'That's BS,' De'Aaron Fox Reveals Gregg Popovich's Message to Spurs After Game 3 Loss to Thunder
The San Antonio Spurs lost Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in blowout fashion to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but responded well with a dominant Game 4 win to tie the series.
The big performance on Sunday came after legendary former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich lit a fire under the team, according to De'Aaron Fox.
"We lost Game 3. Pop's been around throughout the course of the season, but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like 'Nah, that's BS, that's not how we play basketball,'" Fox said on the NBC postgame show. "And obviously, he had some choice words for us. That was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt. Everybody felt that."
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The first two games of the Western Conference Finals were hard-fought battles, but the Thunder walloped San Antonio in Game 3, 123-108, after an outstanding performance from their bench unit.
That game perhaps had some thinking that OKC was preparing to run away with the series, but the Spurs quickly shifted the momentum on Sunday. Behind a 33-point night from Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio trounced the Thunder 103-82 in Game 4.
It was the first time this postseason that Oklahoma City hadn't eclipsed 100 points. Its previous lowest-scoring game saw the Thunder score 108 points.
"We had never been in this kind of situation before," Wembanyama told reporters. "It was our first deficit in a playoff series, and we just responded. It was nothing amazing, it wasn't magic, we just did what we needed to do. And the series is far from over. We got 6 more wins before we can rest."
The Spurs have managed to expedite their rebuild and have gone from being one of the worst teams in the league to being on the brink of a Finals appearance. Obviously, having a talented roster highlighted by Wembanyama helps, but the fact that one of the NBA's greatest coaches is around the building every day gives San Antonio a unique edge.
The Spurs will look to continue leaning on the advice of Popovich moving forward as they seek their first title since 2024.
