Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said De'Aaron Fox's 28-point, 7-assist Game 4 might've been his best as a Spur as San Antonio rallied past Portland for a 3-1 lead.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said De'Aaron Fox may have played his best game in a Spurs uniform Sunday, when the guard scored 28 points and dished out 7 assists in a 114-93 Game 4 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
Fox went 11-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range as San Antonio erased a 17-point halftime deficit to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Game 5 is in San Antonio.
"Might've been his best game as a Spur," Johnson said. "I thought he dominated the game in every way. I thought in the first half, when things weren't going our way and we weren't playing well, I thought De'Aaron Fox had the disposition that we were looking for."
Johnson said Fox set a tone defensively before turning into a scorer and a distributor as the rest of the roster fell in line.
"I thought he played the game. I thought he worked the game. I thought he played with pace. I thought his defense was consistent," Johnson said. "And when everybody else got on the same page, he took over. Then he started scoring, he started spoon-feeding his teammates, and I thought he completely took over the game."
The 28-point outing was a season high for Fox in a Spurs uniform and his most efficient scoring night of the playoffs, with the 64.7% field-goal mark and 50% from 3 each topping his series averages. Fox averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 72 regular-season games for San Antonio, shooting 48.6% from the field and 33.2% from 3-point range. Through four playoff games, he is averaging 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 48.4% shooting and 36.4% from 3.
The Spurs trailed 58-41 at halftime after Portland won the second quarter 33-18. San Antonio outscored the Trail Blazers 33-16 in the third quarter to draw even at 74, then closed the game on a 40-19 run in the fourth.
"Everybody loves each other and wants to see each other succeed," Fox said on ESPN's Inside the NBA. "That's why when we weren't playing the right way in the first half, we knew it. Then we came out, moved the ball, and you could see that connection again. Devin was big for us in the third quarter, and that's when you really see how much guys appreciate each other."
Fox said the locker-room message at halftime was direct.
"We needed to get back to the way that we're used to playing," Fox said. "That's all it was. It wasn't about missing shots or anything like that, those are natural things in basketball. We just weren't playing the right way."
"It was black and white. We knew what we needed to fix," Fox explained. "In the third quarter, we came out and in the first five minutes we passed the ball, got good shots, and kept them out of the paint. That's what turned the game around. Even if we weren't making shots, so be it, that happens, but we weren't playing the right way in the first half."
Fox said the early stretch was a function of process more than makes and misses.
"Where it started, we took good shots, they just didn't go in," Fox said. "Then we just rode that momentum. In the first half, we turned the ball over, didn't take good shots, and they got out in transition."
Fox and Harrison Barnes are among the few Spurs with playoff experience, and Fox said the two of them have leaned on a late-February game against the Golden State Warriors to brace the team's young core for postseason physicality.
"We played Golden State right before the All-Star break, and they came out super physical. The refs weren't calling much," Fox said. "In the huddle, we told the guys, 'This is what the playoffs are going to feel like.' You're going to get scratched, held, hit, and the refs are going to swallow the whistle."
Fox said the team's depth has helped San Antonio absorb absences throughout the series, including Victor Wembanyama's Game 1 unavailability while clearing the league's concussion protocol.
"When he's in, he does so much for us, you feel that," Fox said. "He protects the rim, shoots threes, catches lobs. When he's out, you're not replacing that with one player. So we all feel like we have to do more."
Wembanyama returned to finish with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocks in Game 4. Stephon Castle added 16 points and 8 assists, and Devin Vassell scored 11 points with 6 rebounds.
Fox said the chemistry across the roster, including with guards Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, has been a defining feature of the season.
"They call me 'unc,' and I'm like, 'I'm not even 30 yet, what are we doing?'" Fox said. "But they bring energy to the room. Them, plus Carter, we've got a young, old veteran team. It's a great mix."
San Antonio can close out the series at home in Game 5.