How Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox delivered in crunch time for the Spurs in their Game 3 win vs. Knicks
NEW YORK - Victor Wembanyama is a year older than Stephon Castle, but the 22-year-old Frenchman views the 21-year-old Georgian as one of the Spurs' elder statesmen.
"He might be the most mature player on our team. And he's nowhere near the oldest," Wembanyama said.
Castle looked like a calm, battle-tested veteran in the final two minutes of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, hitting a 26-foot 3-pointer with just under two minutes left to give the Spurs a seven-point lead before sinking a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds left that clinched their 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
"He's been in big games before the NBA," Wembanyama said in a nod to Castle having helped Connecticut win the 2024 NCAA title. "He's shown over and over again that he's capable and that we are right to put our trust in him."
Castle finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Spurs avoided falling into a 3-0 hole.
"Whether we won or lost this game, the series wouldn't have been over for us," Castle said. "Obviously, it feels good to win, especially on the road after dropping two bad ones."
Castle wasn't the only guard to come up big in crunch time for the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox, a true veteran, made up for a tough shooting night by knocking down a 16-foot step-back jumper to give the Spurs a 113-108 lead with 12.2 seconds left.
"The trust, it's not even a question," Wembanyama said of Fox, who finished 4 of 14 from the field and 0 of 5 from beyond the arc on his way to 12 points and a game-high eight assists. "That's his identity, so the trust is just complete. We know (he's reliable). As reliable as they get."
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson agreed.
"De'Aaron's been one of the best closer in this league for the last, I don't know what it is, five to seven years," Johnson said. "He's been a great closer for us. We trust him with the basketball in his hands."
The Spurs feel the same way about Castle, who showed no fear when Wembanyama passed him the ball late in the shot clock after Jalen Brunson's 18-foot pull-up jumper pulled the Knicks within 108-104 with 2:22 left.
"I saw the clock the whole time," Castle said. "I was honestly getting ready to go and crash and try to rebound. Late clock, at that point in the game, you have to be alert, know the clock. I was just able to get enough space to get one off."
He showed the same calm when he stepped to the free-throw line after OG Anunoby's 3-pointer pulled New York within two points with 9.4 seconds left as the sellout crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden went wild.
"At that point, it's just you and the rim, honestly," Castle said of blocking out all the noise. "We work on pressure free throws, situations like that all the time."
"It's what big time players do," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
And mature ones.
"You kind of see it," Fox said of Castle's maturity. "His personality, his demeanor, that's the way he is. He's kind of always cool. That's just being young. But his game is definitely mature beyond his years. He was big for us. He hit a big three toward the end of the shot clock. Knocks down two big free throws for us. He's guarding his tail off the entire game.
"His game is as mature as it can be, especially at 21 years old."
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