Stephon Castle guided the Spurs by the Bucks (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs enjoyed an easy win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night by a final count of 119-101. After a relatively slow start, the Spurs exploded over the second and third quarters in front of their home fans at the Frost Bank Center. In those two periods, San Antonio outscored Milwaukee 75-42 to basically end the competition.
The Spurs reach the midway mark of the season with a record of 28-13.
Stats: Spurs vs. Bucks
Spurs vs. Bucks – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Early on, Wembanyama was forced to leave the game after a knee-to-knee blow left him in pain on the ground. Thankfully, the superstar big man was able to return and didn’t appear to skip a beat. Most notably, his three-point stroke looked perfect. He finished 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Wembanyama was making quick, smart decisions on offense. Defensively, he protected the rim with determination and took care of business on boards. When the smoke cleared, Wembanyama had 22 points, ten rebounds and two blocks in only 22 minutes.
Grade: B+
De’Aaron Fox
Fox did a great job of grabbing this game early and making sure his impact was felt. In 23 minutes, he finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists while shooting well from the field. His aggression was great and it was nice to see him effortlessly knock down threes. Fox did miss half of his free throws and he turned the ball over four times. However, the turnovers were of the fluke-ish variety so I won’t blame him too much for those.
Grade: B+
Stephon Castle
Castle was great. In fact, this was quietly one of his better performances of the season. Defensively, he took on the biggest challenges and did very well. He used his brain to stay out of foul trouble while also stonewalling the Bucks at every turn. Offensively, Castle was an efficiency god. He was 5-for-7 on twos, 1-for-2 on threes and hit all six free throws. More impressively, he finished with ten assists and no turnovers. As those numbers suggest, Castle’s playmaking was great as he picked apart Milwaukee’s defense.
Grade: A
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie had another stellar outing. He led the way with 11 rebounds; he has managed to become a fantastic rebounder for a perimeter player. He also played stout defense against the Bucks. Offensively, Champagnie dropped three more three-pointers and did it in an efficient manner. He’s letting the ball fly at every opportunity and he has been knocking down his looks at a high rate recently.
Grade: A-
Harrison Barnes
This should be considered a step in the right direction for the slumping forward. Barnes didn’t have a rebound or a two-pointer in his 16 minutes … but he was able to connect on a pair of three-pointers, make smart decisions with the ball and move his feet on defense. All that said, this version of Barnes isn’t close to the Barnes who was at times carrying the team earlier in the season.
Grade: B-
Dylan Harper
In just about every category, Harper had a really good game. His 0-for-5 showing from three-point land was the main disappointment. Otherwise, the rookie was dynamite. He was 6-for-8 inside of the arc, handed out five assists and turned the ball over only once. He looked spry and he was changing directions at lightning speed. Let’s hope Harper has found his way beyond the rookie wall.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
The good: Johnson had eight rebounds, two assists and three steals in 21 minutes. He also connected on all four of his free throws while playing with a palpable amount of enthusiasm. Defensively, I was really impressed with how he dominated his one-on-one matchups at times. The bad: Johnson didn’t attempt a two-pointer and turned the ball over twice. Offensively, he was definitely more muted than normal. Overall: I thought Johnson’s defense alone was worthy of a round of applause.
Grade: B+
Carter Bryant
I mean, it was funny at first but Bryant needs to start finishing shots at the rim. Even open dunks are seemingly impossible for the rookie. Going 0-for-6 in 20 minutes was not aesthetically pleasing, to be kind. Defensively and on the boards, Bryant was fine.
Grade: D+
Luke Kornet
It was a solid showing for Kornet. He scored ten points on 5-for-5 shooting. He did his share of the work on the boards and on the defensive end. All in all, it was just a quiet, efficient night at the office.
Grade: B
Lindy Waters III
Waters was 1-for-2 from three-point range in 15 minutes … and that was about the extent of his production. The Spurs could have used more, particularly in garbage time.
Grade: C
Kelly Olynyk
In deep garbage time, it looked like Olynyk was the only one trying at times. He did just enough to avoid having the starters come in to finish off the game.
Grade: B-
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan didn’t exactly win any minutes with his play in garbage time. If anything, he illustrated why he has found himself on the outside of the rotation.
Grade: D+
Jordan McLaughlin
McLaughlin had seven minutes to forget. He was 0-for-2 from the field and turned the ball over three times. That’s not what you want from a veteran guard during garbage time.
Grade: D
Mitch Johnson
Good stuff by Johnson. The rotation made sense, the offensive gameplan was pristine and the defensive scheme was dominant. Garbage time was ugly but that doesn’t take away from how well the team looked during the guts of the game.
Grade: B+