Spurs’ Castle dazzles with a record-setting 40-point triple-double
SAN ANTONIO — For at least one night, Stephon Castle took the spotlight from Victor Wembanyama as San Antonio’s record-setting young star, scoring a career-high 42 points en route to his second career triple-double in the Spurs’ 138-125 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
“Best game of his career so far,” Wembanyama remarked. “It’s one of the most impressive stat lines I’ve witnessed firsthand.”
Castle became the youngest player in NBA history (21 years and 98 days) to achieve a 40-12-12 game, surpassing the previous record held by Oscar Robertson (22 years, 33 days), as reported by ESPN Research. Interestingly, the second-year player surpassed his former career high of 33 points, which he set exactly one year ago against the Charlotte Hornets.
“I don’t know, something about this day,” Castle said, grinning. “Having a game like this is definitely a dream realized. It felt great to be out there, feeling at ease with every shot I took and seeing them go in.”
Castle’s performance unfolded over 31 minutes and 51 seconds, marking the second-fewest minutes played in a 40-point triple-double since the 1970-71 season, when minutes began to be recorded, according to ESPN Research. James Harden (43-10-12) holds the record for the fewest minutes (29:34) played in a 40-point triple-double.
Castle’s 12 rebounds marked a season high, and he converted 78.9 percent of his attempts, becoming only the second player to achieve a 40-point triple-double while shooting 75% or better from the field, according to ESPN Research. Wilt Chamberlain accomplished this feat on three occasions.
“They defended him at times with their five and then at times with really low pickup points last game,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, whose team faced Dallas for the second time in three days. “We anticipated they might do that again. He began with two or three possessions that created advantages for his teammates. When you take that approach, it’s remarkable how often you end up benefiting from the advantages you create for others.”
“I thought he was absolutely outstanding all night with his pace, being in attack mode, and balancing everything simultaneously.”
Castle hit his first 10 shots and did not miss until 8:51 remained in the third quarter. He also recorded three steals and a block as San Antonio extended its winning streak to four games. The Spurs have now achieved their highest number of wins (36) before the All-Star break since the 2016-17 season.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s victory at Frost Bank Center, the sellout crowd of 18,617 raised their hands in celebration, eagerly waiting for Castle to strike a bass drum on the court while teammates took turns patting the guard on the head and hitting him with towels.
With a towel draped around his neck, Castle struck the drum.
Boom, boom.
Clap, the crowd responded.
“That was my first time,” Castle said. “I thought I did alright.”
Later in the locker room, Castle stood alone, wrapped in a towel, quietly contemplating the best performance of his young career. Now the ninth player in franchise history to achieve multiple triple-doubles, Castle wore a pair of red Air Jordan 40s for his memorable night against the Mavericks, designed to resemble the Air Jordan retro 14 Ferrari.
The shoes had vanished from the postgame locker room.
“You’ll never see them again,” Castle told ESPN. “I’m never wearing those again.”
