De’Aaron Fox made headlines for all the wrong reasons after Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Things didn’t get much better in Game 5 in which he was held to just seven points in 37 minutes in the Spurs’ 94-90 season-ending loss to the Knicks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night in San Antonio.
But it was the first half that really set the tone for the Spurs star who scored just five points on 2-for-8 shooting through the first two quarters on Saturday night. He finished 3-for-15 from the field.
Josh Hart and De’Aaron Fox battle for the ball during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs at Frost Bank Center on June 13, 2026 in San Antonio. Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesOn top of that, he was also called for a costly flagrant 1 foul late in the second quarter against the Knicks’ Josh Hart.
Fox was at the center of the Spurs’ historic 29-point collapse in Game 4 when he was blocked by OG Anunoby on a layup attempt instead of trying to kill some close in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter.
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, right, is pressured by New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby during the first half of Game 5. AP Photo/Ross D. FranklinDuring the “Inside the NBA” halftime show on ABC on Saturday, Charles Barkley took Fox to task.
“[Spurs coach Mitch Johnson] gotta go with [Stephon] Castle and [Dylan] Harper. He’s got to take Fox out of the game,” Barkley said. “I hate saying that because I am a big De’Aaron Fox fan. But if you are coach Johnson, you can’t be worried about people’s feelings out here.”
As for the flagrant foul in the second quarter, Barkley said: “This to me, nah man, this can’t happen”
