Castle's Season-High 32 Powers Spurs' 11th Straight Win in 123-85 Rout of Warriors

The San Antonio Spurs did not so much beat the Golden State Warriors on Friday night as remove them from the contest before it had properly begun. By the time Golden State scored its first points at Frost Bank Center, San Antonio had already put up 18, and the 123-85 final score only confirmed what the opening minutes had announced.

The victory, in an Emirates NBA Cup West Group C game on 13 November 2026, extended the Spurs' winning streak to 11 games and lifted them to 11-2 overall. It was their second Cup win in as many group games, and it kept them tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference.

Stephon Castle was the driving force. The second-year guard scored a season-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including five of eight from three-point range, and added six assists and five rebounds in just over 25 minutes of court time. He did not need the fourth quarter to make his mark; by then the game had long been decided and San Antonio's starters were watching from the bench.

A record-setting opening burst

San Antonio made eight of its first 10 shots while Golden State missed its first 11, and the 18-0 opening run was described by USA TODAY as a Spurs franchise record. Castle supplied eight points during that burst, Victor Wembanyama added four, and De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper contributed two points each.

Castle finished the first quarter with 13 points, having made all three of his three-point attempts, while Wembanyama added four points, three rebounds and three assists in the period.

The official linescore records San Antonio's first-quarter lead at 38-14, and the gap only widened from there. The Spurs led 63-33 at half-time, and their advantage reached 43 points in the third quarter after a three-pointer by reserve Harrison Barnes with 57 seconds remaining in the period. San Antonio shot 32-for-52 from inside the arc, a level of efficiency that left Golden State chasing a game that was already gone.

Wembanyama, for his part, barely needed to exert himself. The French star finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in about 21 minutes, completing his double-double without ever being asked to rescue the game. Keldon Johnson added 18 points off the bench, and Barnes contributed 11 as the Spurs' depth turned a comfortable win into a rout.

Castle outscores an entire starting five

The most telling statistic of the night belonged to Castle alone. His 32 points were more than the 30 managed by Golden State's entire starting lineup combined, a comparison that captures both his emergence and the Warriors' struggles in equal measure. His total included a career-high-tying five three-pointers, and he made all three of his free throws in a performance that mixed aggression with control.

Castle's rise has been one of the defining features of San Antonio's streak. Against Golden State he attacked from the opening possession, punished every defensive lapse, and kept the Spurs moving even when Wembanyama was resting.

Life without Curry for Golden State

The Warriors arrived in San Antonio already diminished. They were playing their first game without star guard Stephen Curry since he suffered a right oblique tear, an injury the team said on 12 November would be re-evaluated in two weeks, placing the checkpoint around 26 November.

Without Curry's gravity and shot-making, Golden State's offence collapsed inside the arc and could not compensate from deep, even though the visitors made more three-pointers than San Antonio.

LJ Cryer led the Warriors with 20 points off the bench, but no starter reached 20, and the team's second straight defeat followed an eight-game winning streak of its own. At 8-5, Golden State remains a competitive side, yet the loss underlined how much of its identity still runs through Curry. The Warriors also fell to 1-1 in NBA Cup West Group C, leaving San Antonio alone at the top of the group.

A hard foul by Draymond Green on Wembanyama in the second half drew attention on a night when little else went Golden State's way, and Wembanyama later made his feelings about the incident clear. It was a flash of tension in a game otherwise defined by San Antonio's composure.

What the streak means now

Eleven straight wins after an 0-2 start changes how a team is talked about. The Spurs are no longer a curiosity built around a single extraordinary talent; they are a deep, balanced side, with Castle emerging as a genuine second star and the bench regularly deciding games. Their 2-0 Cup record also puts them in a strong position to advance from West Group C.

The schedule will not stay forgiving, and streaks invite the best efforts of every opponent. But Friday's rout was the clearest evidence yet that this run is no accident. For Golden State, the task is to survive until Curry returns and find an offence that can function without him. For the Spurs, it is to keep doing exactly what they have done for the past 11 games.