MINNEAPOLIS -- The San Antonio Spurs' backcourt trio of Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper proved every bit as lethal Friday as franchise superstar Victor Wembanyama in spearheading a series-clinching 139-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Castle had a game-high 32 points and added 11 rebounds and six assists, helping the trio account for nearly half of the scoring for the Spurs, who finished with the third-most points in a playoff game in franchise history. Fox scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and Harper added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
San Antonio heads to the Western Conference finals, where it will face Oklahoma City on Monday in Game 1 at Paycom Center.
"What we're walking into on Monday is a different animal," Harper said. "The experience is great for all of us. But we've just got to have the mindset of we're going to keep the foot on the gas no matter what."
That was the standard set by the trio in Game 6. By the end of the third quarter, Castle, Fox and Harper combined for 58.2% of the team's scoring, shooting 23-of-30 from the field and 9-of-12 from 3-point range to go along with 15 assists. The group combined for nine of San Antonio's postseason-record 18 3-pointers for the game.
"I think it could be anybody's night on a given night," Castle said.
The Spurs' backcourt trio poses a dilemma for teams hyperfocused on neutralizing Wembanyama, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks. He joined former Spurs star David Robinson as the only players to have at least 200 points, 100 rebounds and 40 blocks through his first 10 career postseason games since 1974, when blocks were first tracked.
Wembanyama raved about the composure of Castle, whose five 3-pointers were a career high for the regular season and playoffs.
"The way this team is built, they were trying to take me away from the rim and just grab me," Wembanyama said. "There's no other way to fight that than just fight it with physicality. [Castle] was amazing. Just the composure to make the late choice and to push the defense in as far as they can go to take care of our strengths, he was great. He shot the ball when he should have, made the shots and passed when he should've passed it."
Castle became the fifth Spurs player in history to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a clinching opportunity, joining Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Robinson and George Gervin. Fox, meanwhile, became the first Spurs player since Kawhi Leonard in 2017 to score at least 20 points on 80% shooting from the field in a postseason game.
San Antonio always tries to have at least two of its high-powered guards on the floor.
"The way our rotations work, at all times we have two of us out there," Fox said. "We're all able to play off one another. We can all get to the basket. We all make our open shots. We facilitate for each other and other guys on the court. It just adds to the dynamic of our team."
San Antonio opened with Castle and Fox scoring or assisting on 28 of the club's 36 points in a sizzling first quarter. They shot a combined 7-of-8 on contested attempts in the first half, as the Spurs hit 18 of 30 over that span whenever Wembanyama didn't get a touch. Castle racked up 19 points in the first quarter on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-3 from distance.
"He was pretty damned good," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Castle. "His temperament and disposition led to him having the right approach and playing the right way. When they have the right approach and play with the fundamentals needed at this level to execute, their talent can take it to another level. He had a few moments where he did that. De'Aaron was pretty good too."
Fox, 28, the veteran of San Antonio's backcourt trio, said he doesn't take lightly the opportunity to mentor Castle and Harper.
San Antonio advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2017 and 15th time overall, the third most since 1970-71, when the conference was formed.
"Having guys who are this talented and have watched me throughout my career, then we get to be in the same locker room, get to be on the court together, it's something that I love," Fox said. "I want them to feel that success from as early as you can get it in your career because you never know when those things can come back around.
"[I] just give them little tidbits that they can get here or there because they're just so talented. Just giving them a cheat sheet to kind of maneuver throughout the league. I try to add what I can to what they can already do. They can already do a lot of things."
