Spurs’ Wembanyama, Castle Make NBA History with Simultaneous Triple-Doubles in Loss
SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle etched thier names into the NBA record books Wednesday night, becoming the first teammates to each record a 20-point triple-double in a single game – despite the San Antonio spurs falling to the Golden State Warriors. Wembanyama finished with 31 points,15 rebounds,and 10 assists,while Castle contributed 23 points,10 rebounds,and 10 assists.
The historic achievement occurred in a game where the Spurs battled back from a 16-point first-half deficit, only to be overcome by a strong shooting performance from the Warriors, led by Stephen Curry’s game-high 46 points and 21 made three-pointers. Wembanyama and Castle’s simultaneous triple-doubles mark only the fifth time in NBA history that two players on the same team have each achieved a 20-point triple-double in the same contest,and the first time it has happened in Spurs franchise history.
“I was thinking about [the double triple-double] of course,” Wembanyama said after the game. ”I don’t even remember the score, but I think it was the right decision.” The final assist for Wembanyama came on a full-court heave that Castle banked in just before the buzzer.
Both players reached the milestone in the game’s final seconds. Castle secured his 10th rebound with 5.4 seconds remaining, completing his first career triple-double. wembanyama followed with his second career 30-point triple-double on the assist.
Despite the individual accolades, both players expressed disappointment with the loss.”Obviously, we wanted to win,” Castle said. ”But yeah, happy to get [two triple-doubles]. It is something great to be a part of. Proud to be a part of it, but we needed to win to add onto it.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson acknowledged the positive contributions of his young stars, but emphasized the need for greater consistency. “Yeah, those guys were competing,” Johnson said. “They’re doing a lot of good. We just have to try to navigate some of the peaks and valleys. We’re just having too many lows. There’s still a lot of highs, and we’re doing a lot of good things.But we just need to be more consistent.”
Wembanyama also committed eight turnovers, one shy of his career high, while Castle recorded his fourth consecutive game with 10 assists.
