The San Antonio Spurs punched their ticket to the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals with a dynamic 132-119 victory over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, showcasing a potent blend of scoring depth and team cohesion at Crypto.com Arena. The win sets up a semifinal showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Rookie Stephon Castle led the charge, erupting for 30 points — including 21 in the second half — along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists in just his second game back from a hip injury. His all-around performance set the tone for San Antonio’s balanced attack and helped keep the Spurs ahead throughout the matchup.
“We all just want to win,” Castle said after the game. “We don’t care who does it — we just want to get it done. It’s going to be tough against the Thunder, but at the end of the day, we have supreme confidence in ourselves.”
Point guard De’Aaron Fox added 20 points to the Spurs’ offensive effort, while Keldon Johnson contributed 17 points and eight rebounds, helping San Antonio maintain a double-digit lead for much of the second half. The Spurs also benefited from a 48-31 advantage in bench scoring.
The Lakers were paced by Luka Dončić, who scored a game-high 35 points with eight assists, and LeBron James, who recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but their late push fell short as San Antonio held firm. Marcus Smart chipped in a season-high 26 points off the bench, hitting eight three-pointers to keep the Lakers competitive in stretches.
Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to eight points late in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs answered with key buckets down the stretch, including a clutch three-pointer from Castle with just over a minute left that helped seal the victory.
The Spurs’ win was impressive given the continued absence of Victor Wembanyama, who has been sidelined with a calf injury and missed his 12th straight game, though he travelled with the team. Despite that, San Antonio shot efficiently, making 50 percent of its field goals and 45 percent from beyond the arc, with contributions from seven players scoring in double figures.
San Antonio’s balanced play and high-tempo execution tripped up a Lakers squad that had run unbeaten through NBA Cup group play and entered the night as one of the tournament favourites. With the victory, the Spurs improved their overall record and carried momentum into the Cup’s penultimate round.
On the celebrity front, the high-profile matchup also drew notable courtside attendance. Rapper and business mogul Jay-Z and his daughter Blue Ivy Carter were spotted watching the game, drawing attention on social media for their stylish presence among the crowd.
The Lakers will pivot back to regular-season play, with their next game scheduled against the Phoenix Suns this Sunday, while the Spurs — riding a nine-win stretch in their last 12 games — turn their focus to the Thunder in Las Vegas as they seek the NBA Cup title.
