San Antonio’s NBA Finals run came to an end in Game 5, as the Spurs fell 94-90 to the New York Knicks.
It was another painful late collapse. The Spurs did not blow a lead as big as the one they lost in Game 4, but the pattern was familiar as they moved ahead, then watched control slip away when the game tightened.
Jalen Brunson was the biggest problem again, finishing with 45 points and giving San Antonio no answer in the closing stretch.
And after all that, Mitch Johnson’s pre-game statement about De’Aaron Fox looked even worse when the final buzzer sounded.
Mitch Johnson’s De’Aaron Fox statement comes back to haunt Spurs
Fox had already been under fire after Game 4’s wild turnaround, when his blocked layup fuelled questions about his late-game decision-making.
Still, Johnson backed his guard before Game 5, saying: “De’Aaron Fox will have the ball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow and I have nothing but the utmost confidence that he’s gonna deliver.”
That belief went unrewarded. Fox managed just seven points and five assists after 37 minutes on court, a brutal return for a player trusted to help close the biggest game of San Antonio’s season.
His fourth quarter was even worse. Fox went scoreless, had no rebounds, no assists and missed all four of his shots as the Knicks completed another comeback.
The contrast could not have been clearer. San Antonio needed composure, shot-making and control late, but Fox was unable to provide any of that.
Johnson’s loyalty to the 28-year-old guard may still carry weight inside the locker room, but this was a painful ending. His public show of faith became one of the defining stories of a Finals loss that will be hard for San Antonio to shake.
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