San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson is standing behind point guard De'Aaron Fox following his rough performance against the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
"I don't get into social media," Johnson told reporters Friday, including ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "I think I've been fired 212 times, and we've traded Fox 72 times. People have their opinions. I don't care. I care what the people that matter - in our building, our organization, in that locker room - that they know how I feel.
"De'Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence he's going to deliver like he's done countless times for us."
Fox scored 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go along with four turnovers Wednesday, which marked the third time in four games that he's shot below 40% from the field.
The two-time All-Star was particularly ineffective down the stretch, tallying only three points on 1-of-5 shooting as well as a minus-12 rating in the fourth quarter.
Fox was also heavily scrutinized for his controversial decision to attempt a transition layup with 12 seconds remaining instead of dribbling out a portion of the clock before being fouled. His shot was blocked by Knicks wing OG Anunoby, who moments later provided a dramatic go-ahead tip-in to cap New York's historic 29-point comeback win.
Fox says he hasn't paid attention to the criticism and is only focused on the task ahead.
"It's not like people have my phone number and can call me," Fox said. "I don't watch those shows. It doesn't matter. It is what it is. Can't change it now. It is what it is. We're trying to move on from that, continue to learn from the mistakes we made, how we lost the lead, finished the game poorly. We think about the next game."
The Spurs are looking to become just the second team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals.
Game 5 takes place Saturday in San Antonio at 8:30 p.m. ET.
