Highlights: Stephon Castle drops career-high 33 in thriller vs Hornets

02/08/2025 01:15 PM

The rookie decided to lead a comeback attempt by having his best game of the season off the bench.

Coming off a thrilling win against the Atlanta Hawks this past Wednesday, the Spurs traveled to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. The Hornets are short-handed due to several injuries and pending trades, but that did not matter one bit. The Spurs got off to a slow start in the first, falling behind 34-22. After falling behind by as much as 19, the Spurs found themselves down by 12 at halftime, and down by 11 at the end of the third. In the fourth quarter, the Spurs made a comeback. Tied at 144 apiece, De'Aaron Fox hit a clutch jumper with 7.9 seconds left to take the lead. Unfortunately, on the next possession, LaMelo Ball fought his way into the paint and drew three defenders, leaving Miles Bridges wide open in the corner for the go-ahead three. With just 1.4 seconds left, De'Aaron Fox hit a three after the buzzer sounded. The Spurs lost 117-116.

Stephon Castle had himself a career night! He dropped a career-high 33 points (10-15 FG) (10-11 FT), four rebounds and two assists. It feels like he took going back to the bench personally. Steph was in attack mode from the start, and for a moment he was carrying the Spurs on his back in sparking the comeback. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for Mitch Johnson and company.

ALLEY-OOP! On the fastbreak, Jeremy Sochan finds Steph for the lob connection!

Another look? Why not?

Steph dropped 16 of his 33 in the first half alone!

AND-ONE! After grabbing the rebound, Devin Vassell threw a dime to Steph who was already waiting at the basket for the and-one finish!

De'Aaron Fox had another great game for the Silver and Black: 22 points, six assists, four steals, and two rebounds. Besides Steph, De'Aaron also was anchoring the Spurs comeback. He was especially clutch in the end, even if the last shot didn't count. Looking forward to more opportunities for him in clutch time.

'Scuse me! De'Aaron gets Nick Smith Jr. in the air, and steps through for a wide-open floater!

CLUTCH. De'Aaron puts Moussa Diabate on skates for the go-ahead jumper with 7.9 seconds left.

Victor Wembanyama dropped a double-double: 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five blocks and three assists. One thing Wemby and the Spurs training staff need to work on in the offseason is conditioning. He seemed gassed on both defense and offense again, but this time he swatted five shots. Hopefully, he plays like he's at 100% soon because it hasn't looked like December Wemby.

Too easy. Harrison Barnes finds an open Wemby inside for the easy and-one slam!

NOPE. Wemby swats Smith Jr.'s layup attempt out of bounds!

Silky smooth. Wemby shoots over Miles Bridges for the tough middy!

Simply ridiculous! Wemby not only rejects DaQuan Jeffries, he palms the basketball WITHOUT JUMPING! Also, it resulted in a Barnes layup!

Devin Vassell overcame a slow start to drop 15 points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Despite shooting 5 of 13 overall, Dev made some clutch plays in the fourth. He was also a +19 which was the highest of any Spur who played.

POSTER ALERT! Dev beats Tidjane Salun off the dribble and POSTERIZES Bridges!

SNIPER! One of the Dev's four threes came in a crucial point in the fourth quarter!

Jeremy Sochan dropped a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He also dropped two dimes. Jeremy has had to play the backup center role due to Charles Bassey's injury, and he's made the most of it. Although, it feels like his best minutes are when Wemby is also on the court.

After lobbing to Castle earlier, Jeremy gets in perfect position for the wide-open jam under the basket!

Chris Paul dropped six points, seven assists, and a steal. Solid production, but sooner or later he might have to come off the bench for Castle to better suit the team's defense. He nailed two threes in the game, including this walk-in three over Smith Jr.

Despite the valiant comeback attempt, this was one of the worst losses of the season. Losing to a tanking and shorthanded Hornets team is inexcusable. If it weren't for Fox and especially Castle, this team would have gotten blown out. It was already said earlier, but Mitch Johnson might have to have a tough conversation with CP3 soon.

Finally, here are the full game highlights.

The Spurs take on the Orlando Magic at the KIA Center later tonight at 6:00 P.M. (CST) on FDSN-SW.