Castle, Clingan each Show Out Against Kevin Durant, Rockets, Thompson Extends Point Streak
Stephon Castle
A few weeks ago, Stephon Castle put the NBA world on notice for his defensive clinic against MVP candidate Cade Cunningham. You might remember this Cade-Steph interaction:
Well there were no extra circular stuff in Thursday night’s matchup between the two standout guards, however, Castle got the better of Cunningham by not only forcing these two air balls:
But by recording his second straight and 11th double-double of the season in the Spurs 121-106 victory. Castle scored 11 points while dishing out 12 assists, two steals and one block. Then on Sunday night, Castle notched his first 20 plus point performance since February 19th after scoring 23 points on 7-of-13 including 3-of-4 from three and 6-of-7 at the free throw line against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. It is the sixth time this season Castle has made at least three three-pointers in a game.
Donovan Clingan
Castle wasn’t the only former Husky to individually dominate Durant and the Rockets as Clingan recorded his 25th double-double of the season in the Trail Blazers 106-99 loss at the Rockets on Friday night. DC collected 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 1-of-4 from three and 7-of-11 from the free throw line while bringing down 13 rebounds in 25 minutes of work. The last UConn player to post 25 double-doubles in an NBA season was Andre Drummond, who recorded 28 during the 2020–2021 NBA season while playing for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clingan nearly picked up double-double number 26 on the season on Sunday in the Blazers 131-111 win over the Indiana Pacers. The 2x National Champion scored nine points with 11 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.
With just over a month left in the regular season, the Trail Blazers have a 6.5 game lead over Cam Spencer and the Grizzlies for the 10th and final Western Conference playoff spot.
Tage Thompson vs Matthew Wood
Saturday featured a Husky versus Husky matchup, on the ice. As Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres hosted Matthew Wood and the Nashville Predators. Both former Ice Bus members each scored a goal. Thompson netted his 34th goal of the season in the second period to extend the Sabres lead to 2-0. Wood recorded his 13th goal of the year after converting on a power-play opportunity in the third period to cut the deficit to 3–2, which ended up being the final score.
On Sunday, Tage Thompson extended his point streak to a career-best 11 games after dishing out a career-high four assists in a wild 8–7 Sabres victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win extended the Sabres’ winning streak to seven games and capitulated them into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Cam Spencer
Spencer pitched in 12 points and four assists off the bench in the Memphis Grizzlies 123-120 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. It is the 36th time in 60 games this season that Spencer has knocked down at least two three-pointers in a game.
Spencer was on the floor for the Grizzlies’ final chance to tie the game. With Memphis down three, he checked back in with 4.4 seconds left as the inbounder. He found Ty Jerome, who missed a contested fadeaway three-pointer. Spencer grabbed the rebound in the paint and looked to pass it back out for another shot to tie it, but the game clock had expired.
Tristen Newton (G League)
Newton contributed in a number of ways on the offensive end over the weekend.
First on this setback jumper:
Then on this crafty drive:
Or how about this behind-the-back pass:
Newton scored 29 points with eight rebounds and four assists on Friday night in the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets G League affiliate) 128-120 loss to the Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors G League affiliate). The 2024 Bob Cousy Award winner followed that performance up with 22 points. four rebounds and eight assists on Sunday in the Vipers 137-100 win over the Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls G League affiliate).
Over his last six games, Newton is averaging exactly his season average of 25.3 points per game while shooting 45-of-84 from the field (53.6%). His 25.3 points per game ranks fourth best in the G League.
Liam McNeeley (G League)
On Friday, McNeeley recorded his ninth 20-plus-point performance of the season, scoring 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in 26 minutes during the Greensboro Swarm’s (Charlotte Hornets G League affiliate) 117–115 loss to the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets G League affiliate). The very next night, McNeeley posted G League season low in both points (5) and minutes played (12) in the Swarm’s 133-118 defeat to the Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons G League affiliate). It is unclear why McNeeley was limited to just 12 minutes. The Swarm’s next game is set for Tuesday March 10th.
James Bouknight (G League)
Bouknight continued his double-digit point streak going as the former Husky star has scored at least 10 points in all 40 of his games played this season for the Mexico City Capitanes (No NBA affilate). He scored 20 points on Friday night and 11 more on Saturday as the Capitanes have won four games in a row. The three-ball is certainly helping that streak stay alive, as Bouknight has made at least one three-pointer in 39 of 40 games, including 35 games with at least two made threes.
Tyrese Martin
Martin did not play in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 125–116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks this past Saturday due to a coach’s decision. Although the DNP could be part of a strategy by the Philadelphia coaching staff, Martin’s two-way contract allows him to play in only 11 of the final 19 76ers games. As a result, seeing Martin not check in against the Hawks isn’t a total shock. It also wouldn’t be surprising if he is sent back down to the 76ers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, to help maximize his availability for Philadelphia.
The 76ers next game is Monday night at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Follow HuskyPros/X for all the latest updates on your favorite Huskies in the Pros!
