BBNBA Playoffs: De'Aaron Fox shines in 4th quarter as Spurs advance

De’Aaron Fox put on his Superman cap Tuesday night.

Fox scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter of the (2) San Antonio Spurs’ 114-95 Game 5 win over the (7) Portland Trail Blazers. He shot 6-8 from the field in the final frame, hitting several timely shots that kept the Blazers from making a last-ditch comeback effort. The Spurs led by as many as 28 points in the third quarter before Portland cut it to single-digits in the fourth. But Fox, who won the NBA’s first-ever Clutch Player of the Year award back in 2023, had ice in his veins down the stretch.

If there was one knock on the Spurs going into the postseason, it would be the lack of playoff experience. Fox truly doesn’t have much of that himself (this was his first career playoff series win), but he’s at least been here before. And when his team needed a big shot to fall, they went to the former Kentucky Wildcat — not Victor Wembanyama, who still chipped in 17 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks. Having a go-to guy you can rely on in the clutch is necessary for making deep playoff runs. Fox stepped up as that guy in Game 5.

NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner Keldon Johnson added seven points and five rebounds for the Spurs. With the win, San Antonio takes the series 4-1 and advances to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Fox and Co. will get the winner of the (3) Denver Nuggets and (6) Minnesota Timberwolves next, a series that is currently 3-2 in favor of the Wolves.

Meanwhile, Portland’s 2025-26 season comes to an end. And it was not a good series for Shaedon Sharpe, who barely played against the Spurs. Sharpe came into the matchup having averaged 29.4 minutes per game in the regular season. He saw just 13.2 minutes per game against San Antonio, including a five-point performance in six minutes in Game 5. Sharpe just signed a four-year, $90 million contract with the franchise back in the fall.

Maxey and KAT come out on top

Over in the Eastern Conference, a couple of series were extended for at least one more game.

Tyrese Maxey dropped 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists for the (7) Philadelphia 76ers in a 113-97 road win against the (2) Boston Celtics. Joel Embiid, who had an emergency appendectomy less than three weeks ago, led the way with 33 points as Philly was able to make it a 3-2 series in favor of Boston. The 76ers will try to force a Game 7 when they return home for Game 6 on Thursday.

Karl-Anthony Towns also posted a double-double in his team’s victory, going for 16 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks in 34 minutes. That was more than enough to lead the (3) New York Knicks to an easy 126-97 win over the (6) Atlanta Hawks, making it a 3-2 series lead in favor of the Knickerbockers. Jalen Brunson poured in 39 points for good measure. New York can take the series with a Game 6 win on Thursday in Atlanta.

Tuesday night’s Playoff stats

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	113-97 W @ BOS	25	10-18 (3-10)	10	5	2	1	2	15	42
De’Aaron Fox (SAS)	114-95 W vs. POR	21	8-14 (2-5)	3	9	1	0	2	26	34
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	126-97 W vs. ATL	16	5-7 (1-3)	14	6	2	2	3	11	34
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	114-95 W vs. POR	7	3-8 (1-2)	5	1	0	0	2	2	18
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	114-95 L @ SAS	5	2-5 (1-2)	0	0	0	0	0	-7	6

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
7:00 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(8) Magic @ (1) Pistons	ORL leads 3-1
7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN	(5) Raptors (Quickley: out) @ (4) Cavaliers	Tied 2-2
10:00 p.m. ET | ESPN	(5) Rockets (Sheppard) @ (4) Lakers (Vanderbilt)	LAL leads 3-1

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