Stephon Castle's huge game helps Spurs complete mini-sweep of Mavs

Stephon Castle scored a career-high 40 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists as the host San Antonio Spurs pulled away for a 138-125 win over the struggling Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in the second game of a home-and-home series over three days between the teams.

The Spurs swept the two games, winning 135-123 in Dallas on Thursday, and have won four straight contests. Dallas, meanwhile, began a six-game road trip with its season-worst seventh consecutive loss and has dropped its first three games against the Spurs this year.

San Antonio used a late-second-quarter surge to build an 81-67 lead at halftime and expanded the margin through the third quarter, going up by 24 points when Castle grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor for a layup with 4:58 to play in the quarter. The Spurs led by as many as 28 before settling for a 114-91 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Castle made 15 of his 19 shots while recording his second career triple-double. Devin Vassell added 17 points for the Spurs, while Victor Wembanyama had 16 points and 11 rebounds, De'Aaron Fox scored 15 points, and Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant hit for 11 each off the bench.

Klay Thompson led the Mavericks with 19 points, and Brandon Williams added 18 points. Max Christie had 17, Marvin Bagley III racked up 16 points and 12 rebounds, Caleb Martin had 11 and P.J. Washington tallied 10. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg scored just 14 points -- snapping a four-game streak of 30-plus points -- and did not play in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs led throughout the first period, building an 11-point advantage on a three-point play by Vassell at the 6:42 mark and eventually carrying a 39-32 lead after 12 minutes of action.

Dallas leapfrogged ahead via a 6-0 run that was capped by Martin's driving layup with 8:27 to play in the second quarter. The Spurs reasserted themselves, using an 13-3 surge over a late two-minute stretch to turn a six-point lead into an 81-65 advantage and held sway to take a 14-point advantage to the break.

Castle led all scorers with 21 points before halftime. Thompson paced Dallas with 16 first-half points.

--Field Level Media