De'Aaron Fox says he plans to play in pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday
Even with a fractured finger, was there ever any doubt that De’Aaron Fox would at least try to give it a go?
On Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings point guard spoke with reporters where he said that he plans to play in Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 matchup against the Golden State Warriors. The series is currently 2-2 after the Kings fell in Game 4 on Sunday, 126-125, which is when Fox suffered a fracture to the tip of the index finger on his left shooting hand.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts. I’m playing,” Fox said, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
Game 5 is set for Wednesday night in Sacramento at 10:00 p.m. EST on TNT.
The injury occurred during the middle of the fourth quarter in Game 4, Fox says, when a pair of Warriors players — Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins — swung at his hand on a drive to the rim. He then exacerbated the injury fracture shortly after when he clipped his finger on Warriors center Kevon Looney with 4:35 left in the game. Fox says the latter incident is when he truly felt the pain. Thanks to in-game adrenaline, he didn’t begin to sense the swelling until after the contest was over.
Fox — who recently won the NBA’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award and was a first-time All-Star this season — still finished Game 4 with 38 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in nearly 40 minutes played, even hitting a must-have triple with under 30 seconds left that cut Golden State’s lead to just one point despite dealing with the fractured finger.
In order to play in Game 5, Fox will wear a protective covering on his left index finger, which he believes shouldn’t be too difficult to play with. He went through Tuesday’s team shootaround with the splint on and got up plenty of jumpers. In Fox’s own words, the biggest thing for him about playing with the protective covering is being able to feel the ball on his fingertip.
Through his first four playoff outings, Fox has averaged 31.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 2.5 steals in 38.5 minutes per contest. The former Kentucky Wildcat is shooting 44.7 percent overall, 34.2 percent from distance, and 70.0 percent from the free throw line. His 126 total points rank him sixth all-time (in a tie with Anthony Davis) in league history for the most points scored through a player’s first four playoff games.
After winning Games 1 and 2 at home and then dropping Games 3 and 4 on the road, the Kings will look to take a commanding 3-2 lead on Wednesday night. Teams that win Game 5 with a series tied 2-2 go on to win a series over 80 percent of the time.
A chance to take out the defending NBA champions in the first round of the postseason will be on the line and Fox doesn’t intend on missing out on the opportunity.
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