Stephon Castle and the San Antonio Spurs handled business in the Western Conference Semifinals, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-109 on Friday night to advance after winning the series, 4-2.
The former UConn champion was the driving force in the latest Spurs’ win, going off for 32 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win. It was a historic performance, as Castle became the youngest player ever with 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists, and five-plus three-pointers in a playoff game.
However, they’ll now face the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who just ousted LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers from the playoffs in a four-game sweep. OKC features an experienced roster, including the likely repeating NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
And while that could be daunting for a young team experiencing very early postseason success, Castle believes his team has what it takes to achieve an upset in the Western Conference Finals.
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“We’re not even thinking about that right now. I mean, the games ahead are totally different games. They’re rolling right now. They’ve won eight straight. They’re the defending champs. We know it’s gonna be tough to knock them off, but I think we’re pretty confident we can do it,” Castle told Prime’s Cassidy Hubbarth after the game.
The Spurs might not be on the impressive winning streak that Oklahoma City is on, but they’ve gone 8-3 in their playoff run. In the first round, they eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers, another young team that is making noise in the Western Conference, 4-1.
The keys to the Spurs’ success seem to be their former No. 1 pick, Victor Wembanyama, who has erupted with huge double-doubles throughout his career and is also known for racking up blocks.
However, Castle is emerging as a second star player on this Spurs roster, which, much like the Thunder, the front office seriously upgraded via draft picks over the past several years. Along with Castle and Wemby, they’ve added Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper through the NBA Draft.
While the Thunder are expecting the return of starter Jalen Williams for the series, something that bodes well for the Spurs is that they’ve been a team that has had OKC’s number in the regular season, going 4-1 against them.
They’ve had several double-digit wins over the Thunder, but the one loss, occurring on Jan. 13, was by 21 points at Oklahoma City. The reigning champs have homecourt advantage for the series, but San Antonio has proved they can win on opposing teams’ courts and seems ready for the challenge.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals arrives on Monday night from OKC, with many viewers ready to see if San Antonio’s young squad has what it takes to reach the NBA Finals.
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