Castle Puts on a Show against Spencer, Newton and Martin Break Out in the G League

Stephon Castle/Cam Spencer

On Monday against the Miami Heat, Castle returned to the starting lineup after missing two straight games due to a hip injury and the former Husky came back with authority. Castle scored 19 points on just nine shots (4-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 9-of-10 from the free throw line) along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in 23 minutes, helping the San Antonio Spurs to a 136-111 victory.

Then on Wednesday, Castle threw down a couple of different dunks with former a Husky teammate, sort of involved.

On the first dunk, Cam Spencer wisely stayed out of the way as Castle finished with what’s becoming a familiar sight on his breakaways, a windmill dunk. Then, after Spencer failed to get in front of Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year threw down arguably the best dunk of his career, with Taylor Hendricks paying the price. Castle finished with 15 points and nine assists, while Spencer struggled offensively, scoring just one point on 0-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-2 from three. He did, however, record seven assists in 30 minutes as the Spurs rolled past the Memphis Grizzlies, 123–98.

Spencer has struggled recently, scoring just one point over his last two games while shooting 0-of-13 from the field, including 0-of-6 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Castle and the Spurs have won seven games in a row and are 22-3 since February 1st.

Tristen Newton (G League)

Tristen Newton has had numerous standout scoring performances throughout his G League career, but none bigger than his 43-point performance on Tuesday, leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets’ G League affiliate) to a 120–105 win over the Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder’s G League affiliate). Newton shot 13-of-24 from the field, including 8-of-16 from three and 5-of-5 from the free throw line in 43 minutes of work. It’s the second 40-plus point game of the season for Newton. His previous career-high was 41 points, which he scored back on December 20th while playing for the Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves’ G League affiliate).

Tyrese Martin (G League)

I’m not sure if Tyrese Martin will make the Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff roster, but he is certainly making a strong case whenever given the opportunity. On Monday, the 2022 2nd round pick scored two points in just four minutes in the 76ers 123-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But that’s not what, hopefully. opened the eyes of the 76ers coaching staff and front office.

After the loss to the Thunder, Martin was sent back down to the Delaware Blue Coats (76ers' G League affiliate) and on Wednesday scored a career-high 45 points in just his third G League game of the year. Martin connected on 17 of 30 field-goal attempts, drained 10 of 16 from beyond the arc, and went 1-of-1 from the line. The 17 field goals and 10 three-pointers are both career-highs.

Martin has seen limited action on an NBA floor with the 76ers because he only has four games remaining on his two-way contract. Once those games are used, the 76ers will need to decide whether to keep Martin as a full-time G League player or sign him to a standard NBA contract, which could secure his spot on the playoff roster.

Liam McNeeley

Just one day after scoring a G League career-high 33 points, the Charlotte Hornets recalled Liam McNeeley from the Greensboro Swarm on Monday. McNeeley has often bounced back and forth between Charlotte and Greensboro this season, including recent call-ups to rehab an ongoing left ankle sprain. However, this time, a healthy McNeeley returned to an NBA floor on Tuesday for the first time in nearly two months. The headband-less rookie scored seven points on 2-of-3 shooting, including 1-of-1 from three and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, while grabbing six rebounds in 10 minutes during the Hornets’ 134–90 home victory against the Sacramento Kings. It is worth noting that McNeeley checked in with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game when the Hornets led by 42, but it was still great to see him back on an NBA court.

Meanwhile, the Hornets have continued their franchise-changing momentum season, winning four games in a row and 12 of their last 15. They are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 38–34 record, the same as the Orlando Magic and just half a game behind the Miami Heat.  

Donovan Clingan

On Monday, Clingan’s career-best streak of seven consecutive double-doubles came to an end in the Trail Blazers’ 134–99 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The second-year big posted seven points and 15 rebounds, while also blocking seven shots in 24 minutes of action.

Clingan didn’t waste any time recording another double-double, as in the Blazers’ very next outing, he scored 14 points with 15 rebounds to notch his 33rd double-double of the season in a 130-99 win over Andre Jackson Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks. It was an all-around complete game for DC, who also added three assists, four steals, and two blocks in 25 minutes.

One interesting Clingan nugget: Donovan Clingan and Victor Wembanyama are the only two players in the NBA who rank among the league leaders in both rebounds and blocks per game.

Andre Jackson Jr.

The 2023 National Champion delivered one of his best performances of the season on Monday, recording a season-high six assists along with four rebounds and three points, behind a three-pointer, in 16 minutes during the Milwaukee Bucks’ 129–96 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The 16 minutes were the most Jackson Jr. has played in a game this season since he logged a season-high 29 minutes on November 22nd. Meanwhile, his six assists were the most he had recorded since April 23rd, 2024, in Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, when he totaled seven assists.

Perhaps that perforamnce earned Jackson Jr. more minutes because on Wednesday against Clingan and the Blazers as the third year-guard contributed a season-high eight points, three rebounds and tied a career-high four steals in 21 minutes. Three of those eight points came on this three-pointer over Clingan:

James Bouknight (G League)

After scoring 15 points on Tuesday against the Valley Suns (the Phoenix Suns’ G League affiliate), Bouknight managed just seven points on Wednesday against the same team. This marks the first time all season that Bouknight has scored in single digits in 47 games played.

Tage Thompson

Thompson recorded two assists in the Buffalo Sabres’ 4–3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Those two assists were his most in a single game since he set a career-high with four assists on March 8th against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Matthew Wood

Wood scored his 16th goal of the season in the Nashville Predators’ 6–3 home victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. It’s the rookie’s sixth goal of the month, matching his previous season-high for goals in a single month, which he also achieved in December.

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