De’Aaron Fox described San Antonio’s approach in direct terms after a 126-97 Game 5 win over Minnesota that pushed the Spurs one victory from the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio on Tuesday night.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a game of runs and we know that,” Fox said, pointing to how the series has repeatedly swung between control and momentum shifts.
He explained the Spurs’ awareness of their late-game issues across the season and how that shaped their approach. “All three games we played them in the regular season we had good leads and then fourth quarter like we said before the series started we were I think minus like 39 or 40,” Fox said.
The Spurs guard emphasized execution when building advantages. “Whenever you become you know you want to be a good team you want to be a great team you have to be able to you know either extend those leads or just maintain those leads throughout the course of the game especially when it gets to the fourth quarter,” he said.
Minnesota’s physical style was another constant theme, with Fox focusing on response rather than reaction. “You just got to be ready,” he said. “I think in the games that we’ve won, I think we’ve been able to hit first.”
He also pointed to rebounding and paint control as defining factors in the win. “We know what type of team that they are… just trying to keep them out of the paint, keep them off the offensive glass,” Fox said. “I think tonight I think before tonight they were averaging like 20 25 second chance points and that was one of the key things we needed to take away.”
The Spurs’ mindset in closing stretches was even more aggressive. “When you become a good team is when you can put teams away,” Fox said. “We saw that, you know, we know that they’re going to fight back… but we were able to answer that.”
He expanded on the idea of control through pressure. “You want to be when you get up 15, if they get it to 10, you want to get it back to 15, get it up to 20, get it up to 23,” Fox said. “And that’s what we were able to do is just try to wear on teams.”
With adjustments shrinking deep into the series, Fox described a chess match reduced to execution. “We know each other’s plays. You know the tendencies of everybody,” he said. “It’s just trying to put your will on a game. Try to make everything that they do tougher.”
The Spurs now head to Minneapolis with a chance to close out the series in Game 6, carrying a formula built on early contact, defensive pressure, and sustained physicality.
