Castle Early and Late Game Heroics Lead Spurs to Game 3 NBA Finals Victory

Stephon Castle

When Stephon Castle made his UConn-Madison Square Garden debut back on February 3rd, 2024, he scored a career-high 21 points to help lead the No. 1 Huskies to a 77-64 against the St. John’s Red Storm. On Monday night, Castle took center stage in his MSG-NBA Finals debut in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd that had not seen an NBA Finals game in nearly three decades. The former Husky guard put on quite the opening act, scoring 18 points in the first half, and like any great performer, finished it off with an epic closing performance by posting five clutch points in the final two minutes to help the San Antonio Spurs secure Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, 115-111 against the New York Knicks.

Castle accounted for 13 of the Spurs first 19 points including three assists to Victor Wembanyma. The former Husky guard's first bucket of the night came off a nice hesitation move while driving to the basket.

He then connected on his first three-pointer of the night to give the Spurs an early 14-5 lead with 8:33 left in the first quarter. A minute later, Castle made a tough jumper over a former Villanova star.

With 9:34 remaining in the second quarter, Castle snuck a layup past Karl Anthony Towns to start the game 4-of-4 from the field and extend the Spurs lead to 40-30. Castle converted three more layups in the period, including this and-one finish, to give the Spurs a 45–40 lead. 

Overall, Steph made seven of his first eight shots, but did not score another basket until just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but boy was it a big one.

Castle got the signature ESPN Play-by-Play Commentator Mike Breen call, “Bang!” to put the Spurs up seven with 1:53 left in the game. The Knicks made a run and cut the deficit to two but had to foul Castle with 6.8 seconds remaining to try and extend the game. The second-year guard calmly made both free throws to put the game on ice and give the Spurs their first NBA Finals win since 2014.

Steph finished the game with 23 points, his fifth 20+ point game so far this postseason.

The Knicks now lead the series 2-1 as basketball fans anxiously await Game 4 on Wednesday night at 8:30pm ET on ABC.

Breanna Stewart

On Saturday, Breanna Stewart wanted to make sure her New York Liberty team ended their seven-game home stand on a high note. The Liberty trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half against the Indiana Fever, but Stewie scored 23 of her 30 points after halftime to lead the Liberty to an 83-75 home win.

The four-time National Champion made just six shots from the field, but converted 18-of-21 free throws along with eight rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes. She made a pair of free throws to give the Liberty a 68-66 lead with four minutes to play. Following a Fever bucket that tied the game, she made two more free throws to give New York a two-point lead at 70-68 with 3:36 left.

It's Stewart's second 30-plus-point game of the season and the 32nd of her career. 

Stewie had an impressive encore performance on Monday night when she scored a game-high 28 points in a 89-80 Liberty win at the Connecticut Sun inside the Mohegan Sun. Stewart made another nine free throws while also bringing down nine rebounds with three assists and three steals.

She wasn't the only former Husky in double-digits as both Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa each scored a season-high 15 points for the Sun. Edwards, who returned to the lineup after missing the last three games due to a concussion, started and played a season-high 28 minutes. While Nelson-Ododa did not miss a shot in six attempts and converted three of four free throws and brought down eight boards.

The Liberty have now won a season-high five games in a row and are 8-4 on the year, while the Sun dropped to 2-11 on the season.

Gabby Williams

The back-to-back National Champion scored a career-high 27 points in the Golden State Valkyries’ 84-79 loss against the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. The former Husky shot 10-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. She also accounted for six rebounds and two rebounds. Williams, a first-time WNBA All-Star last season, leads the Valkyries in points per game (14.5) and steals per game (1.6), and is ranked second in assists per game (2.5) and has really found her stroke from behind the arc. 

The seven-year veteran made a career-high 50 three-pointers last season, surpassing her previous career best of 20 set during the 2020 season. This year, Williams is already 23-for-60 (38.3%) from three-point range through the first 11 games of the season. Williams' 23 made triples rank second on the team as the Valkyries lead the WNBA with 135 made threes.

Kiah Stokes scored two points and grabbed four rebounds in her return to Las Vegas.

Tiffany Hayes scored five points with three rebounds and three assists while Kaitlyn Chen did not score in six minutes of action. Golden State dropped to 6-5 on the season

Azura Stevens vs Kia Nurse

Azura Stevens recorded her second straight double-double after scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Chicago Sky’s 85-68 loss to the Toronto Tempo on Sunday. Stevens also recorded a milestone block:

Kia Nurse scored two points behind two free throws in nine minutes as the Sky fell to 4-7 while the Tempo improved to 6-5 on the season.

Stefanie Dolson (Seattle Storm)

• SATURDAY: 6 points (2-3 FG, 2-3 3-FG), 4 rebounds in 20 minutes. The Storm lost to the Minnesota Lynx 88-68.
• MONDAY: 3 points (1-3 FG, 1-2 3-FG), 2 assists, 1 block in 16 minutes. The Storm lost to the Las Vegas Aces 101-91. 

Katie Lou Samuelson (Seattle Storm)

• SATURDAY: 0 points (0-4 FG, 0-2 3-FG), 2 rebounds, 1 steal in 18 minutes. The Storm fell to the Minnesota Lynx 88-68.
• MONDAY: 7 points (3-6 FG, 1-4 3-FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists in 20 minutes. The Storm lost to the Las Vegas Aces 101-91.

Serah Williams (Portland Fire)

• SUNDAY: DNP (Illness)--Missed last two games

Naphessa Collier/Dorka Juhasz

This past Wednesday, Minnesota Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve said that Naphessa Collier is “doing basketball things” but has not been cleared for team-related activities. Collier, who had surgery on her left ankle this past March 24th, was hopeful to return in early June. However, the 5x WNBA All-Star still does not have a timeline for her return to the court.

Dorka Juhasz (right mid-foot strain) has also yet to suit up for the Lynx this season.  There is currently no timeline for her return to the court as well.

The Lynx are currently in first place in the WNBA with a 9-2 record.

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