The New York Knicks are now within touching distance of the NBA championship after one of the most dramatic collapses the San Antonio Spurs could possibly have imagined.
Game 4 looked over at halftime, with San Antonio in control and ready to level the Finals at Madison Square Garden. Instead, the Knicks came roaring back to take a 3-1 series lead, turning a possible tied series into a night that could define the championship.
The Spurs’ capitulation was a team failure, but the defining late mistake came from De’Aaron Fox, one of their most experienced players, and he has now explained what went wrong after a brutal final sequence.
Fox explains late Spurs mistake in Game 4 loss
The moment came with San Antonio leading 106-105 and less than 15 seconds remaining. Fox collected a rebound after Jalen Brunson missed, but instead of pulling the ball out and forcing New York to foul, he attacked the rim.
OG Anunoby recovered to block the layup, keeping the possession alive for the Knicks. The reaction was instant, with fans comparing Fox’s mistake to some of the most infamous late-game decisions in Finals history.
The play became even more painful seconds later. Anunoby followed up another Brunson miss with the winning tip-in, leaving the Spurs with just 1.2 seconds to respond and no real route back.
Speaking after the game, Fox explained in a postgame clip shared by ESPN: “I tried to get a layup, get up 3. Force them to need a 3, and OG [Anunoby] made a good block.”
When asked why he did not simply dribble the clock down, he added: “I just thought I would be able to outrun him.”
Fox was trying to put the Spurs up three, but the safer play was to protect the ball, drain the clock and make New York foul.
The mistake was not the only reason San Antonio lost. Blowing a 29-point lead takes far more than one possession, and the Knicks deserve huge credit for turning the game into the greatest Finals comeback ever.
But Fox, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs now have it all to do back in San Antonio. The Knicks can smell the championship after a historic performance, while the Spurs have to prove they can recover from a collapse that will be replayed for years.
