马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-22, By Glenn Rogers

许多NBA球员曾体验过四强赛的荣耀

那些跳过大学直接进入NBA的年轻球员现在可能感觉有些格格不入。

NCAA 三月疯狂的赛程让他们只能眼巴巴地看着队友们聚在一起，为他们的母校加油，或者与对手院校较劲。

明尼苏达的凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett)既没有母校也没有对手，每到这个时节，他总会希望自己上过大学。

“仅仅为了体验，只是为了看看大学生活会是什么样子，”加内特说。“我认为我观看比赛的强度和兴趣与我在大学时一样。

“我想NBA总决赛将是我的全国锦标赛。”

但至少到目前为止，这些年轻球员是少数。让我们看看一些在大学时期就展现出过早的潜力，并入选四强赛全明星阵容的球员。

帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)在20世纪80年代初期三次入选锦标赛最佳阵容，并率领乔治城大学在1984年夺冠，以84-75战胜了阿基姆·奥拉朱旺(Akeem Olajuwon)和休斯敦大学。

奥拉朱旺，Phi Slamma Jama的核心人物，两次入选锦标赛最佳阵容，但他必须等到进入NBA后才能赢得冠军。休斯敦大学还在1983年NCAA冠军赛中以52-54输给了北卡罗来纳州立大学。

迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)在1982年入选锦标赛最佳阵容，同年，他在比赛结束前15秒命中跳投，帮助北卡罗来纳大学在冠军赛中战胜了乔治城大学。

“从不紧张”的珀维斯·埃里森(Pervis Ellison)饱受伤病困扰，他的NBA生涯并不顺利，只有在华盛顿效力期间的两年表现出色，在1991-92赛季和1992-93赛季场均分别得到20分和17.4分。但在1986年，他带领路易斯维尔大学在决赛中以72-69战胜了杜克大学，并被评为锦标赛最有价值球员，从而赢得了大学的荣耀。

锡拉丘兹大学的德里克·科尔曼(Derrick Coleman)和谢尔曼·道格拉斯(Sherman Douglas)，以及UNLV的阿蒙·吉利亚姆(Armon Gilliam)在1987年入选了锦标赛最佳阵容。印第安纳大学在那一年赢得了冠军，在决赛中以74-73险胜锡拉丘兹大学。在半决赛中，印第安纳大学已经以97-93战胜了UNLV。

吉利亚姆被认为是当年NBA选秀中潜在的状元秀，但最终这个荣誉落到了大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)手中，尽管他还要服役几年，但马刺队还是选择了这位海军服役的球员。

马刺队的肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和他的亚利桑那大学队友史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)在1988年入选锦标赛最佳阵容，一同入选的还有堪萨斯大学的最佳球员丹尼·曼宁(Danny Manning)和俄克拉荷马大学的斯泰西·金(Stacey King)。

堪萨斯大学在那一年包揽了所有荣誉，在决赛中以83-79战胜了俄克拉荷马大学。科尔带着他的跳投进入了NBA，并将其打磨得更加完美，最终加入了芝加哥公牛队，他50%的投篮命中率帮助球队获得了两个NBA冠军。

埃利奥特希望能够及时恢复，帮助马刺队在本赛季的季后赛中取得好成绩。曼宁也希望能够在太阳队中打出一段成功的季后赛之旅。金是这群球员中表现最不稳定的，但他仍然戴着三枚NBA总冠军戒指，这是乔丹带给他的荣誉。

密歇根大学的格伦·莱斯(Glen Rice)和杜克大学的丹尼·费里(Danny Ferry)是1989年全明星阵容的五名成员之一。莱斯获得了NCAA冠军，之后成为NBA中最令人畏惧的射手之一。费里在进入联盟后不久就失去了光芒。

在20世纪90年代初期，锦标赛最佳阵容中充斥着杜克大学的球员，克里斯蒂安·莱特纳(Christian Laettner)、鲍比·赫利(Bobby Hurley)和格兰特·希尔(Grant Hill)都跳入了NBA。杜克大学在1991年和1992年连续获得了冠军。这三位球员在NBA中还没有品尝过真正的季后赛成功。

乔治亚理工大学的丹尼斯·斯科特(Dennis Scott)和UNLV的拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)以及斯泰西·奥格蒙(Stacey Augmon)入选了1990年的锦标赛最佳阵容，而约翰逊和奥格蒙带领叛军队获得了当年冠军。

斯科特的跳投帮助奥兰多魔术队成为NBA总冠军的竞争者，奥格蒙四处漂泊，而约翰逊在与阿隆佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)并肩作战时，让黄蜂队成为一支令人兴奋的球队，现在他正在尝试在没有尤因的尼克斯队中发挥自己的作用。

20世纪90年代末的锦标赛最佳阵容中也充满了跳入NBA的球员，其中包括来自密歇根大学的贾伦·罗斯(Jalen Rose)和克里斯·韦伯(Chris Webber)（两次）、来自北卡罗来纳大学的乔治·林奇(George Lynch)和埃里克·蒙特罗斯(Eric Montross)、来自阿肯色大学的科利斯·威廉姆森(Corliss Williamson)（两次）、来自加州大学洛杉矶分校的埃德·奥班农(Ed O’Bannon)、来自俄克拉荷马州立大学的布莱恩特·里夫斯(Bryant Reeves)、来自肯塔基大学的托尼·德尔克(Tony Delk)和罗恩·默瑟(Ron Mercer)（两次）、来自马萨诸塞州大学的马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)、来自锡拉丘兹大学的约翰·华莱士(John Wallace)以及来自明尼苏达大学的鲍比·杰克逊(Bobby Jackson)。

林奇、蒙特罗斯、威廉姆森、奥班农、德尔克和默瑟都是NCAA冠军队的成员。

这个名单将会在今年6月的选秀大会之后继续扩大。

点击查看原文：Many in NBA experienced Final Four glory

Many in NBA experienced Final Four glory

The high school kids who skirted college and zipped straight into the NBA are feeling a little bit out of it right now.

March Madness has left them gazing at their teammates, huddled and rooting for their alma maters or against rival institutions.

Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, for one, has neither alma mater nor rival, and this time of year he tends to wish he had attended college.

“Just for the experience itself, just to see what it would be like,” Garnett said. "I think I watch it with the same intensity and interest I would if I’d been in college.

“I guess the NBA Finals will have to be my national championship.”

But, to date at least, the kiddie corps is in the minority. Let’s take a look at some players who showed their early promise and were named to Final Four all- tournament teams.

Patrick Ewing was a member of the all-tournament team three times during the early 1980s and led Georgetown to the ultimate crown in '84, defeating Akeem Olajuwon and Houston 84-75.

Olajuwon, the centerpiece of Phi Slamma Jama, was a member of the all-tournament team twice, but he had to wait until he was in the NBA before winning a championship. Houston also lost in the '83 NCAA championship game, 54-52 to North Carolina State.

Michael Jordan was all- tournament in '82, the same year he hit a jumper with 15 seconds left to lift North Carolina over Georgetown in the title game.

“Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison has labored through his injury- plagued NBA career, boasting just two solid years with Washington when he averaged 20 and 17.4 points through the '91-92 and '92-93 seasons. But he attained collegiate glory when he was named the tournament’s most outstanding player and guided Louisville over Duke 72-69 in the final game in '86.

Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman and Sherman Douglas and UNLV’s Armon Gilliam made the all- tournament team in '87. Indiana won the title that year, nipping Syracuse 74-73 in the final game. The Hoosiers already had dispatched UNLV 97-93 in the semifinals.

Gilliam had been touted as a possible No. 1 pick in that year’s NBA draft, but that honor went to David Robinson, snatched by the Spurs despite the fact that he still faced years of obligation to the Navy.

The Spurs’ Sean Elliott and Arizona teammate Steve Kerr made the team in '88 along with top player Danny Manning of Kansas and Stacey King of Oklahoma.

Kansas won everything that year, defeating Oklahoma 83-79 in the title game. Kerr took his jumper to the NBA, polished it and eventually wound up in Chicago where his 50 percent shooting contributed to two NBA titles.

Elliott hopes to get back in time to help guide the Spurs through the playoffs this season. Manning, too, is looking for a fruitful playoff run with the Suns. King has been the least productive of the group, but he still wears three NBA title rings, courtesy of Jordan.

Michigan’s Glen Rice and Duke’s Danny Ferry were members of the '89 select five. Rice enjoyed NCAA champion status and since has become one of the NBA’s most feared shooters. Ferry’s bubble burst shortly after he arrived in the big league.

The all-tourney teams were dominated by Duke guys during the early '90s, with Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill making the jump to the NBA. Duke won back-to-back titles in '91 and '92. The three players have yet to taste serious playoff success in the big time.

Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott and UNLV’s Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon made the '90 all-tourney group, and Johnson and Augmon ran the Rebels to the title that year.

Scott’s jumper helped make the Orlando Magic an NBA title contender, Augmon has drifted about, and Johnson is trying to make his impact with the Ewing- less Knicks after making the Hornets a rousing bunch while playing alongside Alonzo Mourning.

The all-tourney teams of the late '90s were littered with players who made the leap to the NBA - Jalen Rose and Chris Webber (twice) from Michigan, George Lynch and Eric Montross from North Carolina, Corliss Williamson (twice) from Arkansas, Ed O’Bannon from UCLA, Bryant Reeves from Oklahoma State, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer (twice) from Kentucky, Marcus Camby from Massachusetts, John Wallace from Syracuse and Bobby Jackson from Minnesota.

Lynch, Montross, Williamson, O’Bannon, Delk and Mercer all were members of NCAA championship teams.

The list will expand after this June’s draft.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-23, By Arthur Garcia

帕森在马刺队的第三节比赛中表现出色

尽管肯塔基大学在五天后才能进入四强，但一位前野猫队枪手在周日晚上半场就在阿勒摩圆顶球馆找到了归属感。

然而，在下半场，一位通常把比赛场地当作他大显身手的地方的枪手帮助马刺队以 93-83 击败了太阳队。

圣安东尼奥队前锋查克·帕森，在本赛季第 10 次首发中，在第三节中的四次三分帮助马刺队在该赛季中首次战胜菲尼克斯队。圣安东尼奥队在前三场比赛中输给了可能的季后赛首轮对手。

帕森说：“我们不想以 0-4 的战绩进入对阵这支球队的季后赛，”帕森在连续第五次首发中以 14 分和 5 个篮板结束了比赛。

在肯塔基州在 NCAA 南区决赛中以 86-84 战胜杜克大学预订了圣安东尼奥后不久，前野猫队球星雷克斯·查普曼带领太阳队在半场以 44-42 领先。

但帕森在第三节中连续投中四次三分，带领马刺队复苏。他第四个进球让马刺队获得了 10 分的领先优势 (65-55)，结束了 19-7 的比分。

帕森毫不犹豫地出手，接到了文尼·德尔·内格罗的三次传球和艾弗里·约翰逊的一次传球，并且在三分线外一步远投篮。

帕森说：“我必须保持侵略性。”“我们一直依靠戴夫（罗宾逊）、蒂姆（邓肯）和艾弗里将我们带到我们现在所处的位置。我们需要其他人为我们得分。”

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说：“这就是查克的工作。他之所以存在就是为了投三分。”

查普曼是一位 6 英尺 4 英寸的分卫，他利用自己通常的失去平衡单腿跳投和定点三分球改变姿势，为自己创造空间。

查普曼在 1990 年大二结束后离开肯塔基大学，在前两节中以 20 分撕裂球网，包括在哨声响起时完成一次 16 英尺的跑动跳投。他在上半场的 18 分钟内，12 投 8 中——三分 3 投 2 中。

查普曼说：“也许（马刺队）今晚获胜的动力比我们更大，而这可能就是差异所在，”查普曼指的是菲尼克斯队最近对马刺队的掌控。“大个子表现得非常好，当查克变得火热时，他为他们打开了更多机会。”

查普曼以 30 分的最高得分结束了比赛，但他在马刺队的第三节比赛中仅得到 2 分。在下半场，查普曼的九次尝试中有六次都没能命中。

罗宾逊说：“雷克斯·查普曼发挥得很好，投了很多艰难的球，但我们的防守才是关键。”

太阳队在对阵马刺队的比赛中投篮命中率为 40.3%（31 投 77 中），于周六晚上在菲尼克斯击败了西雅图队。

太阳队教练丹尼·安吉说：“在中场休息时，我们讨论了在第三节时充满能量，但我们打了（周六）晚上，并且表现出来了。”“显然，我们很疲惫，有点犹豫，而（马刺队）则更有活力。我们在最后有了一些机会，但比赛不够出色。”

在第四节后期，查普曼尝试复制他 1997 年季后赛的一些比赛魔法。当太阳队以 87-81 还有 1:37 时，他尝试了他令人难忘的过头接球和远离篮筐的三分球。但查普曼没有像去年第一轮对阵西雅图队时一样“抓到空无一物”——而是打了个空。

点击查看原文：Person trey-mendous in S.A.'s big third quarter

Person trey-mendous in S.A.'s big third quarter

Although the Final Four still is five days away for Kentucky, one former Wildcats gunner made himself feel right at home on the Alamodome floor for one half Sunday night.

In the second half, however, a rifleman who normally makes the dome his stomping grounds helped the Spurs shoot down the Suns 93- 83.

San Antonio forward Chuck Person, making his 10th start this season, drilled four third-quarter three-pointers as the Spurs pulled away for the first win against Phoenix this season. San Antonio had dropped the first three games against its possible first-round playoff opponent.

“We didn’t want to go into the playoffs against this team 0-4,” said Person, who finished with 14 points and five rebounds in his fifth straight start.

Shortly after Kentucky made reservations for San Antonio with its 86-84 victory over Duke in the NCAA Tournament South Regional final Sunday, former Wildcats star Rex Chapman carried the Suns to a 44-42 first-half lead.

But Person led a Spurs revival in the third quarter with four treys in a span of 4:34. His fourth gave the Spurs their first 10-point lead (65- 55) of the game, capping a 19-7 run.

Person didn’t hesitate on his release, taking three passes from Vinny Del Negro and one from Avery Johnson and draining shots from a step beyond the arc.

“I had to be aggressive,” Person said. “We’ve been relying on Dave (Robinson) and Tim (Duncan) and Avery to get us to where we’re at. We’ve been needing someone else to get points on the board.”

Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: “That’s what Chuck does. He lives to shoot threes.”

Chapman, a 6-foot-4 off-guard, created space for open looks with his usual array of off-balance, one- legged jumpers and spot-up three- pointers.

Chapman, who left Kentucky after his sophomore year in 1990, ripped the nets for 20 points in the first two periods, including a 16- foot running jumper at the buzzer. He drilled 8 of 12 from the field - 2 of 3 threes - in 18 first-half minutes.

“Maybe (the Spurs) had a little more incentive to win tonight than we did, and that might have been the difference,” Chapman said, referring to Phoenix’s recent mastery of the Spurs. “The big guys played excellent, and when Chuck got hot, he opened it up more for them.”

Chapman finished with a game- high 30 points, but he scored only two during the Spurs’ 31-19 third period. In the second half, Chapman missed on six of his nine attempts.

“Rex Chapman went crazy and hit a lot of tough shots, but our defense was the key,” Robinson said.

The Suns, who shot 40.3 percent (31 of 77) against the Spurs, defeated Seattle in Phoenix on Saturday night.

“At halftime, we talked about coming out in the third and playing with some energy, but we played (Saturday) night and it showed,” Suns coach Danny Ainge said. “We were obviously fatigued and a little tentative, while (the Spurs) played with more energy. We had some opportunities late but didn’t play well enough to win.”

Late in the fourth, Chapman tried to repeat some of his 1997 playoff magic. He attempted his memorable over-the-shoulder catch and fallaway three-pointer with the Suns down 87-81 with 1:37 left. But instead of catching nothin’ but net - as he did against Seattle in the first round last year - Chapman hit all air.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-23, By Buck Harvey

伤病隐患？寻找季后赛真相

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 已经厌倦了身体状况，就像电力不足且果味十足的热带球场(Tropicana Field) 厌倦了它本身一样。当被问及是否厌倦了谈论他的身体时，他说不，他只是厌倦了自己的身体。

脊椎、膝盖、大腿，罗宾逊从未经历过这样的赛季。他很幸运，在耐克(Nike) 为他拍摄广告时没有拉伤。罗宾逊的伤病一直以来都是让他赛季报销，而不是像现在这样在比赛中受限。

所以上周对阵夏洛特以及周日晚上对阵菲尼克斯，他发现自己处于职业生涯中从未有过的状态：孤军奋战。每个人都看过录像——在很多夜晚，罗宾逊无法阻止对手突破——所以他们经常让他独自面对一名防守球员。

对于那些寻找季后赛线索的人来说：不要把战胜疲惫的太阳队看得太重。更重要的是关注罗宾逊在四月的状态。

马刺队不希望听到这种说法，因为他们一直在听到他们对阵季后赛球队的糟糕战绩。周日是他们突破性的胜利，难道他们不配获得一次免费前往克利夫兰的旅行吗？

太阳队之前三次都战胜了马刺队，没错，但罗宾逊在一场失利中半场就下场，另一场比赛则完全缺席。周日轮到太阳队寻找借口了，他们找到了。丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge) 说，他们在前一天晚上以一分险胜西雅图的那场比赛是“本赛季最激动人心的比赛”。

那么，你如何根据这些信息来预测季后赛的预期呢？“我不知道，”安吉说。“我们已经输给了湖人队三次了，但每一次都是在背靠背的第二场比赛。今晚也是如此。这不是我们真正的实力。”

尽管如此，如果两支球队再次相遇，一些事情已经确定。雷克斯·查普曼(Rex Chapman) 很可能会在跳进第一排的时候得分，而蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 会像菲尼克斯队的前线球员坐在第一排一样抢篮板。

邓肯得到26分和21个篮板后，艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 走上前去对邓肯说了一段老约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas) 的话。“我告诉他，‘我们还需要再多一些。’”

约翰逊说这句话的时候笑了，虽然其中包含了很多真相。马刺队确实需要更多，尤其是在他们等待罗宾逊回归的时候。他们的外线进攻已经升级，而邓肯也已经开花结果。但如果罗宾逊恢复了让他成为得分王的敏捷性呢？

安吉一想到这个就皱起了眉头，部分原因是罗宾逊现在并不差。周日他的得分和篮板总数比菲尼克斯队的中锋多出30分。而且，当太阳队在比赛后期追分时，正是罗宾逊抢下了进攻篮板，投进了两个罚球，然后封盖了乔治·麦克劳德(George McCloud) 的三分球。

但低迷的时刻令人担忧。当他在对阵明尼苏达和夏洛特的比赛中30投5中时，他是否成为了马刺队最糟糕的球员？安吉注意到了这一点。这就是为什么菲尼克斯队有时会对罗宾逊进行快速包夹，但很多时候却不会。“这不仅仅是关于大卫的比赛，”安吉寻找合适的词语说。“关键是选择你的毒药。”

曾经有一段时间，罗宾逊是毒药，而且有时——比如九天前对阵芝加哥的比赛——他仍然可以是。但他的步伐变得如此忽明忽暗，以至于当安吉说他不喜欢马刺队作为季后赛对手时，他很可能是在故弄玄虚。

所以，随着马刺队开始客场之旅，他们将在五个城市寻找更多的季后赛线索，包括印第安纳和纽约。但没有什么比他们将随身携带的7英尺高的线索更重要了。

点击查看原文：Body of clues? In search of playoff truths

Body of clues? In search of playoff truths

David Robinson is as tired of his equipment as the power-failing yet fruity Tropicana Field is of its. Asked if he’s sick of talking about his body, he says no, he’s just sick of his body.

Spine, knee, thigh. Robinson’s never had a year like this. He’s lucky he didn’t pull something when Nike splashed him for a commercial. Robinson’s injuries had always benched him for the season, not handicapped him as he played on.

So last week against Charlotte and Sunday evening against Phoenix, he found himself as he never has in his career. Mostly alone. Everyone has seen the films - how on many nights Robinson can’t take people off the dribble - so they’ve been leaving him a lot with one defender.

For those looking for playoff clues: Don’t hang too much on beating the tired Suns. Hang more on how Robinson feels in April.

The Spurs won’t want to hear that, since all they’ve been hearing about is their woeful record against playoff teams. Sunday was their breakthrough, so don’t they deserve something better than an all-expenses paid trip to Cleveland?

The Suns had beaten the Spurs the three previous times, all right, but Robinson sat down at halftime in one of those losses and missed another one entirely. Sunday was the Suns’ turn to find an excuse, and they had one. Danny Ainge said their one-point win the night before against Seattle was “the most emotional game of the season.”

So how do you base playoff expectations on any of this? “I don’t,” Ainge said. “We’ve lost to the Lakers three times, but each one was the second game of a back-to-back. The same was true tonight. This wasn’t our team.”

Still, a few things have been established should these teams meet again. Rex Chapman likely will score a few points while leaping into the first row, and Tim Duncan will rebound as if the Phoenix front line is sitting in the first row.

