There were several plays in Wednesday's Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks that could have swung the outcome. One of the plays happened late in the fourth quarter when second-year Spurs guard Stephon Castle was called for stepping out of bounds on a drive along the baseline.
As Castle moved toward the basket with the Knicks ahead 105-14, he was guarded very physically by Josh Hart. In the L2M (Last Two-Minute) report, released on Thursday, the league acknowledged that the out-of-bounds call was incorrect.
"Hart (NYK) impedes Castle (SAS) on his drive as Castle is incorrectly called for committing an out-of-bounds violation," the report said.
Another play that fans wanted to know more details about was OG Anunoby's block on De'Aaron Fox. Some Spurs fans thought that Anunoby made contact with Fox when he contested the transition layup with 12 seconds left in the game. However, the league clarified that it was a correct non-call.
"Anunoby (NYK) makes a legal attempt to block Fox's (SAS) shot and dislodges the ball from his control before making incidental arm contact."
The Knicks won, 107-106, to take a 3-1 lead in the series, which returns to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET).
The Spurs Need Victor Wembanyama to Avoid Flagrant Fouls
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In Game 4, Wembanyama landed an elbow on Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and was assessed a flagrant-1 foul. This gives him a total of three flagrant foul points.
In the postseason, any player to reach four flagrant foul points will automatically receive a one-game suspension. San Antonio cannot afford to lose Wembanyama in the lineup, especially with the championship on the line. He's their best player on both ends, and they need him in order to have a chance.
Wembanyama received two flagrant foul points in the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He struck Timberwolves center Naz Reid's face with an elbow and was given a flagrant-2 foul.
In Game 3, the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year shoved Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to the ground but wasn't called for a foul. Fortunately for Wembanyama and the Spurs, the league did not upgrade it to a flagrant foul even after the play was reviewed.
