LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephon Castle scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half, and De'Aaron Fox added 20 points in the San Antonio Spurs' 132-119 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.
Keldon Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds as the Spurs maintained a healthy double-digit lead for most of the final three quarters to claim the last Cup semifinal spot in Las Vegas, where they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and LeBron James had 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who lost for only the third time in 12 games. Los Angeles trimmed its deficit to eight points late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get closer.
Marcus Smart scored a season-high 26 points with eight 3-pointers for the Lakers, and Austin Reaves had 15 points.
San Antonio has won nine of 12 overall after steadily controlling this meeting of two Western Conference teams hoping to challenge the defending champion Thunder, both this week and in the postseason.
Castle was outstanding in his second game back from a 10-game absence with a hip injury, adding 10 rebounds and six assists. Eight Spurs scored at least eight points, and their bench outscored Los Angeles' reserves 48-31.
The Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023, and they went unbeaten through group play this fall before running into the Spurs.
San Antonio made a 17-2 run and jumped to an 18-point lead in the second quarter, with Castle and Harrison Barnes exploiting Los Angeles' season-long struggles in perimeter shooting defense.
Victor Wembanyama missed his 12th straight game with a calf injury, but he traveled with the Spurs.
Spurs: Face Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Lakers: At Phoenix on Sunday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Discover India with Us! Read moreIndia Community Travel: Virtual Information Session
Celebrate the season with us at CY Danceworks’ Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 7th! Read moreChristmas Open House-Free Dance Classes, Holiday Crafts, Food, Pics with Santa & More!!!
Interact with live nativity characters; pet various animals; sing along with Christmas carol… Read moreChristmas Under the Stars
Dirk van Ulden said:
steve.claesson said:
LittleFoot said:
14 Empty beer cans and Meth? This dude is a danger to society.
LittleFoot said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.