After Duncan went for 26 points and 21 boards, Avery Johnson went up to Duncan and gave him the old John Lucas line. “I told him, ‘We still need a little more.’”

Johnson laughed when he said it, though there was a lot of truth in it. The Spurs do need more of it, especially while they wait on Robinson. Their perimeter game has upgraded itself while Duncan blossomed. But what if Robinson regained the quickness that made him a scoring champ?

Ainge grimaced at the thought, partly because Robinson isn’t awful right now. His combined points and rebounds Sunday were 30 more than his Phoenix counterpart at center. And when the Suns pulled close late, it was Robinson who grabbed an offensive rebound, threw in two free throws and then blocked a George McCloud three-point attempt.

But the down moments are alarming. When he shot 5 for 30 against Minnesota and Charlotte, could he have been the worst Spur on the floor? Ainge noticed. That’s why Phoenix sometimes sent a quick double team at Robinson but many times didn’t. “It’s not so much David’s game,” said Ainge, searching for the right words. “It’s pick your poison.”

There was a time when Robinson was the poison and sometimes - such as against Chicago just nine days ago - he can still be. But the hop in his step is such an on-off thing that, when Ainge says he doesn’t like the Spurs as a playoff match, he’s more than likely being coy.

So as the Spurs go on the road, they will search for more playoff clues in five cities, including Indiana and New York. But nothing means more than a 7-foot clue they will take with them.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-24, By Jerry Briggs

这场球赛将见证兄弟重聚 - 球赛将兄弟重聚

克利夫兰 - 历史上第13场“珀森兄弟”对决将在今晚 6:30 在豪华的冈德竞技场（Gund Arena）上演，这是联盟最新、最豪华的竞技场之一。

女服务员将为坐在球场边包厢的富裕客户提供服务。其他球迷将坐在豪华套房里，享受客厅般的舒适，这里可以为公司人群提供香槟庆祝服务。

在篮球场上，马刺队的锋卫球员查克·珀森（Chuck Person）和克利夫兰骑士队的后卫韦斯利·珀森（Wesley Person）将再次相遇。这对来自阿拉巴马州布兰特利兄弟可以回忆起他们职业生涯初期在一个更简陋的场地比赛。

“小时候，我们在自家后院打球，”查克·珀森回忆道，“我们会取下自行车轮圈，钉在树上当篮筐，然后我们就会打一对一。”

马刺队的这位前锋说，在阿拉巴马州的烈日下，比赛往往会变得非常激烈。

“我们在沙地上打球，”他说，“那里只有沙子。我们没有草地，因为我们把草都踩光了。”

珀森兄弟在他们职业生涯的各个阶段都在不断地战胜对手。

从高中到大学（两人都就读于奥本大学），再到职业赛场，珀森兄弟已经成为联盟中最出色的远距离射手之一。

究竟谁才是最优秀的？这是一个有争议的问题。

“这毫无疑问，”33 岁的查克坚持说，他在 NBA 历史三分球榜单上排名第四，共命中 1140 个三分球。“我一直都是最优秀的。”

但 26 岁的韦斯利正在迅速崛起。他以三分球命中数（158 个）和出手次数（369 次）领跑联盟，并且以 42.8% 的命中率排名联盟第七。

最近，他打破了前骑士球星马克·普莱斯（Mark Price）单赛季三分球命中数（152 个）的纪录。

他在休赛期被交易到骑士队，来自菲尼克斯太阳队，他是球队第二得分手，场均得到 15.4 分，作为先发得分后卫。

“他想找一个能够有所作为的地方，”查克·珀森说，“他在菲尼克斯打得很好，但他想找一个能够更上一层楼的地方。”

预计马刺队的珀森将会在今晚首发，但当肖恩·埃利奥特（Sean Elliott）在几周后回归阵容时，他可能会回到替补席。在 17 个月前的背部手术后，珀森不再是手术前的那个球员了。

尽管如此，马刺队仍然依赖于他的火力。他场均得到 7.0 分，当他在一场比赛中命中两个或更多个三分球时，他的球队战绩为 19 胜 4 负。马刺队在周日晚上以 93-83 击败了菲尼克斯太阳队，珀森在第三节爆发，命中了四个三分球。

他也曾在面对面的较量中胜过他的弟弟。

在常规赛中，查克以 5-3 领先他的兄弟，在季后赛中以 3-1 领先，在 1996 年第一轮西部决赛中，马刺队淘汰了太阳队。

由于查克因背部伤病缺席了整个上赛季，并且错过了马刺队在 11 月 1 日以 83-80 击败骑士队的比赛，所以今晚的对决将是他们自 1996 年季后赛以来首次在球场上相遇。

“我确信这将成为今年夏天他们之间不少垃圾话的主题，”波波维奇说。

除了垃圾话之外，查克·珀森说他和他的兄弟关系仍然很密切。两人预计将在今晚比赛之前聚在一起打牌。查克说他期待着看到他兄弟的孩子们。

尽管两人都在 NBA 取得了成功，但他们仍然在他们长大的布兰特利拥有自己的夏季住宅。

“你可以把孩子带出乡村，但你无法把乡村从孩子身上带走，”珀森说，“还有一句老话，鸡总是会回巢的。”

预计今晚在冈德竞技场，羽毛会再次飞舞。

马刺队消息：马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇说，肖恩·埃利奥特将在这次旅行中首次进行有对抗的训练，自从 1 月 27 日接受膝盖肌腱手术以来。埃利奥特可能在 4 月份的第一周回归阵容。

点击查看原文：This one could get Person(al) - Game boasts brothers' reunion

This one could get Person(al) - Game boasts brothers’ reunion

CLEVELAND - The 13th Person-to-Person matchup in NBA history will unfold at 6:30 tonight at plush Gund Arena, one of the league’s newest and fanciest arenas.

Waitresses will cater to well-to-do clients in courtside box seats. Other fans will sit in living- room comfort in luxury suites, where a champagne celebration can be ordered up for the corporate crowd.

On the basketball floor, forward Chuck Person of the Spurs and guard Wesley Person of the Cleveland Cavaliers will meet again. The brothers from Brantley, Ala., can recall a more humble venue at the beginning of their careers.

“When we were kids, we played in our backyard,” Chuck Person recalled. “We’d take a bicycle rim and nail it to a tree to use as a basket, then we’d go play some one on one.”

The Spurs’ forward said games used to get pretty intense under the hot Alabama sun.

“We played in the sand,” he said. “That’s all there was. We didn’t have any grass, because we wore it all out.”

The Person brothers have been wearing out the competition at every level of their careers.

From high school, to college (both attended Auburn University) and into the pros, the Persons have made a name for themselves as two of the best long-range shooters in the game.

Just who is the best? It’s a matter of debate.

“It’s no contest,” insisted 33-year-old Chuck, who ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time list with 1,140 threes. “I’ve always been the best.”

But Wesley, 26, is coming on strong. He leads the league in three-point field goals made (158) and attempted (369) and is seventh in accuracy (42.8 percent).

Most recently, he broke former Cavs star Mark Price’s record (152) for treys in a season.

