old All-Star as the Knicks roared back in the second half.<\/p>\n

Not only did Fox have a rough shooting night, missing 10 of 16 from the field (including four of five in the fourth quarter), but all four of his turnovers<\/a> came in the final 17 minutes of the game.<\/p>\n