San Antonio — Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle made franchise history Wednesday night, but their rare achievement could not keep the San Antonio Spurs from a 125-120 home loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Wembanyama finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, while Castle collected 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. According to ESPN Research, they are only the fifth pair of NBA teammates ever to record 20-point triple-doubles in the same game and the first Spurs duo to do so. No previous team had produced such a stat line in a defeat.
The milestones came in the closing seconds. Castle secured his 10th rebound with 5.4 seconds remaining. Four seconds later, Wembanyama, sitting on nine assists, launched a full-court inbounds pass that Castle banked in with 0.2 seconds left, sealing both triple-doubles.
“I was thinking about it, of course,” Wembanyama said of the final heave. “I don’t even remember the score, but I think it was the right decision.”
Castle, a second-year guard, notched the first triple-double of his career and has dished at least 10 assists in four straight games. “Obviously, we wanted to win,” he said. “But it’s something great to be part of.”
Golden State’s Stephen Curry spoiled the celebration, pouring in a game-high 46 points as the Warriors hit 21 three-pointers. The visitors erased a 16-point first-half deficit and led by 10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama also committed eight turnovers, one shy of his career high. Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson praised his young stars but urged consistency. “We’re doing a lot of good things,” Johnson said. “We just have to navigate the peaks and valleys and avoid the lows.”
Source: ESPN
