The Knicks made a 29-point comeback, which is the largest in NBA Finals history. However, most of the blame shifted to De’Aaron Fox after the game. Now, Kendrick Perkins has shared his opinion. 

With around 11 to 12 seconds left in the 4th quarter, the Spurs had a 106–105 lead. Instead of dribbling out the remaining time, Fox went for a layup. OG Anunoby sprinted back from behind and delivered a clutch block. Jalen Brunson missed a shot, but Anunoby tipped it in with 1.2 seconds left to win the game. 

Perkins joined ESPN's First Take on June 11 to address the situation and stated, “Everyone’s overreacting to that play… All we can say is hell of a job by OG Anunoby for not giving up…. Everybody is ready to point that one moment at Fox, I didn’t see nothing wrong with that.”

The analyst explained that Fox was moving at full speed and playing on pure instinct during a high-pressure Finals moment. It was a classic give-and-take situation where a guard relies on his speed to secure a bucket. 

Perkins argued that instead of blaming Fox, people need to give credit to the defense. Anunoby refused to quit on the play and made a winning move.

Anunoby finished the game with 33 points while shooting 10-of-15 from the field. He also hit 7-of-9 shots from beyond the three-point arc and bagged 4 rebounds. Perkins later even compared the pairing of Brunson and Anunoby to the legendary duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

The final possession only became a disaster because San Antonio let the game slip away long before those final seconds.

Why One Play Did Not Cost San Antonio the Game

The Spurs held a 29-point lead in the second half. They even set a new NBA Finals record by hitting 14 three-pointers in the first half alone. 

However, the team managed to score only 14 points in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth. 

Perkins shifted much of the blame onto Victor Wembanyama for disappearing when the pressure built. The young star finished the night shooting a poor 9-of-25 from the floor and just 2-of-8 from the three-point line. 

Wemby scored 4-of-7 from the free-throw line, including two crucial misses with less than two minutes remaining. Fox made some mistakes, but games are rarely won or lost on a single play.

New York capitalized on every single mistake. Brunson led all scorers with 36 points, while adding 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3  steals. With this win, the Knicks now hold a 3-1 lead in the series. 

What’s your take on who deserves the blame for this historic collapse?

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Written by

Utsav Sinha

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore