Inside The Spurs

Stephon Castle Tallies 22 Points, Spurs Defeat Trail Blazers in Las Vegas Summer League Opener

Stephon Castle won the battle of the University of Connecticut alumni as the San Antonio Spurs won their first game in Las Vegas. Donovan Clingan could only muster four points for the Portland Trail Blazers, but did grab a game-high 13 rebounds.

Scott Salomon

Jul 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) walks up court during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Thomas & Mack Center.
Jul 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) walks up court during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Thomas & Mack Center. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
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Stephon Castle scored 22 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 83-77 victory over the Portland Trailblazers in the first game of the NBA 2K25 Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas Saturday night.

The fourth-pick of the recent NBA Draft outdueled his former University of Connecticut teammate, seventh pick, Donovan Clingan, of the Trailblazers who could only muster four points. However, he did grab 13 rebounds and had five blocked shots. One of the blocks was a rejection of Castle as he glided through the pain in the final quarter.

Castle also added five rebounds, four assists and had a steal.

Clingan was very complimentary of his former teammate after the game.

"He's a special player," Clingan said. "He can facilitate at a high level. He can pass at a high level. He can certainly score. He's got a great career ahead of him."

The last time the two were on the floor together they combined to win a national championship for the Huskies.

Castle was all over the court Saturday night. He played tenacious defense and even ran the point very well. He hit a few three-point field goals to get warmed up and made a floater in the lane over Clingan and looked very good.

"I think he just wants to be a good basketball player. I don't know if he necessarily wants to be a point guard," Spurs summer league coach Kenny Trevino said. "He's really good with the ball in his hands. He's also savvy enough that he can make plays off the ball, too."

READ MORE: Behind the Scenes of Spurs Summer League With D.J. Horne

Nathan Mensah scored 12 points, had six assists, two rebounds, four steals and one block for the Spurs. Second-round selection Harrison Ingram and Sidy Cissoko each chimed in eight points and five rebounds for the Spurs.

The Spurs play again Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

Tipoff for that contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central.

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Scott Salomon
SCOTT SALOMON

Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.

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