John Calipari defended De'Aaron Fox after the San Antonio Spurs guard took criticism for one of the decisive moments in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
San Antonio were seconds from taking control of the series against the New York Knicks before one late sequence shifted the game, the pressure, and the conversation around an injured guard.
Calipari did not view the play as a simple mistake because Fox was trying to finish the biggest possession of the night without the burst that usually defines him.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
In a clip shared by The Dan Patrick Show , Calipari pushed back at the criticism that followed Fox's blocked layup late in the Spurs' 107-106 loss.
"Stop on De'Aaron Fox, he's playing with a high ankle sprain, probably shouldn't be playing. He would normally dunk that layup. If he would've dunked it, he's the hero," Calipari said.
Calipari's defense came from knowing what Fox usually looks like in open space. The guard's normal explosion would have turned that drive into a dunk attempt, not a layup vulnerable to a chase-down block.
He then flipped the pressure toward New York's side of the sequence, stating: "What would have happened to Josh (Hart) if he missed that dunk and they had lost?"
The final seconds were thin enough to change reputations in either direction. Fox became the target because San Antonio lost, but the same possession would have carried a different meaning if his injured ankle had allowed him to finish above the rim.
The play came with the Spurs leading 106-105 after the Knicks had already erased most of a 29-point deficit at Madison Square Garden.
Fox grabbed the loose ball and attacked the basket instead of pulling it out to force a foul. Anunoby chased him down, blocked the layup attempt, and New York eventually won when Anunoby tipped in a missed Brunson shot with 1.2 seconds left.
Fox finished with 18 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers, but the final possession became the image that defined his night.
A high ankle sprain can turn a routine burst into a slower finish, and that gap mattered in a one-point Finals game. The result left the Knicks ahead 3-1 and pushed the Spurs to the edge of elimination.
For Fox, the difference between becoming the hero and taking the blame may have been the lift he normally owns, but could not fully summon in the moment San Antonio needed it most.
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