Castle, Wembanyama Miscommunication Costs Spurs in Game 2, Bueckers Shines in LA

Stephon Castle

After scoring 17 points in his NBA Finals debut, Stephon Castle netted 14 more points along with four assists but made a few crucial fourth quarter mistakes as the New York Knicks took Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals, 105-104 over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. 

Less than 30 seconds into the game, Castle makes a quick decision leading to a Devin Vassell open three-pointer.

Fast forward to the second period as Castle scored the first five points of the frame after knocking down a corner three-pointer in front of his own bench and then hitting two free throws to give the Spurs a 39-32 lead. However with 7:38 left in the second quarter, Steph picked up his third foul after falling for a Jose Alvarado shot fake. Castle left the game and did not return for the rest of the first half.

In the second half, the former Husky guard found Victor Wembanyama for an alley-oop dunk with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. A few minutes later, Castle knocked down his second three-pointer of the night then used a slick hesistation move to get past Jalen Brunson.

Castle contributed to consecutive Spurs scores early in the fourth quarter, setting up a Wembanyama three-pointer and then throwing down a dunk to bring San Antonio within seven points, 87-80 with 10:11 left. The 2024 National Champion has scored double-digits in all 20 postseason games.

However, the final nine plus minutes of Game 2 were a struggle for Castle as the second-year guard turned it over two times, including one that immediately turned into two points off a Brunson layup in transition. On the following possession, Castle forced a jumper while attempting to draw a foul but came up empty and appeared to be limping after the shot.

With 6:45 to play, Castle exited the game and the Spurs went on a 14-0 run to tie the game at 97 with under three minutes left.

Castle returned to the floor with 30.3 seconds left with the game tied at 104. After Wembanyma missed a potential go-ahead jumper, Brunson also could not convert a jumper with just above 10 seconds left. Wembanyama secured the rebound, but a miscommunication followed as he threw a pass towards Castle, but he was not looking. The ball went out of bounds, giving the Knicks another opportunity. Moments later, Brunson was fouled and split a pair of free throws to put New York ahead by one. The Spurs had one final chance, but Wembanyama missed another potential game-winning jumper as time expired.

The Knicks have now won 13 consecutive postseason games and will go back to New York with a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 will be on Monday night at 8:30pm ET on ABC.

Paige Buckers/Azzi Fudd

Paige Bueckers showed out in Los Angeles on Friday night after scoring 18 points and dishing out a Dallas Wings career-high 14 assists, while committing just one turnover, in the Wings’ 104-96 victory against the LA Sparks in a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup matchup. It’s Buecker’s first double-double of the season and third of her career as the 14 assists tied a Wings single-game franchise record.

Four of those assists went to Azzi Fudd, who scored 11 points, including three right here.

Bueckers on her 14-assist night, “Just trying to get everyone involved. Make sure everyone is eating, making sure everyone is getting touches… we just have a group of fighters… and we just want to keep building, we don’t want to be complacent with where we are.” 

10 of Bueckers’ 14 assists came in the first half, including six in the opening quarter, as the Wings extended their win streak to a season-high four games and moved to 7-3, the second-best record in the WNBA. 

Azura Stevens

In the fifth game of her season, Azura Stevens delivered her best performance of the 2026 campaign. She recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Chicago Sky’s 85-80 win against the Connecticut Sun in a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup contest. Stevens got the Sky off the right foot by scoring seven of those 13 points in the first quarter. The victory marked the Sky’s first home win of the season in five attempts and improved to 4-6 on the year.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored two points and grabbed three rebounds while Aaliyah Edwards did not play (concussion protocol) for the Sun who dropped to 2-10.

Serah Williams

Did not play due to a coach’s decision in the Portland Fire’s 78-72 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night. The Fire are now 6-6 on the season.

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