Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper are expected to be “ready to go” Sunday for Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder after both played through injuries in Friday’s 123-108 loss.
For Game 4, the question for the Spurs isn’t whether De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper can help—it’s whether they can help without breaking down again.
On Saturday. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said both guards were expected to be “ready to go” when the Spurs host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. The timing matters because Friday night didn’t end the way you want it to when you’re counting on bodies holding up for a best-of-seven series.
Fox returned for Friday’s Game 3 after missing the first two games with a sprained right ankle left over from the second-round series with Minnesota. In the 123-108 loss, he finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes. Johnson said Fox wasn’t simply back—he was fighting through another setback. re-injuring the ankle late in the third quarter before returning in the fourth.
Harper’s night followed a similar script, just with a different injury. Like Fox. he was a game-time decision Friday after suffering a right adductor injury that sent him to an early shower in the second half of Game 2. In Game 3, Harper played 17 minutes and finished with six points, three rebounds and two assists.
Johnson praised the way both played through pain, even as he acknowledged they weren’t fully at 100 percent. “They finished the game on their own accord,” Johnson said. “I took them out (late in the fourth quarter), so that’s a plus, and as of now we expect them to be ready to go.”
The coaching staff and the rest of the team applauded the effort. a reaction Johnson linked directly to the fact that neither player came out because they were done—they came out because the game demanded it. “Those guys are giving us all they got and I commend them. tip my cap because they’re competing their ass off and they’re not 100 percent. ” Johnson said. “And I would say that’s probably hopefully where we hope it to kind of be until it’s not.”.
There’s a stark reminder of what’s at stake in those injuries and that follow-through: Friday’s loss left the Thunder with a 2-1 lead in the series. and Game 4 now comes down to whether Fox and Harper can start strong enough—and stay strong enough—to keep the Spurs alive in the Western Conference finals.
Mitch Johnson Spurs De'Aaron Fox Dylan Harper Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference finals Game 4 sprained right ankle right adductor injury De'Aaron Fox 15 points seven rebounds six assists