Stephon Castle finds his shot, Spurs give Steve Kerr reason to call them NBA’s best

he Spurs have won 11 straight, and Stephon Castle just gave opponents another thing to consider before leaving him open.

Castle made five of eight 3-point attempts in Friday’s 123-85 win over the Warriors after entering the game shooting 31.5% from deep. Golden State gave him room to shoot, and he took advantage, as ESPN’s Michael C. Wright detailed.

“I think the biggest obstacle I’ve had was really myself, kind of just getting into my own head sometimes, not taking open shots and forcing worse shots,” Castle said.

“I think today just coming in with a clear mind, thinking about our defensive stuff, our principles, trying to play the right way, and the basketball gods found me.”

The Spurs opened with an 18-0 run against the short-handed Warriors and strengthened their hold on West Group C in the NBA Cup. Steve Kerr called them “the best team in the league.”

San Antonio has certainly played like it since opening the season with losses to the Thunder and Rockets. Castle believes the defense gives the Spurs something dependable even when the shots aren’t falling.

“Our defense makes a lot of those plays and sparks our runs,” he said. “We could be having not the greatest shooting night, but showing up on defense is really a non-negotiable.”

“If we do those things the right way and play our way, eventually teams will start to break down.”

On Friday, the Warriors had trouble from the opening tip. Castle’s shooting made catching up even harder.