Inside The Spurs

Film Breakdown: Spurs Beat Pistons in Physical Defensive Battle and Potential Finals Preview

Victor Wembanyama shut down the paint and Stephon Castle gave Cade Cunningham fits as San Antonio responded to Detroit's bully ball with their own brand of physicality.
Tom Petrini|
Feb 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) blocks a shot by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Feb 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) blocks a shot by Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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San Antonio Spurs

The Pistons have the built the best record in the NBA with classic Detroit toughness, but in a potential Finals preview the Spurs walked into their house and beat them at their own game.

San Antonio weathered the storm and responded with their own brand of physicality to earn a convincing 114-103 victory in one of the most entertaining games of the year. In a dominant defensive display Victor Wembanyama shut down the paint with six blocks and much more, and Stephon Castle gave Cade Cunningham fits as the MVP candidate shot just 5-26 from the floor.

"I thought it was a really competitive game, very physical," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "We made some shots early, and they reminded us very quickly it wasn't gonna be about that tonight."

Wembanyama finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks and a steal, while Castle notched 16 points and 11 assists. Devin Vassell made three triples right out of the gate and led San Antonio with 28 points and seven makes from beyond the arc. Detroit hit seven 3s as a team for the entire game as the Spurs laid bare their lack of shooting.

"Super efficient did not force anything, important on the defensive side as well," Wembanyama said of Vassell's performance. "Everybody was connected, and tonight he benefited from it. That is due to his patience and trusting the process. Because, like, the coach didn't call that many plays for him, and it's not like we were actively looking for him, at the beginning at least, but he wasin the right spot at the right time, making it running the right way. I think his performance tonight emphasizes our spirit tonight what we're trying to progress."

The Pistons are the team best equipped to try to beat the Spurs by beating up Wemby, and they did their best to employ that strategy. Ausar Thompson made like a fullback on a play where he ran up and cracked Wembanyama's back with his elbow. In between missed shots, Cunningham made it a point to hit Wemby in the chest with both hands or a forearm as much as possible.

"I assume most teams are going to talk about that when they talk about scouting us, trying to impose their will on us. And I understand that," Johnson said. "We understand that that's not something we're going to avoid, and we're going to try to impose our will with own type of physicality that might not be some of the brute strength or traditional forms that people are used to."

"You have to step up and use contact in appropriate matters, but I think our activity, our pace, our connectivity and our anticipation can be ways to impose our will physically, just like a boxer that wants to move around the ring and uses jabs and use activity, or doesn't want to just sit down the ropes and go blow for blow. It's kind of how I think our approach is."

Castle dominated the point of attack, staying in Cade's jersey and helping force him into shooting just 19% from the floor and his worst +/- of the year at -18. Castle talked after the game about how Wembanyama's presence behind him allows him to play more aggressively on the perimeter, and Wemby gave the praise right back to him.

"Amazing," Wembanyama said. "Five for 26, I don't know how many minutes he guarded him but he's definitely responsible for a lot of those 21 missed shots. I don't know what the playoffs are like, but I know we're gonna need some of that."

According to the NBA's matchup tracking data, Castle checked Cunningham for 8:44 and 47.4 partial possessions. Cunningham shot just 3-13 from the floor in the direct matchup.

Frustrated that he was locked in Castle's Dungeon, Cunningham shoved the reigning Rookie of the Year to the ground. Keldon Johnson shoved Cunningham right back, and Jalen Duren started pointing his finger and talking trash as if it wasn't his buddy who started the whole fracas. It stopped short of The Malice at Little Caesar's Palace, but it was a perfect encapsulation of San Antonio's refusal to be bullied.

"I wouldn't expect any less from KJ or anybody else on our team, no matter who got pushed to the ground," Castle said. "That's just how close we are."

The Pistons' rough-and-tumble play was more nuanced and brave than simply knocking dudes over as much as possible. They weren't too afraid to attack Wembanyama at the rim, going at him and through him for putbacks and even power dunks.

Back to Mitch Johnson's boxing analogy, Wembanyama spent the first half feeling out his opponent. He used his jab, danced around a bit, and protected his head. He didn't land many power punches early on, starting just 3-12 from the floor but he defended so well that he was still the most impactful player on the floor. Detroit attacked pretty courageously, but Wemby forced misses and turnovers as the Spurs won the paint 62-44.

As the game got into the later rounds, Wembanyama's patience paid off. The Pistons became one dimensional because of their lack of shooting, and when they tried to attack him at the rim he knew it was coming, parried effectively, and landed haymakers of his own en route to a knockout.

San Antonio hasn't lost in the month of February, now a nine-game winning streak that began on the day that they fell out of the sky and beat the Magic anyway. It's the first time the Spurs have won nine in a row since February and March of 2019, and they haven't hit double digits since the 2015-16 season when they won 13 in a row and 67 games overall.

The Spurs are now 41-16, and this win gives them victories over all of the top three competitors in each conference. They have secured a winning record on the Rodeo Road Trip for the first time since 2017, and will finish with games against Toronto, Brooklyn, New York, and Philadelphia before returning home for a rematch against these Pistons.

San Antonio has just 25 more dress rehearsals before their first playoff run as a group. Everybody in the locker room knows that there's no replacement for playoff basketball, but they also know how important these tough, rough, competitive games are in preparing for what they haven't yet seen.

"This kind of experience, I think, yeah, anytime we can play a competitive game, you want to win, but a competitive game against a team of this caliber, there's learning lessons and moments and things to reference, to improve on, and positive feedback all throughout the game," Johnson said. "I would think logically, the more games that we play like this, the better that will be."

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Tom Petrini
TOM PETRINI

Tom Petrini has covered Spurs basketball for the last decade, first for Project Spurs and then for KENS 5 in San Antonio. After leaving the newsroom he co-founded the Silver and Black Coffee Hour, a weekly podcast where he catches up on Spurs news with friends Aaron Blackerby and Zach Montana. Tom lives in Austin with his partner Jess and their dogs Dottie and Guppy. His other interests include motorsports and making a nice marinara sauce.

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