The San Antonio Spurs had a collapse for the ages in Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, and De’Aaron Fox has gotten much of the blame for it. The Spurs led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, but ended up losing 107-106.
While none of the Spurs players played well in the second half, Fox struggled the most. The 28-year-old made one too many terrible plays after halftime, and a user on X shared his lowlights.
Here is every terrible play from De’Aron Fox in the second half pic.twitter.com/CQrPOTVZeO
— MD (@mike_daddino) June 11, 2026
The one that stands out the most is, of course, Fox choosing to attempt a layup at the end. The shot clock was off as fewer than 24 seconds were remaining in the game, and the Knicks, who were down 106-105, would have had no choice but to foul him had he just held on to the ball.
Fox bailed out the Knicks with that layup, which OG Anunoby blocked. The two-time All-Star’s mistake gave the hosts the ball down one in the final seconds. The Knicks never should have been in that position.
After the game, Fox explained his decision by saying he felt he could outrun Anunoby. He wanted to push the lead to three points and force the Knicks into having to take a three-pointer on the next possession.
The issue with that explanation, though, is that Fox would have just needed to hit a couple of free throws to get the lead to three if he had just held on to the ball. Yes, they’d be high-pressure free throws, but he won Clutch Player of the Year in 2023. Surely he should have backed himself to make both?
Charles Barkley was understandably extremely critical of Fox for that play after the game. Any criticism that comes his way for this is fair.
Now, this user blamed Fox for Anunoby being able to make that game-winning tip-in as well, but that might not be fair. You’d believe he was told to double Jalen Brunson in that situation.
Brunson had scored nine points in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs would have wanted to get the ball out of his hands. That double-team meant he just threw it up from well behind the arc and missed. The tactic worked, but the ball just bounced perfectly for Anunoby to tip it in. That was just some bad luck.
There was one other notable poor play that this user actually missed, though. With the Spurs clinging to a 104-103 lead with just over two minutes remaining, they needed Fox, their veteran point guard, to settle things down and get a relatively easy look for himself or his teammates. He didn’t do either. Fox turned the ball over as Josh Hart intercepted his wild pass.
JOSH HART NOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/Xz9EqDmkg8
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 11, 2026
Hart somehow proceeded to miss an easy layup, so this particular mistake didn’t end up costing the Spurs. It was still a bad one, though.
Fox put up just five points after halftime, shooting 2-8 from the field and 1-4 from three. He also committed four turnovers after not having even one in the first half.
Fox would finish the night with 18 points (6-16 FG), five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block. It was yet another poor performance in what has been an underwhelming playoff run by the guard. You wonder, at this point, if Fox will be with the Spurs next season.
Before we delve deeper into all that talk, there is an NBA Finals to wrap up for these teams. Game 5 will tip off at Frost Bank Center on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
