NBA2026-11-14Stephon Castle Scores 32 as the Spurs Rout the Curry-Less Warriors 123-85: Fantasy Fallout and the NBA Cup Picture
By Verdexed NBA Desk
The San Antonio Spurs did not need a competitive game on Friday night, and they made sure they did not get one. San Antonio opened with an 18-0 run, led by as many as 43 points and buried the Golden State Warriors 123-85 at Frost Bank Center in NBA Cup group play. Stephon Castle poured in a season-high 32 points with six assists and five rebounds, Victor Wembanyama posted a quiet 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the Spurs pushed their winning streak to 11 games while improving to 11-2.
Golden State played its first game without Stephen Curry, who sat out with an oblique abdominal tear, and it looked exactly like a team missing its engine. For fantasy managers, the result sharpens two questions at once: how much of Castle's breakout is real, and what the Warriors look like for the next two to four weeks. For bettors, it reshapes West Group C of the NBA Cup.
How the rout unfolded
Per multiple reports, the 18-0 start was the Spurs' largest opening run to a game in the past 30 seasons. San Antonio controlled every physical category: a 60-43 rebounding edge, 56 points in the paint and 34 assists on the night. That is a team-wide statement against a short-handed opponent, not a one-man heater.
Castle was the scoring story. His previous season high was 24 points, set against Oklahoma City on opening night, and he cleared it with room to spare. Wembanyama's line was modest by his standards, and the box score undersells the night he had. Per AP, he was hit in the throat, poked in the eye and thrown to the floor by Draymond Green, who was assessed a Flagrant 1 with 6:47 left in the second quarter. Wembanyama criticized the approach afterward, according to reports.
On the Golden State side, LJ Cryer led the Warriors with 20 points and six assists, and Charles Bassey added 11 points and five rebounds. When a third-string guard and a reserve big are the leading producers, the depth chart is under real stress. The Warriors fell to 8-5.
Why Curry sat, and how long he is out
Curry suffered the injury in the first quarter of Wednesday's 115-108 loss at Houston. An MRI confirmed an oblique abdominal tear, and the Warriors announced Thursday that he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the full return timeline could be closer to a month depending on how he progresses at that checkpoint. Curry had been averaging 27.8 points per game, his best mark since 2022-23.
The supporting cast is thin behind him. Per pregame reports, Moses Moody, Brandon Williams (left hamstring) and Kristaps Porzingis were also expected to miss Friday's game, and Jimmy Butler remains out with a knee injury and has not played this season, per reports. That leaves rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, Brandin Podziemski and Cryer carrying a heavy share of the creation load.
| Warriors player | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | Out | Oblique abdominal tear, re-evaluation in two weeks |
| Jimmy Butler | Out | Knee, has not played this season (per reports) |
| Brandon Williams | Out | Left hamstring |
| Moses Moody | Out | Expected to miss Friday's game, per reports |
| Kristaps Porzingis | Out | Expected to miss Friday's game, per reports |
Fantasy read: Castle, the Spurs and the Warriors without Curry
Stephon Castle: The 32 points will grab headlines, but the more durable signal is the role. Castle averaged career highs of 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.1 steals last season, and his early 2026-27 output had been more modest, with his shooting efficiency the main drag. Friday was the kind of night that shows the ceiling when the shot falls. He is a hold everywhere and a buy-low candidate if a league-mate still values him off his slower start. Do not expect 30-point nights as a baseline, but the combination of rebounds, assists and steals gives him a stable floor in category formats.
The rest of the Spurs: De'Aaron Fox (left hip soreness) and Devin Vassell were both listed as questionable before being upgraded to available, so monitor Fox's hip through the weekend, but nothing suggests a missed game. Wembanyama's 12 and 12 in a blowout is not a concern; blowouts trim minutes for everyone, and the Green incident added noise. Second-year guard Dylan Harper remains part of the three-guard look and had seven points at halftime. In San Antonio's blowout wins, the deep bench eats late minutes, which caps the ceiling for the starters in lopsided matchups.
Warriors without Curry: Podziemski is the most reliable pickup target in standard leagues. He scored 22 points with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and four assists in the Houston game after Curry exited. Cryer is the deeper-league add: 13 points in 17 minutes against Houston, then 20 points and six assists on Friday, and with Williams also hurt, his minutes look secure for now. Lendeborg is worth watching in dynasty formats as his usage climbs. Green's fantasy value tends to rise in assists when Curry sits, but his scoring stays limited.
NBA Cup: West Group C standings
The win moved San Antonio to 2-0 in Cup play with a plus-53 point differential, tied with Boston for the best differential in the event. That margin matters: point differential is a tiebreaker for both the group and the wild-card race, so a 38-point win gives the Spurs a cushion that a one-possession loss later would not erase.
| West Group C | Record | Point differential |
|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Spurs | 2-0 | +53 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 1-1 | +7 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 1-1 | -11 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1-1 | -21 |
| Sacramento Kings | 0-2 | -28 |
Golden State had led the group after its first game, but the 38-point loss flipped its differential badly. With Curry out for at least the next two weeks, the Warriors' path to the knockout round now depends on winning their remaining group games and, likely, on help elsewhere. In the other West groups, Dallas (Group A) and Minnesota (Group B) were 2-0 through Friday, per SI.
Betting angle
Markets are going to price the Spurs as one of the league's best teams, and through 13 games they have earned it. The more useful edge is on the other side: the Warriors' first game without Curry was a 38-point loss, and that is exactly the kind of result that can overcorrect a market. Short-handed teams often bounce back in effort after an embarrassing night, but Golden State's issue is not effort, it is shot creation. Treat Warriors totals and team-total unders as the cleaner angle than chasing spreads, until the rotation stabilizes.
For the Spurs, blowouts create a problem for player props: starters such as Wembanyama and Fox can see trimmed fourth-quarter minutes, which caps overs in lopsided matchups. Castle's prop lines will likely climb after a 32-point night, which makes him a fade candidate on points and a better look on combined points, rebounds and assists markets where available. For game-level leans, see Verdexed's NBA predictions page at /nba/predictions and the daily slate at /blog/nba-picks-2026-11-14, always as an adult of legal betting age in your jurisdiction.
What's next
The Spurs' streak and the Warriors' slide set the storylines for the next two weeks. Watch three items: Fox's hip soreness, which has not cost him a game yet; Curry's re-evaluation, which lands around Thanksgiving; and whether Golden State gets any of Moody, Williams or Porzingis back to ease the load on Podziemski and Cryer.
The takeaway for your league: hold Castle firmly and sell high only for a clear upgrade, pick up Podziemski if he is available in a standard league, grab Cryer in deeper formats while Curry and Williams are out, and avoid panic-selling Wembanyama over a 12-and-12 night in a 38-point blowout.