The ball bounced Castle's way for a career-high 40 points in triple-double in Spurs' win over Mavs

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Stephon Castle attacked the rim knowing he needed just one more basket for the first 40-point game of his two-year NBA career.

The game came so easily to the San Antonio Spurs guard on Saturday night that it was fitting that a missed shot caromed directly to him for his final two points. Castle leaped for the rebound and, in one motion, wound up and threw down a monstrous right-handed dunk to punctuate his second career triple-double.

“You could tell he knew,” All-Star Victor Wembanyama said with a chuckle. “It was crazy.”

Castle had a career-high 40 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Spurs to their fourth straight win, a 138-125 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

"Not having to force it," Castle said of topping his previous high of 33 points. “I feel like it just came within the game.”

At 21 years old, Castle is the youngest player in NBA history with a 40-point triple-double and joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to do so while shooting 75% from the field.

Castle was behind the 3-point line when Devin Vassell took a 25-foot shot from the left side of the court midway through the fourth quarter. As the ball was in flight, Castle sprinted untouched through the lane and outjumped teammate Dylan Harper as the ball bounded off the right side of the rim. Castle tumbled out of bounds after the emphatic putback, screaming in celebration as he sat out of bounds.

“The ball came off perfect, so it felt good," Castle said. "But I mean, more importantly, it felt good to do that knowing we were going to get to win as well.”

San Antonio (36-16) won its ninth in 12 games to remain second in the Western Conference, 3 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City (40-13).

The NBA's past two Rookie of the Year winners, Wembanyama and Castle have led the Spurs to their best start since 2016 as they try to end a six-season playoff drought.

While Wembanyama is an MVP candidate and will make his first All-Star start on Feb. 15 in Los Angeles, Castle is evolving into a dynamic two-way player in his second season out of Connecticut.

The fourth pick in last year’s draft, Castle has improved his scoring (16.5), assists (6.9), rebounds (5.0) and steals (1.3) while matching last season's blocks (0.3). He's also generally tasked with defending the opponent's leading scorer, usually regardless of position.

“He’s already one of the best players in the league, so thank God there’s still room to improve,” Wembanyama said.

It would be hard to improve on Saturday's performance, which Castle completed with a plus-30 in net-point differential against Dallas.

“He was aggressive,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He had an incredible game.”

Castle made his first 10 shots before a 3-pointer from 28 feet bounced off the front of the rim three minutes into the second half. He finished 15 for 19 from the field, including 3 for 5 on 3-pointers.

Castle’s first triple-double was Nov. 12, 2025, against the Golden State Warriors when he had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 125-120 loss.

He joins Hall of Famer David Robinson as the only San Antonio players with a 40-point triple-double in the Spurs' 54-year history.

Robinson, who has season tickets, watched from his courtside seats.

“He’s a big part of this franchise,” Castle said. “What he did for this organization was great. So, just to hear my name even alongside of his is special.”

The only time Castle wasn't completely at ease on the court Saturday was postgame when he led the Spurs' new victory ritual of a drum countdown for the fans. It was Castle's first time pounding the drum.

“I kind of went based off the last couple I've seen,” Castle said. “So, I thought I did decent.”

Wembanyama was jokingly less enthused.

“He has some range to get better, for sure,” Wembanyama said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Dallas Mavericks forward Marvin Bagley III (35) drives against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

From left to right, San Antonio Spurs' Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell laugh on the bench during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) scores over Dallas Mavericks forward Klay Thompson during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) goes to the basket against Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) drives against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to over seven more years in prison after she began a hunger strike, supporters said Sunday, as Tehran cracks down on all dissent following nationwide protests and the deaths of thousands at the hands of security forces.

The new convictions against Mohammadi come as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program to avert a threatened military strike by U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran's top diplomat insisted Sunday that Tehran's strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers," striking a maximalist position just after negotiations in Oman with the U.S.

Mohammadi’s supporters cited her lawyer, who spoke to Mohammadi. The lawyer, Mostafa Nili, confirmed the sentence on X, saying it had been handed down Saturday by a Revolutionary Court in the city of Mashhad. Such courts typically issue verdicts with little or no opportunity for defendants to contest their charges.

“She has been sentenced to six years in prison for ‘gathering and collusion’ and one and a half years for propaganda and two-year travel ban,” he wrote. She received another two years of internal exile to the city of Khosf, some 740 kilometers (460 miles) southeast of Tehran, the capital, the lawyer added.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the sentence. Supporters say Mohammadi has been on a hunger strike since Feb. 2. She had been arrested in December at a ceremony honoring Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate who had been based in Mashhad. Footage from the demonstration showed her shouting, demanding justice for Alikordi and others.

Supporters had warned for months before her December arrest that Mohammadi, 53, was at risk of being put back into prison after she received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns.

While that was to be only three weeks, Mohammadi’s time out of prison lengthened, possibly as activists and Western powers pushed Iran to keep her free. She remained out even during the 12-day war in June between Iran and Israel.

Mohammadi still kept up her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including even demonstrating at one point in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she had been held.

Mohammadi had been serving 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government. She also had backed the nationwide protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which have seen women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab.

Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say. Her lawyer in late 2024 revealed doctors had found a bone lesion that they feared could be cancerous that later was removed.

“Considering her illnesses, it is expected that she will be temporarily released on bail so that she can receive treatment,” Nili wrote.

However, Iranian officials have been signaling a harder line against all dissent since the demonstrations. Speaking on Sunday, Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made comments suggesting harsh prison sentences awaited many.

“Look at some individuals who once were with the revolution and accompanied the revolution," he said. "Today, what they are saying, what they are writing, what statements they issue, they are unfortunate, they are forlorn (and) they will face damage.”

The news about Mohammadi came as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with Trump, who bombed Iranian atomic sites in June during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, with Iran expected to be the major subject of discussion, his office said.

While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the talks Friday in Oman with the Americans as “a step forward,” Araghchi's remarks show the challenge ahead. Already, the U.S. moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so.

“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others," Araghchi said. "They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is in the power to say no to the powers.”

Araghchi's choice to explicitly use an “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device likely wasn't accidental. While Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to seek the bomb up until 2003.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%, the only nonweapons state to do so. Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.

Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khamenei's blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks.

“The Iran-U.S. talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. ... The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”

It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”

FILE - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to a question in a joint press briefing with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi after their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi,File)