What went wrong for Spurs? How cold shooting, unnecessary De'Aaron Fox shot led to historic blown Finals lead

History won't remember that the San Antonio Spurs set a Finals record with 14 first-half 3-pointers in Game 4 against the Knicks. Ditto for Victor Wembanyama's 24 points, Dylan Harper's 21 off the bench or the fact that at halftime, the Spurs looked to be coasting to another road win in the series.

Instead, all that will be remembered from the Spurs' side of a blown 29-point lead on Wednesday night, a new Finals record, is disappointment and an all-out collapse. San Antonio allowed the home team to come crawling back through a few second-half runs — and once the Knicks were back in it, their tendency for elite clutch play showed.

From Wembanyama's struggles in the second half, to ice-cold shooting and a moment where De'Aaron Fox could have dribbled time off the clock, the Spurs' Game 4 performance is now one of the worst collapses in NBA history.

Here's a breakdown of everything that led to San Antonio's blown lead in Game 4.

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How Spurs blew 29 point lead to Knicks in Game 4

Allowing the largest comeback in Finals history didn't happen at once — the Spurs collapsed over the course of the entire second half, but more particularly from the 9:40 mark in the third quarter on, which is when a Fox jumper gave San Antonio its 29-point advantage.

From that point on, the Knicks began crawling back.

Here's a look at everything that went poorly for the Spurs.

Hot 3-point shooting goes cold

No team can expect to shoot 54% from 3-point range over a full game, so when the Spurs connected on a Finals-record 14 shots from deep in the first half, some regression to the mean was expected. But just three more 3-pointers the rest of the way was beyond any regression to the mean — it was simply ice-cold.

San Antonio, despite setting that first-half record, managed to shoot 17-of-43 from 3-point range over the full game. 

In the first half, the Spurs scored 76 points. In the second half, they scored 30. 

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) June 11, 2026

Even if typical numbers would indicate that the Knicks' offense would be better in the second half, the Spurs' inability to make shots was the leading cause of their collapse. 

"Can't really explain it right now. Execution, greediness of some sort," Wembanyama said of the blown lead postgame. "We clearly weren't the most hungry in the second half" 

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 11, 2026

Charles Barkley, meanwhile, had some choice words about the Spurs' second-half struggles.

Chuck: "We saw the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization...the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game by doing some of the stupidest ass stuff I've ever seen on the basketball court" https://t.co/ozynNRDRWh pic.twitter.com/GBASza0iBE

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) June 11, 2026

MORE: Where Knicks' comeback ranks among largest in playoff history

Victor Wembanyama's minutes catch up to him

Speaking of Wembanyama — the Spurs star looked like he had a massive advantage, and all the momentum, over the Knicks in the first half. He was aggressive, scored 16 points in the first two quarters and even signaled that he was in Mitchell Robinson's head before Robinson received a flagrant for elbowing Wembanyama in the jaw.

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 11, 2026

For the most part, Wembanyama has answered the recent concerns on whether the heavy minutes he's played in the playoffs are finally catching up to him, with the Spurs asking more from their center than he's ever proven capable of in his career so far. But in the second half, Wembanyama looked tired.

He finished with 44 minutes played and managed just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting in the second half, falling apart after looking dominant in the first half.

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 11, 2026

Lack of fourth-quarter offense

Specifically in the fourth quarter, the Spurs had no answers for the Knicks as they came back.

Overall, New York won the fourth quarter 32-16, dominating in all aspects. Wembanyama was missing almost all of his shots, and in crunch time with the home crowd getting fired up, De'Aaron Fox missed a step-back jumper around the five-minute mark, a 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining, an 18-foot jumper with 32 seconds remaining and had his fastbreak layup attempt blocked by OG Anunoby with 11 seconds remaining.

Fox, typically known for his clutch shot-making, was anything but clutch in Game 4. And with Wembanyama also struggling and the Knicks slowing down Dylan Harper's nice game (21 points), San Antonio had no reliable offense. 

