Stephon Castle scored 32 points in a game when Victor Wembanyama needed only 12. That combination was more than enough for San Antonio to beat Golden State 123–85 Friday. Castle made 12 of his 18 shots, including five of eight threes, and produced his highest-scoring performance of the season. The Spurs had a backcourt answer the Warriors could not match.
Stephen Curry’s right oblique tear left Golden State without its central creator, while Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody also remained out. Those absences were substantial. San Antonio still deserves credit for the way it filled the scoresheet: Castle’s scoring came alongside Wembanyama’s 12 rebounds and six assists, rather than replacing every other contribution in the offense.
Castle’s night was not built on volume alone. He made two 23-foot 3-pointers before the first quarter reached its midpoint, then added another from 23 feet late in the period. He later hit from 25 feet in the second quarter and 27 feet in the third.
The scoring kept expanding beyond the perimeter: Castle finished with six assists and five rebounds, and his passing was part of San Antonio’s connection between its guards and Wembanyama.
Castle and Wembanyama also supplied points for one another. Castle assisted on Wembanyama’s dunk with 7:31 left in the first quarter. In the third, Wembanyama assisted Castle’s dunk at 7:25. That exchange complemented the guard’s outside shooting: San Antonio could get baskets from Castle’s jumpers and from his involvement with a teammate near the rim.
Wembanyama’s line was quieter as a scorer and louder everywhere else. He went 5 for 11, grabbed 12 rebounds, delivered six assists and blocked two shots in 21 minutes. He also helped San Antonio finish with 34 assists, compared with Golden State’s 23.
The Spurs had several ways to keep the offense moving: Keldon Johnson scored 18, Harrison Barnes added 11, and San Antonio made 46 field goals to the Warriors’ 31.
The interior totals show how much production surrounded Castle’s five threes. San Antonio scored 56 points in the paint to Golden State’s 28 and finished ahead 60–43 on the boards. The Spurs also had 21 fast-break points, compared with three for the Warriors. Castle’s efficient outside scoring was a major part of the result, but it came inside a much broader imbalance.
The scoreboard was already lopsided before anyone could reasonably discuss a late response. The Spurs led 38-14 after one quarter and 63-33 at halftime. Golden State shot 5 for 25 in the opening period and finished 31 for 93 overall, or 33 percent.
The Warriors did make 15 of 41 3-point attempts, a respectable 37 percent, but those shots were surrounded by too little else. A team cannot build a counterpunch entirely from the arc when its opponent is doubling its paint scoring.