Spurs’ Castle ruled out after hard fall on back

LOS ANGELES — San Antonio Spurs rising star guard Stephon Castle exited Tuesday night’s road game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a pelvis contusion.

X-rays were negative, according to the team. Castle was ruled out for the remainder of the game at halftime, when the Spurs were up by 29 points.

Castle was injured when he landed on his back after a spectacular block of a transition dunk attempt by Rui Hachimura in the second quarter.

During the next stop in play with 4:10 remaining before the half, Castle’s San Antonio teammates surrounded him while the team’s athletic trainers checked on him while he was down on the baseline away from the Spurs’ bench. He walked off under his own power after a couple of minutes and moved gingerly as he headed to the locker room for further evaluation.

Castle, the Rookie of the Year last season, entered the game averaging 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.