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Kornet’s 4th-quarter block on Hartenstein is one that the Spurs will savor for a long time

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Luke Kornet’s final line from Game 7 of the Western Conference finals: six minutes, 0-for-3 shooting, two points, four rebounds.

Oh, and a block.

A block that will forever live in San Antonio Spurs lore.

The Spurs led the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-91 with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, and had just turned the ball over near midcourt. Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein drove down the right side and was about to try a dunk when Kornet, chasing the play, met him at the basket.

Kornet got the block and the building didn’t get the explosion of sound that the dunk would have brought. The Thunder never got any closer, and the Spurs went on to win 111-103 to earn a spot in the NBA Finals.

“Biggest play of the game,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.

If Hartenstein gets the dunk, does the game change? Nobody will ever know, thanks to Kornet and the play he made.

“Luke, he’s been there, he’s seen it, and he makes winning plays every game,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I mean, none of them are to the magnitude of that one.”

Kornet checked out of the game not long afterward; when he got to the bench about a dozen Spurs reserves and staffers were waiting with bear hugs, celebratory punches and shoves and who knows what else. He breathed a ton of life into the Spurs contingent, and they rode that wave all the way to the final horn.

Someone from the bench, Kornet said, compared his block to LeBron James’ chasedown block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

“Let’s see which one has more staying power in the record books or history or whatever,” Kornet said.

OK, so maybe it wasn’t quite that big.

It was still sensational — and one that had the Spurs marveling long into the night.

“That was big,” Spurs center Victor Wembanyama said. “So many big-time plays, so many guys stepping up, oh my God. It’s an unreal chance. My life is amazing and being with these guys, living these things with these guys that I love so, so, so much, it’s amazing.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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