Second-year San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle may have survived an injury scare during Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
With 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, Castle landed on Mikal Bridges‘ foot, following which he remained on the bench until he re-entered the game with 30.3 seconds left. It was uncharacteristic of Castle — who has logged the second-most minutes for the Spurs in the playoffs — to be off the court for most of the business end of the game.
After the Spurs’ 105-104 loss, head coach Mitch Johnson provided a positive update on Castle, confirming that the young guard did not sustain a severe injury.
“Right when he went out, I’m not sure, but when I checked on him with the training staff, he was available,” Johnson said of Castle.
Stephon Castle Injury Update
Castle also confirmed that he survived an injury scare.
“I was all right,” Castle said, via Sam Owens of San Antonio Express-News.
“I think I kind of tweaked my ankle a little bit. But it started to feel good after I warmed it up,” added the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year.
Castle finished with 14 points, four assists and four steals on 5-of-14 shooting, as the Spurs failed to level up the series against the Knicks. The young guard also committed four turnovers, including a costly mistake with 12.7 seconds left when he couldn’t catch a pass from Victor Wembanyama to initiate a fast break, leading to the ball bouncing off his back and into Jalen Brunson’s waiting hands.
Castle, Spurs Face Tall Task
Both Wemby and Castle admitted that their lack of communication led to the turnover that cost them the game.
“That’s the most frustrating thing: to throw it away after putting in all this work,” Wembanyama said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“I threw that one away. I messed up. It’s like the body reacts quicker than the mind. We needed to win that game. This game was ours. But at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and fuel us to the next game? Absolutely.”
Castle said he was focused on giving Wemby space to dribble up the court, and that he didn’t anticipate the Frenchman to throw the ball to him.
“I didn’t see him throw it to me,” he said.
“I see Vic has the ball, tie game. I was just trying to give Vic space.”
The Spurs are trying to become the first team ever to lose the first two home games in the NBA Finals and then rally to win it all. The two other previous teams — the 1993 Phoenix Suns and the 1995 Orlando Magic — both fell short of capturing the title.
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