De’Aaron Fox kept the focus on the details after the San Antonio Spurs’ 103-82 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, calling the Western Conference finals a “best of three” after the series was tied at 2-2.
Fox finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists at Frost Bank Center while playing through an ankle issue, and he said the Spurs won by making every possession hard. “It’s never just black and white or that simple,” Fox said after being asked about the perimeter defense. “But we contested 91% of shots today. That’s just a recipe to win a game.”
The Spurs held Oklahoma City to 33% shooting and 6-for-33 from 3-point range, their second-lowest postseason scoring total in franchise history. Fox said the defense started with effort and discipline, but also with the group staying connected in the half court.
“If they make the shot, tap them on the butt, they made a good shot,” Fox said. “But we’re just trying to make it as difficult as possible for them to score, especially in the half court. I think we did a good job at that tonight.”
Fox’s own impact went beyond scoring. He was San Antonio’s leading rebounder, and he said much of that came from positioning rather than explosive plays.
“Just being in the right spot,” Fox said. “I don’t know how many of them I actually jumped for. But that’s half the battle.”
The Spurs also protected the ball far better than they had earlier in the series. Fox pointed to that as a major reason the offense held together even without a huge shooting night.
“I don’t think we were great offensively tonight,” he said. “The one thing we can really take from it is the fact that we only had 12 turnovers.”
He added that avoiding giveaways matters even more against a Thunder team that punishes mistakes in transition. “Every time you turn the ball over those are just demoralizing possessions,” Fox said. “Especially with this team it feels like they pretty much score off of every turnover that you have.”
Fox also praised Stephon Castle’s willingness to guard the opposing top scorer and said the Spurs need that kind of edge from the first line of defense. “One of his best attributes is the fact that he wants to do it first,” Fox said. “Just that want to being a defender is 75% of the battle.”
Asked whether the series now felt reset, Fox did not dress it up. “Best of three,” he said. “With the guys that we have in the locker room and the way that we feel, we try to win every game going out there.”
Fox said the Spurs never accepted the idea that Game 4 was about avoiding a 3-1 hole. “We didn’t win 60 games this year going on a road trip like we want to go three and two or four and one,” he said. “Every time we step on the court we’re trying to win.”