Traded to the Cavs from the Phoenix Suns in the off-season, he ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points a game as a starter at shooting guard.

“He wanted to go somewhere where he could make a difference,” Chuck Person said. “He played well in Phoenix. But he wanted to go somewhere he could be even better.”

The Spurs’ Person is expected to start tonight, but he probably will revert to a reserve role when Sean Elliott returns to the lineup in a few weeks. Coming off back surgery 17 months ago, Person isn’t the same player he was before the injury.

Nevertheless, the Spurs still rely on him for firepower. He’s averaging 7.0 points a game, and his team is 19-4 when he hits two or more threes in a game. The Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns 93-83 Sunday night when Person nailed four treys in a third-quarter outburst.

He also has gotten the best of his younger brother in head-to-head matchups.

Chuck is up 5-3 on his sibling in the regular season and 3-1 in the playoffs, when the Spurs knocked out the Suns from the Western Conference playoffs in the first round in 1996.

Because Chuck sat out all of last season with a back injury and missed the Spurs’ 83-80 victory over the Cavaliers on Nov. 1, tonight’s matchup will be their first on-court meeting since the '96 playoffs.

“I’m sure it’ll be the subject of a lot of trash-talk this summer,” Popovich said.

All trash-talking aside, Chuck Person said he and his brother remain close. The two were expected to get together to play some cards before tonight’s game. Chuck said he was looking forward to seeing his brother’s kids.

Even though both have found success in the NBA, they still make their summer homes in Brantley, where they grew up.

“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy,” Person said. “There’s another old saying that chickens always come home to roost.”

Expect the feathers to fly again tonight at Gund Arena.

Spurs notes: Sean Elliott will engage in contact workouts during the trip for the first time since he underwent surgery on a knee tendon Jan. 27, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Elliott could return to the lineup the first week of April.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-25, By Jerry Briggs

德尔·内格罗在最后几秒的跳投使马刺队胜过骑士队

克利夫兰 —— 在季后赛第一轮比赛的主场优势争夺战中，他们马刺于周二晚上在五场东部联盟比赛的揭幕战中获得了胡迪尼奖。

在比赛仅剩 2 分钟时落后 5 分，他们在 17,813 人面前在冈德体育馆以 86 比 85 的不可能比分战胜了克利夫兰骑士队。

“能赢固然好，客场取胜更棒”，马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“这样一个好的开局真的会让你士气大振”。

马刺队今晚 6:30 在奥本山宫殿与底特律活塞队的比赛中继续他们的征途。

马刺队后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗在比赛还剩 3.3 秒时靠一个 12 英尺的左后角跳投命中制胜一球。骑士队在随后的界外发球中失误，没能出手，他们四连胜就此终结。

“如果你没拿下第一场，你就无法在（客场之旅）中五战全胜”，马刺队的福查德·帕森说，他赢得了与他弟弟——骑士队的后卫韦斯利·帕森的一对一比拼。

更重要的是，马刺队（47 胜 22 负）在西部联盟积分榜中第四名的争夺中领先于菲尼克斯太阳队，这将使他们在季后赛第一轮获得主场优势。

周二晚上，菲尼克斯队在犹他州以 73 比 92 输球。因此，排名第四的马刺队领先于排名第五的太阳队（45 胜 24 负）两场，常规赛还有 13 场比赛可打。

考虑到骑士队（37 胜 31 负）迫使对方出现 16 次失误，并将马刺队的投篮命中率控制在 43.5%，他们输掉了一场艰难的比赛。

“人们说我们有最难的赛程表来结束这个赛季”，马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说。“但我告诉球员们，如果我们利用好这些比赛，它们可能会对我们有帮助”。

德尔·内格罗的制胜投篮非常漂亮。在中场附近接到约翰逊的界外传球后，他转身向左突破。德尔·内格罗一直冲到底线，然后跳起来投篮，越过了骑士队的菜鸟德里克·安德森。

“这是我喜欢投的球”，德尔·内格罗说。“这只是一个瞬间的反应，效果很好。我想如果投丢了，我们的大个子可以去拿下篮板”。

大个子——中锋大卫·罗宾逊和大前锋蒂姆·邓肯——在比赛的最后阶段击溃了骑士队。

在韦斯利·帕森投中三分球，让克利夫兰队在还剩 2:28 时以 83 比 78 领先后，马刺队连续拿了 6 分，由他们两位 7 英尺的全明星球员带动。

起初，邓肯从高位球传球给罗宾逊，罗宾逊转身摆脱防守接球完成空中接力扣篮。而在另一端，邓肯封盖了骑士队 7 英尺 3 英寸的菜鸟中锋齐德鲁纳斯·伊尔戈斯卡斯的投篮。

同样不甘落后的是，罗宾逊带球急突禁区造成对方犯规，并通过两记罚球帮助马刺队将分差缩小到 1 分。

在随后的一个进攻回合中，邓肯在禁区占据有利位置，接罗宾逊的传球命中上篮，在还剩 1:06 时以 84 比 83 领先。

但是在东部联盟争夺季后赛席位的克利夫兰骑士队（37 胜 31 负）拒绝投降。菜鸟控球后卫布雷文·奈特抢下进攻篮板，造成了罗宾逊的犯规，并在还剩 9.5 秒时命中两罚。

克利夫兰队的领先优势并没有持续多久，这全都是因为马刺队完美地执行了制胜战术。

"你知道吗？"约翰逊说。“在那个（界外）战术中，有大约七个选择。文尼可能是第五选择。最后的结果对我们产生了帮助”。

看起来强壮而敏捷的罗宾逊拿下 27 分、10 个篮板和 8 次盖帽。他完全封锁了骑士队全明星球员肖恩·坎普，让他在 14 投仅3中只得到 7 分。

在比赛还剩大约一分钟时，坎普有机会让骑士队领先。他转身运球，发现邓肯封堵了他的上篮路线。就在这时，罗宾逊从后面伸出手给了他一个大帽。

“我们成功地做出了至关重要的反应”，罗宾逊说。“我们封盖了一些投篮，并且做了一些有益的事情”。

伊尔戈斯卡斯以 21 分和 12 个篮板领衔骑士队。丹尼·费里，在受伤名单中待了一天后提前复出，得到 13 分。他第四节初命中三个三分球，让马刺队吃尽了苦头。

点击查看原文：Fading away from Cleveland - Del Negro's jumper in final seconds propels Spurs past Cavaliers

Fading away from Cleveland - Del Negro’s jumper in final seconds propels Spurs past Cavaliers

CLEVELAND - The Spurs, bearing down on a chance for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, qualified for the Houdini award Tuesday night during the first game of their five- game trip through the Eastern Conference.

Trailing by five points with a little more than two minutes remaining, they rallied for an improbable 86-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of 17,813 at Gund Arena.

“Wins are great, and road wins are even greater,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “To start out like this really gets you on a high.”

The Spurs continue their sojourn with a 6:30 game tonight against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro hit the winning shot on a 12-foot fadeaway jumper off the left side with 3.3 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers botched the ensuing inbounds play, failed to get off a shot and saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

“You can’t get all five (on the road trip) unless you get the first one,” said Spurs forward Chuck Person, who won the personal duel against his younger brother - Cavaliers guard Wesley Person.

