How Fox, Castle and Harper Slashed Clippers Apart With Wemby Out

The Spurs showed off their depth on Thursday night, dominating the Clippers 118-99 behind their dynamic guard trio.

De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper combined for 61 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds, and San Antonio needed it on the second night of a back-to-back set with MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama resting his right ankle. The Spurs extended their winning streak to 11 games, the last six by double digits as they continue to chase the Thunder for the top seed.

"Whenever one guy is out, especially somebody like Victor, one person isn't going to take on that role of what he brings to us," Fox said. "I think a lot of guys stepped up tonight, especially on the defensive end. That's why we were able to blow this lead open."

The big man may have been out, but the Spurs have plenty of other ways to dominate the paint. All three of those slashing guards get to the rim, but they do it in different ways. Fox brings speed and a steady hand, Castle shows strength and vision, and Harper brings a level of control and finesse that's uncommon for any player, much less a 20-year-old rookie.

Fox has averaged nearly 25 points per game with Wembanyama out this year, and seems to consistently step up when the moment calls for it.

"Steady influence, maybe with the arrow pointed up to a takeover influence at times," coach Mitch Johnson said. "I thought he did a hell of a job early in the game, setting the tone, living in the paint. We emphasize pace, and that's part of our identity and brand. But he a lot of times the fastest car in the race, and so when he does that, whether he's finishing the play, passing to a teammate, or just setting the tone for us and our aggressiveness offensively. It doesn't always lead to a quick shot, but it does quite a bit for us."

De’Aaron Fox tonight:

• 22 POINTS
• 8 REBOUNDS
• 5 ASSISTS
• 3 STEALS
• 9/13 FG
• 29 MINUTES PLAYED pic.twitter.com/XsXQytnZjd
— Bala (@BalaPattySZN) April 3, 2026

Castle took the lead out of the gate, then Fox got ultra aggressive as San Antonio lived in the paint and sprayed passes out of it to open shooters who hit 8-16 from deep in the first half.

The Clippers responded out of halftime, playing with intensity and winning the third quarter 34-19 as San Antonio went cold from outside, hitting just 1-9 attempts from 3 as their 26-point lead dwindled to single digits. Kawhi started to get hot, and it got scary for a second there.

"They had the momentum a little bit, it felt like the court was tilted, like they were getting downhill, we lost a little bit of our pace," Mitch Johnson said. "They did a really good job of holding the fort in that in that moment when it's the bend don't break deal, and they made some shots, and we missed some shots, and we did a good job of keeping them at bay, where it didn't get quite to the level of striking distance."

Castle was getting a little frustrated driving into contact with no whistle, but he kept his head and drilled a corner 3. Fox hit the jets, bumped Darius Garland down low and spun back for a smooth jumper. Castle stole it from Garland, drove in transition, and powered through a foul for an and-1. Then Castle slipped a screen and caught a pass from Luke Kornet, who was raising the roof before his rookie point guard raised up for a statement dunk. The statement was, "We're winning by 15 again."

Stephon Castle tonight:

• 20 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB, 3/5 3PM, 8/15 FG pic.twitter.com/kl8pdlo8mv
— Bala (@BalaPattySZN) April 3, 2026

Harper came in for Fox and made an immediate impact with a putback and a buzzer-beater 3. He hit Keldon Johnson for a slick no-dip 3, then drove for a hammer dunk.

"As the season has gone on, his pattern recognition and understanding of the tempo, on cadence, and understanding where his spots are, whether that's in our offense in terms of play calls or our principles, or just getting used to the speed, athleticism, length in this league, and you're seeing a young man who's not a rookie anymore in terms of how he's navigating the game," Johnson said. "I think it may be a cliche term, but it feels like the game is slowing down for him."

Dylan Harper tonight:

• 19 points
• 5 assists
• 2 rebounds
• 2/3 3PM
• 8/12 FG
• 25 minutes played pic.twitter.com/zWLbj1bCfE
— Bala (@BalaPattySZN) April 3, 2026

"He definitely had unique movement patterns and balance in terms of the way he handles the ball and goes from changing directions to also elevating off the ground, off one feet, I think as well as two feet," Johnson said. "That speaks to some of that unique balance and movement patterns, but I do think that he has done a really good job of understanding when there's crowds where to pass, when there's crowds when to stop pivot, and just getting used to that decision making in real time with crowds, where are my offensive outlets, where to pass to? And that's a tough thing. It's a lot of things happening at once, and it's been a joy to see him grow in that space."

Even without Wembanyama, the Spurs won the paint 66-56 and the glass 48-38. Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie did their part, combining for 27 points and 18 rebounds. Keldon Johnson joined them in double-figure scoring, while Luke Kornet filled in admirably at starting center with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

"He's phenomenal," Mitch Johnson said of Kornet. "He set great screens, he had a presence in the paint on both ends and just a very satisfying effort from a lot of people on our team tonight."

This is win number 59 for the Spurs, who have five games remaining in the regular season and still have a chance at overtaking Oklahoma CIty in the standings.

"I think it's big," Fox said. "That's a stepping stone to something that we want to do. We want to win a championship, obviously, but being able to do this in the regular season, continuing to build those habits. We talked about this the last basically month, it's not about us winning games; it's about the way that we win games, playing games. We've had some games that we've won that we didn't play well, and we've had games like this, and that's what we want to be. Want to try to be consistent in that."