Inside The Spurs

Mixed Bag: Devin Vassell Bounces Back in Overtime Win, Stephon Castle's Struggles Persist

After a lackluster shooting performance in the San Antonio Spurs' last contest, Devin Vassell lit up the box score from deep against the Atlanta Hawks. However, rookie point guard Stephon Castle has yet to break out of his shooting slump.

Tanner Marlar

Dec 19, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) dribbles to the basket in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
Dec 19, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) dribbles to the basket in the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
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The San Antonio Spurs got a much needed shooting boost in the team's overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks from Devin Vassell in a bounceback performance from his last outing.

The swing man finished with just four points against the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this week, but on Thursay night, that script got flipped. Vassell shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points in the overtime thriller to lift San Antonio to the win.

Vassell made an impact in other areas of the game as well — another difference in his last two performances. The former Florida State Seminole pulled down four rebounds and dished out a pair of assits while swiping two steals in the game against Atlanta.

After the last game, coaches and players alike told fans that the dismal shooting performance was an anomaly. Now, after the Spurs improved to 14-13 on the season via the 133-126 final overtime score, they just might have been right. However, there were some players who still haven't shaken their shooting slump from the Minnesota game.

READ MORE: How Close are the Spurs to Competing for an NBA Cup Championship?

One such player is Stephon Castle. The rookie logged 21 minutes on the night and finished just 3-10 from the floor. Outside of one highlight alley-oop dunk on a pass from Victor Wembanyama, the former UConn standout struggled again.

Continuously, Vassell and Castle (along with Jeremy Sochan) prove to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Spurs, and they can survive one of them having a bad night from the field when facing teams like Atlanta. However, if the goal is to still surprise some people late in the season, San Antonio will need to find a bit more consistency out of its still-youthful rotational players.

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Tanner Marlar
TANNER MARLAR

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