More important, the Spurs (47- 22) picked up a game on the Phoenix Suns in the race for fourth place in the Western Conference standings, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Phoenix lost 92-73 at Utah on Tuesday night. As a result, the No. 4 Spurs lead the fifth-place Suns (45-24) by two games with 13 to play in the regular season.

The Cavaliers (37-31) lost a tough one, considering they forced 16 turnovers and held the Spurs to 43.5 percent shooting.

“People say we have one of the toughest schedules to finish the season,” Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “But what I’m telling guys is, if we use these right, it can benefit us.”

Del Negro’s winning shot was a beauty. He caught the inbounds pass from Johnson near midcourt, spun and drove to his left. Del Negro advanced all the way to the baseline, where he pulled up and fired over Cavs rookie Derek Anderson.

“That’s a shot I like to take,” Del Negro said. “It’s just a split-second reaction, and it worked out well. I figured if it missed, we had the two big guys to go get it.”

The big guys - center David Robinson and forward Tim Duncan - killed the Cavs down the stretch.

After Wesley Person buried a three-pointer to give Cleveland an 83-78 advantage with 2:28 remaining, the Spurs went on a 6-0 run powered by their two 7-foot All- Stars.

First, Duncan lobbed from the high post to Robinson spinning off the low block. Robinson caught the alley-oop pass and slammed it. On the other end, Duncan blocked a shot by Cavs 7-foot-3 rookie center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Not to be outdone, Robinson dribbled hard into the paint and drew contact, finishing with a pair of free throws that brought the Spurs to within one.

Duncan posted up hard on the next possession, received a pass from Robinson and hit a layup for an 84-83 lead with 1:06 remaining.

But the Cavaliers (37-31), battling for playoff position in the East, refused to fold. Rookie point guard Brevin Knight flashed inside for an offensive rebound off the floor, drew a foul from Robinson and buried two free throws with 9.5 seconds left.

Cleveland’s lead didn’t last long, all because the Spurs executed the winning play perfectly.

“You know what?” Johnson said. “On that (inbounds) play, there were about seven options. Vinny was probably No. 5. And it ended up working for us.”

Robinson, looking strong and agile, powered the Spurs with 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots. He completely shut down Cavs All-Star Shawn Kemp, holding him to seven points on 3 of 14 shooting.

On a play with about a minute remaining, Kemp had a chance to give the Cavs the lead. He spun to the basket and found Duncan blocking his path to the rim. Right about then, Robinson reached from behind and rejected it.

“We were able to make the plays that were important,” Robinson said. “We blocked some shots and made some good things happen.”

Ilgauskas led the Cavaliers with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Danny Ferry, activated earlier in the day off the injured list, scored 13 points. He hit three three-pointers early in the fourth quarter that hurt the Spurs.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-26, By Jerry Briggs
活塞给马刺沉重打击，约翰逊、珀森因伤离场

密歇根奥本山——在 24 小时内，马刺的情绪从在克利夫兰以最后时刻绝杀取胜的山峰跌入奥本山宫殿球馆的绝望谷底。

由全明星格兰特·希尔带领的活塞在周三晚上以 103-94 获胜，这场比赛中，伤病导致马刺先发控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊和前锋查克·珀森退场。

珀森在第三节背部紧锁时被抬出场。约翰逊在第四节开场不久因右侧髋部拉伤复发而离场。

“我不认为（伤病）与（比赛结果）有太大关系，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“当时我们正被狠狠踢屁股。他们几乎一整晚都比我们打得好。”

马刺在五场比赛的客场之旅中跌至 1-1，当他们在周五晚上去费城继续这段旅程时，预计人员将短缺。

尽管约翰逊没有被排除在外，但珀森明显将错过这次旅行的最后三场比赛。

“我认为我将回家让医生检查一下，”珀森说。

当疼痛袭来时，珀森处于防守姿势，移动脚步并试图阻止希尔持球突破。他伸出手试图阻止活塞球星突破，在此过程中扭伤了后背。

这位 33 岁的锋线球员立即尖叫道，他伤到了后背。珀森身体摇晃，无法行走。他被马刺队医约翰·安德森和体能教练迈克·布伦加特抬出场外。

“我的腿完全脱力了，”本赛季因背部问题缺席了 12 场比赛的珀森说，“我失去了双腿的感觉。现在我的后背真的很疼。”

尽管遭遇挫折，马刺（47-23）在季后赛主场优势争夺中并没有失去任何优势。他们仍位居第四，领先于排名第五的菲尼克斯太阳队（45-25）两场，后者在主场以 99-97 输给明尼苏达森林狼队。

活塞（34-36）取得四连胜，距离东部联盟的第八个也是最后一个季后赛席位已缩小到 2.5 场。活塞打得十分积极，投篮命中率达到 50.7%，自 2 月 22 日以来，这是第一次有人对马刺队达到 50% 的投篮命中率。

“即使我们身材高大，他们也很好地攻击了我们，”马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊说，“我认为我们犯了太多错误，这损害了我们的节奏。我一直在想我们将会进入一个状态，但我们从未如此。”

希尔以 24 分、10 次助攻和 7 个篮板带领活塞队。后卫杰里·斯塔克豪斯为活塞替补席注入了活力，得到 22 分。

罗宾逊在一次充满激情的表现中，为马刺得到 29 分，13 投 10 中。新秀蒂姆·邓肯以 25 分和 12 个篮板交出了他本赛季联盟领先的第 50 个两双。

“埃弗里下场时，我们想念他，”邓肯说，“他是为我们掌控比赛的人。”

马刺很可能在第二节输掉了比赛，当时他们 22 投仅 6 中，进攻完全崩溃。活塞队利用了这段低潮，在上半场取得了 10 分的领先优势。

在第三节，他们将领先优势扩大到 16 分。但马刺即使在没有珀森和约翰逊的情况下仍在比赛结束时进行了反击，并且几乎上演了两连胜的第二次震惊。

在周二晚上的克利夫兰，他们在还剩 2:23 时落后 5 分，并凭借文尼·德尔·内格罗的绝杀跳投以 86-85 获得胜利。在对阵活塞的比赛中，他们在第四节中段发动了一波 9-2 的攻势，将分差缩小到 4 分。

但底特律老将后卫乔·杜马斯用一个 18 英尺的远投回应，拉开 6-0 的攻势。杜马斯后来在还剩 3:28 时命中三分，将领先优势扩大到 99-86，有效地扑灭了马刺的反扑。

约翰逊几周前曾因臀部梨状肌综合征而缺席了两场比赛，他对在如此接近季后赛的时间里伤势再次出现感到沮丧。

“当你的腿锁住时，感觉并不好，”他说，“在我的整个职业生涯中，我从未遇到过这样的事情。”

约翰逊表示，疼痛似乎不像 3 月 8 日在俄勒冈州波特兰市的一场比赛中最初受伤时那么严重。

“轻了一点，”他说，“但我没有横向移动能力。这和我第一次受伤时的问题是一样的。”

注

东方盛宴：当他们周二晚上以 86-85 击败克利夫兰骑士队时，马刺对战东部联盟前八名的球队战绩提高到 8-5。

对阵西部联盟前七名的球队，排名第四的马刺战绩是 8-14。

令人欣慰的转变：马刺在积分榜上比上赛季进步了 27 场比赛，与 1988-89 赛季的菲尼克斯太阳队并列联盟历史上单赛季最具戏剧性的胜场数第四名。

点击查看原文：Pistons give Spurs real knocks, pings Johnson, Person leave loss injured

Pistons give Spurs real knocks, pings Johnson, Person leave loss injured

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - In a span of 24 hours, the Spurs’ emotions reached the mountain-high of a last-second win at Cleveland, then tumbled into the valley of despair at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pistons, led by All-Star Grant Hill, recorded a 103-94 victory on a Wednesday night when injuries knocked Spurs starting point guard Avery Johnson and forward Chuck Person out of the game.

