Stephon Castle posts triple-double, Spurs cruise past Bucks
Stephon Castle amassed his fourth triple-double of the season and was among seven teammates in double-figure scoring, as the visiting San Antonio Spurs cruised to their eighth straight win via a 127-95 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon.
The Spurs (56-18) were victorious for the 13th time in their past 14 games and remain hot on the heels of Oklahoma City for both the top seed in the West and the best record in the league. San Antonio is two games back of the defending champion Thunder with eight contests left to play.
San Antonio ran off to a 28-point lead late in the second quarter, led by 22 at halftime and by 23 heading into the fourth period after repelling a tepid rally from the Bucks. The Spurs swept a three-game road trip to Miami, Memphis, and Milwaukee by at least 25 points in each victory.
Castle finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson added 16 points each. Dylan Harper scored 14, De'Aaron Fox hit for 12, and Julian Champagnie had 11 in the win.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 18 points to lead the Bucks, who played without Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee) for the sixth straight game. Myles Turner had 15, Ryan Rollins and Ousmane Dang hit for 12 each, Andre Jackson Jr. tallied 11, and Jericho Sims racked up 10 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee (29-44).
The Spurs sprinted away from an 11-9 lead with a 10-2 run capped by Champagnie's 3-pointer at the 5:32 mark that granted San Antonio a 13-point advantage. A Sims layup with two seconds left in the first quarter allowed the Bucks to stay within 37-24.
San Antonio pushed the lead to 28 points after Wembanyama's layup with 1:57 left in the second period before the Bucks got a basket by AJ Green and then a 3-pointer from Trent to trim their deficit to 67-45 at the break.
Castle's tremendous first half (15 points, six rebounds, and six assists) paced the Spurs while Harper and Vassell added 10 points each before halftime. Trent had 11 points in the first half to lead the Bucks.
Milwaukee came out with purpose after halftime, drawing to within 71-58 when Pete Nance canned a 3-pointer three minutes into the third quarter. But the rally was short-lived as San Antonio swung back, building the margin back to 25 points after Harrison Barnes' jumper from beyond the arc with 2:32 to play in the period.