The San Antonio Spurs were knocked off their rocker in the first two games of the NBA Finals at home by the New York Knicks. Entering as heavy favorites, many Spurs players eased off the gas pedal.
UConn’s Stephon Castle averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across those first two games. However, he was part of a critical turnover in the final seconds of Game 2. With 14 seconds left in a tie game, Victor Wembenyama grabbed a rebound off a Jalen Brunson miss and raced up the floor. With Castle in front of him, Wemby passed the ball off his back the second Castle looked away. Brunson snatched the loose ball and secured the Knicks’ second straight road victory to open the finals.
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Monday’s game 3 was the most important game of Castle’s young career. A sold-out Madison Square Garden with many important folks in attendance surely would be too much pressure for the 21-year-old, right? The Knicks looked to slam the door shut and go up 3 games to none, as no team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history. Castle started off the night with an 18 point 1st half, hitting an early triple to get San Antonio moving. He threw the first punch early, as the Spurs struggled to open the first two games in the series.
Castle ended the night with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including knocking down the dagger 3-pointer to go up 7 with under 2 minutes to play.
Another late Knicks comeback saw them down two points with 6 seconds remaining, as they sent Castle to the charity stripe with the game on the line. The forward buried both free throws and the Spurs held on to take Game 3, making the series 2-1.
“I expect us to win the next three. Those first two games really hurt. I feel like it was an eye-opener for us… We wanna punch first and be on the front foot,” Castle said in an interview with ESPN.
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ESPN currently has the Spurs at +160 to win the championship, with the Knicks at -190 odds. No team in NBA history has won the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games at home.
San Antonio looks to steal another game on the road as Game 4 tips off Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
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