STEPHON Castle delivered a breakout performance as San Antonio Spurs dismantled Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-109, in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Castle erupted for 32 points and 11 rebounds, leading a balanced Spurs attack. De’Aaron Fox contributed 21 points and nine assists while also going perfect from the three-point area.
Victor Wembanyama finished with 19 points in limited minutes after posting a dominant Game 5 outing earlier in the series, while Julian Champagnie and Filipino-American rookie Dylan Harper added 18 and 15 points.
San Antonio’s backcourt proved too much for the Timberwolves throughout the contest. Castle caught fire early, knocking down his first five attempts from beyond the arc and shooting 11-of-16 from the field.
The Spurs controlled the game from start to finish and capped off a commanding best-of-seven series in which they outscored the Timberwolves by a combined 97 points.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points for Minnesota but struggled with efficiency, going 9-for-26 from the floor. Terrence Shannon Jr. and Naz Reid tried to keep the Timberwolves afloat with 21 and 18 points, respectively, off the bench.
In Cleveland, Cade Cunningham scored 21 points and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons dominated the second half, beating the Cavaliers in Game 6, 115-94, to force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Jalen Duren had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds while Daniss Jenkins also scored 15 for the Pistons, who have won four games this postseason when facing elimination.
The Pistons’ 21-point victory tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series. The St. Louis Hawks beat the Minneapolis Lakers 117-96 in the 1960 West Division finals.
James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece./PN