Person was carried off the floor when his back locked up in the third quarter. Johnson left the court early in the fourth when he suffered a recurrence of a right hip strain.

“I don’t think (the injuries) had a lot to do with (the outcome),” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We were getting our butts kicked at the time. They outplayed us all night for the most part.”

The Spurs, who fell to 1-1 on a five-game road trip, are expected to be shorthanded when they resume the trip Friday night at Philadelphia.

Even though Johnson hasn’t been ruled out to play, Person apparently will miss the last three games of the trip.

“I think I’m going home to have it checked out by the doctor,” Person said.

Person was in a defensive stance, moving his feet and trying to defend Hill when the pain struck. He put out his hand in an effort to stop the Pistons’ star from driving, twisting the back in the process.

Immediately afterward, the 33- year-old forward screamed out that he had hurt his back. Person was staggering and couldn’t walk. He was carried off the court by both Spurs trainer John Andersen and strength coach Mike Brungardt.

“It completely gave out on me,” said Person, who has missed 12 games with the back problem this season. “I lost feeling in my legs. Right now, my back is really sore.”

Despite the setback, the Spurs (47-23) didn’t lose any ground in the race for home-court advantage in the playoffs. They remained in fourth place, two games ahead of the fifth-seeded Phoenix Suns (45- 25), who lost 99-97 at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Pistons (34-36) won their fourth in a row and climbed to within 21/2 games of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. The Pistons played with aggression and shot 50.7 percent from the field, the first time anyone has reached the 50-percent level against the Spurs since Feb. 22.

“Even with our size, they attacked us pretty good,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “I thought we made too many mistakes and that hurt our tempo. I kept thinking we were going to get on a roll, and we never did.”

Hill led the Pistons with 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Guard Jerry Stackhouse pumped life into the Pistons’ reserves with 22 points.

In a spirited performance, Robinson scored 29 points for the Spurs on 10-of-13 shooting. Rookie Tim Duncan produced his league-leading 50th double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

“We missed Avery when he went out,” Duncan said. “He is the guy who runs the show for us.”

The Spurs probably lost the game in the second quarter, when they shot 6 of 22 from the field and broke down completely on offense. The Pistons took advantage of the lull and raced to a 10-point lead at intermission.

In the third, they built the lead to as many as 16 points. But the Spurs, even without Person and Johnson down the stretch, retaliated and nearly pulled off their second shocker in as many nights.

At Cleveland on Tuesday night, they trailed by five with 2:23 remaining and emerged with an 86- 85 victory on a game-winning jumper by Vinny Del Negro. Against the Pistons, they manufactured a 9-2 run and rallied to within four midway through the fourth period.

But Detroit veteran guard Joe Dumars answered with an 18-footer off the side to initiate a 6-0 run. Later, Dumars hit a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining, pushing the lead to 99-86 and effectively snuffing the Spurs’ rally.

Johnson, who sat out two games a few weeks ago with a case of piriformis syndrome in his hip, expressed frustration that the injury has cropped up again so close to the playoffs.

“It’s not a good feeling when your leg locks up,” he said. “I’ve never had anything like this my whole career.”

Johnson said the pain didn’t seem to be as severe as it was when he hurt it initially March 8 in a game at Portland, Ore.

“It’s a little less,” he said. “But I have no lateral movement. It’s the same problem when I hurt it the first time.”

Notes

East feast: The Spurs improved to 8-5 against the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference standings when they nipped the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-85 Tuesday night.

Against the top seven teams in the West, the No. 4 Spurs are 8-14.

Nice turnaround: The Spurs’ 27- game improvement in the standings over last season has tied the 1988-89 Phoenix Suns for fourth in league history for most dramatic one-season jump in the win column. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-26, By Buck Harvey

篮球之城？河滨步道穿城而过

登上旅游巴士，与我们一起，了解圣安东尼奥，大学篮球的圣地。

这次旅行会让你大开眼界。游客们期待着阳光和莎莎舞，这使得圣安东尼奥立刻成为了比印第安纳波利斯购物中心更好的四强赛举办地。里克·迈耶尔斯(Rick Majerus)今天早上一边点头一边吃着墨西哥煎蛋，表示赞同。

但没有人称它为“灌篮圣安东尼奥”。上周，当被问及这里是否有大学一级篮球学校时，亚利桑那州后卫杰森·特里(Jason Terry)耸了耸肩说：“我不确定。这里不是一个大城市，对吧？”

这句话应该立即被贴在自豪的德克萨斯州立大学圣安东尼奥分校(UTSA)的公告板上，如果他们有公告板的话。否则，特里的观点代表了大多数人的意见——圣安东尼奥是一个值得一游的好地方，但不是一个适合你涂抹油彩、对着镜头摆姿势的地方。

毕竟，在圣安东尼奥举办的十场最棒的大学一级篮球比赛中，其中一场可能包括路易斯安那州东北部的印第安人队。今年距离圣安东尼奥最近的NCAA学校是草原景大学，而草原景大学甚至无法击败一支大十二联盟的球队。肯塔基州是今天最近的“主场”球队。

难怪美国人认为我们只是建了几家酒店，以及一座没有橄榄球队的橄榄球场，然后就花大价钱加入了精英俱乐部，其中包括热带水果球场(Tropicana Field)的电工和水管工。四强赛来到了没有海滩的坎昆。

然而，在城市的背街小巷中隐藏着一个乡村音乐风格的东西。贝努瓦·本杰明(Benoit Benjamin)知道这一点。本（他是这里的神，但我们待他如同普通人）在NBA休赛期可以住在任何地方。但他选择了我们的城市，因为他可以告诉邻居，他在克莱顿大学时和奥拉朱旺(Olajuwon)或尤因(Ewing)不相上下，而邻居们更有可能相信他。

所以，登上灰狗巴士，从参观任务小径开始，回忆起拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)将我们视为堪萨斯州劳伦斯市一所小型篮球学校的升级版之前很久的时光。在第一站，你将了解德克萨斯人，一群不识字的粗犷的拓荒者。

很快，在墨西哥军队和一种名为单败淘汰制的新概念的威胁下——以及作为16号种子被选中——威廉·巴雷特·特拉维斯上校(Col. William Barrett Travis)在沙滩上划了一条线，这仍然是勇敢的基准。从前门算起，这条线长19英尺9英寸。