Add in a costly turnover late in the game from Stephon Castle, who stepped out of bounds, and it was an all-out offensive mess.

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) June 11, 2026

MORE: Why Victor Wembanyama is at risk of suspension after latest flagrant foul

Allowing OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson to heat up

On the other end of the floor, Anunoby and Brunson played their games at the highest level possible in the second half.

Anunoby finished with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including seven-of-nine from deep. Brunson, meanwhile, remained relentless with his shot creation despite the huge deficit, finishing with 36 points on 12-of-25 shooting and seven assists.

Even in the NBA Finals, it could have been easy for the Knicks' stars to let up a bit, knowing it was getting unrealistic to pull off a comeback in Game 4. But Anunoby and Brunson kept attacking — and they continued cementing themselves as championship-level players because of it.

Once New York had cut its deficit into single digits, it appeared to be Brunson time. The "King of the Fourth Quarter" put on a show for the home fans in the clutch, first downing a 3-pointer over Wembanyama that cut the deficit to one point.

— ESPN (@espn) June 11, 2026

Not long after, he put up a floater that gave New York its first lead of the night. 

— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026

Victor Wembanyama's missed free throws

If there was one moment where Wembanyama could have salvaged his poor second half, still getting the Spurs across the finish line to even the series, it was at the free-throw line. 

With 1:47 remaining and the Knicks down by one following the Brunson 3-pointer, Wembanyama went to the line able to give San Antonio the lead right back. But instead of even tying the game, he missed both shots.

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 11, 2026

Those missed opportunities in a close game led to Brunson's go-ahead bucket, which, in turn, eventually led to Anunoby's clutch plays down the stretch. 

De'Aaron Fox's unnecessary fastbreak shot attempt

Perhaps the lasting question of the night for the Spurs was why, with under 15 seconds remaining, San Antonio up by one and Fox in possession of the ball after chasing it down into a fastbreak, he chose to take a layup instead of attempting to dribble time off the clock and force the Knicks to foul.

After a missed game-winner attempt from Brunson, Fox deflected the rebound into the backcourt, then chased it down as the fastest player on the floor. Once he was in possession, by slowing down and looking to draw a foul, he could have drawn free-throw attempts that, if made, could have put the Spurs up by two or three.

Instead, being on a fastbreak, Fox went for the layup attempt — but he miscalculated how easy it would be for Anunoby, one of the best wing defenders in the NBA, to get his hands on it. Anunoby blocked the shot off the glass, the Knicks grabbed the rebound, and they got off a timeout to set-up the go-ahead tip-in shot. 

DE’AARON FOX?! 😅 pic.twitter.com/038SSqjh5n

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 11, 2026

Postgame, Barkley ripped Fox for taking the shot.

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 11, 2026

Fox, meanwhile, told reporters plainly that he "thought [he'd] be able to outrun" Anunoby on the play.

Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper not boxing out OG Anunoby

Yet another huge mistake by San Antonio was allowing Anunoby to grab a rebound on Brunson's final shot.

After the Knicks' last timeout, naturally, Brunson was taking the opportunity for a game-winner. And for a moment, it appeared San Antonio's defense had done its job, with Wembanyama contesting a deep 3-point attempt from Brunson that missed off the front of the rim.

With under three seconds left, there was a moment where victory once again appeared imminent for the Spurs. But because Fox brought a double-team on Brunson, and Castle and Harper failed to box out a sprinting Anunoby on top of the other Knicks in the area, all it took was a push-shot off the miss from Anunoby to give New York the final lead of the game.

— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026

Failure to get shot off at buzzer

The final nail in the coffin for the Spurs — although their many other mistakes led to the moment — was their final after-timeout play with 1.2 seconds on the clock and the chance to win the game.

For a moment, Castle had a clear path to the bucket off a screen. But Harper's pass didn't go to the right spot, leaving Castle struggling to get a shot up vs. Josh Hart before the buzzer sounded.

Castle was so open pic.twitter.com/8uoN8OLXoN

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) June 11, 2026