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With 13.5 seconds left in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and the Spurs leading 106-105, De’Aaron Fox grabbed a loose ball, and instead of running the clock and waiting to get fouled, Fox went for a layup, which OG Anunoby blocked.
Ultimately, Anunoby tipped in Jalen Brunson’s miss, and the Knicks would win Game 4 107-106 at Madison Square Garden after trailing by 29 points in the second half.
The Knicks lead the series 3-1, and Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
It appeared that Fox, who is a decent free-throw shooter, should have waited to get fouled, but he didn’t, and after the game, he explained his rationale.
“Haven’t scored,” Fox said. “Try to get a layup, get up three. Force them to need a three. OG made a good block… I just thought I’d be able to outrun them. That’s it.”
You understand what Fox was thinking, but in that instance, the goal is to waste clock and make free throws—unfortunately, none of that happened.
Fox, who had 18 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, called this loss the most painful of his career.
“For sure,” he said. “You could be going home 2-2. Going down 3-1 is obviously very different. But we feel like we have a team to be able to come back from this. We have to take this thing one game at a time, capitalize, be better, and not let those mistakes continue to build.”
The Spurs, who scored 76 points and shot 60 percent from the field, including 14/26 from deep (54%) in the first half, had only 30 points in the second half on 20 percent shooting. Fox shared his thoughts on why the Spurs’ offense stagnated in the second half.
“I think we played a little slower,” Fox said. “But then I think whenever we did play fast, we took quick shots. The ball wasn’t moving the same way that it did in the second half like it did in the first half. I think we got great shots in the first half, and that made the tough shots that we made a little easier. We didn’t get a flow on the offensive end in the second half.”
Obviously, this loss is not on Fox; there’s plenty of blame to go around, but if he makes the right play, the NBA Finals are probably tied 2-2.