（更多关于阿拉莫的趣味事实：杰里·塔坎扬(Jerry Tarkanian)曾说过，萨姆·鲍伊(Sam Bowie)在阿拉莫战斗。实际上，这位英雄是吉姆·鲍伊(JIM Bowie)，他因一把刀而不是一把武士刀而闻名。）

据代代相传的传说，在接下来的120年左右的时间里，并没有发生什么大事（据报道，诺兰·理查德森(Nolan Richardson)在一段时间内经常光顾这个地区，有人说服他红色牛仔靴永远不会过时）。但随后，来自该州西部的一个消息传到了这里，一所埃尔帕索学校通过让那些非欧洲血统的人比赛获得了全国冠军，而来自东部的一个消息是，得克萨斯人可以甚至说服约翰·伍登(John Wooden)在穹顶比赛，只要价格合适。

接下来发生了我们现在所说的相对黄金时代，人们来到我们的城市，他们曾经打过大学篮球。所以，旅游巴士接下来将停在市中心，游客可以了解马刺队，其中一些人，比如乔治·格文(George Gervin)，在大学里只上了1年。格文被认为是圣安东尼奥大学篮球之父。他在职业生涯中拿到了很多分，没错，但只有因为他，他的弟弟才在圣安东尼奥上大学。

布朗很快来到这里，他说他已经赢得了NCAA冠军，我们印象深刻。但随后来了塔坎，他说他也赢得了冠军，这成为了圣安东尼奥举办四强赛的目标的一部分。我们想亲眼看看为什么似乎任何人都能赢。

旅游巴士可以向北行驶70英里到达奥斯汀，了解如何通过无线电的力量来强调学术。但我们可以通过开车去德克萨斯州立大学圣安东尼奥分校来获得相同的UT系统体验，为什么要去破坏一个完美的旅行呢？相反，我们将前往郊区，在那里，沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)开始了他在各个级别的冠军之旅，只有大学和NBA除外。

我们可以继续讲下去。费尼斯·登波(Fennis Dembo)和博·奥特洛(Bo Outlaw)高中毕业后离开了圣安东尼奥，犹他州中锋则更早地选择退役，出生后不久就离开了。

但我们的目的只是在旅行中进行教育，而不是吹嘘。D

点击查看原文：City of hoops? A River Walk runs through it

City of hoops? A River Walk runs through it

Hop on the tour bus. Come with us. Learn about San Antonio, land of college hoops.

This tour will surprise. Visitors expect some sun and salsa, which immediately makes it a better Final Four venue than an Indy mall. Rick Majerus, nodding as he chews huevos rancheros this morning, agrees.

But no one calls it Slam Antonio. Asked if there was a Division I basketball school here, the Arizona guard, Jason Terry, shrugged last week. “I doubt it. It’s not a big city, is it?”

That quote should immediately be tacked to the bulletin board at proud UTSA, if proud UTSA had a bulletin board. Otherwise, Terry voiced the majority opinion – San Antonio is a nice place to visit, but a bad place to paint your face and mug for a camera.

After all, of the 10 best D1 games ever played here, one of them probably includes the Northeast Louisiana Indians. The closest school to San Antonio in the NCAAs this year? Prairie View, and Prairie View couldn’t even beat a Big 12 team. Kentucky, today, rates as the nearest-home team.

No wonder America thinks we tossed up a few hotels, along with a football stadium without a football team, and bought our way into elite company that includes Tropicana Field electricians and plumbers. The Final Four has come to a beachless Cancun.

Yet hidden in the backstreets is a bluegrass kind of thing. Benoit Benjamin knows that. Ben (he’s a god here, but we treat him as if he’s one of us) could live anywhere during the NBA offseason. But he chose our city because he can tell his neighbors he was the equal of Olajuwon or Ewing when he was at Creighton, and they’re more likely to believe him.

So get on a Greyhound and begin with a tour of the mission trail, to recall a time long before Larry Brown saw us as an improvement over a little basketball school in Lawrence, Kan. At the first stop you will learn about the Texians, a group of rugged pioneers who couldn’t spell.

Soon threatened by the Mexican army and a new concept called single elimination - as well as being slotted as a No. 16 seed - Col. William Barrett Travis drew a line in the sand that is still the benchmark of bravery. From the front door, the line measured 19 feet, 9 inches.

(More fun Alamo facts: Jerry Tarkanian once said Sam Bowie fought at the Alamo. The hero in question was actually JIM Bowie, and he was famous for a knife, not a samurai sword.)

According to legend passed down from generation to generation, not much happened over the next 120 or so years (Nolan Richardson reportedly frequented the area for a while, when someone convinced him red cowboy boots never go out of style). But then came news from the western part of the state that an El Paso school won a national championship by playing those not of European descent, and to the east came news that Texans could talk even John Wooden into playing in a dome if the price was right.

What followed is what we now refer to as the Relatively Golden Era, when people came to our city having once played college basketball. So the tour bus will next stop downtown, where visitors can learn about the Spurs, some of whom, such as George Gervin, went to college for a year. Gervin is considered the father of college basketball here. He scored a lot points as a pro, all right, but only because of him did his younger brother attend college in San Antonio.

Brown soon arrived and said he’d won an NCAA title, and we were impressed. But then came Tark, who said he’d won a title, too, and that became part of San Antonio’s quest to host a Final Four. We wanted to see firsthand why seemingly anyone can win one.

The tour bus could travel 70 miles north to Austin, to learn how to stress academics through the power of the radio. But we could get the same UT system fix by driving to UTSA, and why ruin a perfectly good tour? Instead, we will head to a suburb, where Shaquille O’Neal began his championship run at every level, excluding only college and the NBA.

We could go on and on. How Fennis Dembo and Bo Outlaw left San Antonio after high school, and how the Utah center opted out more quickly, leaving shortly after birth.

But we only meant to educate on the tour. Not brag. D

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-27, By Jerry Briggs

佩森前途未卜

费城——NBA 历史上最伟大的三分投手之一的职业生涯是否接近尾声？

马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇周四表示，他尚未与现年 33 岁的前锋查克·佩森讨论任何退役方案，佩森目前因腰伤再次缺阵。

但当马刺队准备今晚在科尔斯泰特中心迎战费城 76 人队时，波波维奇承认，他担心持续的场上对抗可能会对佩森的长期健康构成威胁。

“我非常担心，”波波维奇说，“这很合乎逻辑。最近的几次事件发生得很接近，这确实让我开始担心（他对未来健康的影响）。

“当他 47 岁时，这会对他产生怎样的影响？”

佩森和首发控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊都在周三晚上马刺队 103-94 输给底特律活塞队的比赛中受伤。这一挫折让马刺队在五场比赛的客场之旅中以 1-1 告负。

今晚两名球员都无法出场。

约翰逊右髋再次拉伤——确切地说，是梨状肌综合征——两周前让他缺席了两场比赛。

波波维奇表示，约翰逊不太可能在周日下午全国电视转播的对阵印第安纳步行者队的比赛中出场，他可能会从周二在纽约的对阵中被排除在外。

佩森的状态更加微妙，他 17 个月前曾接受过手术修复椎间盘突出。

当佩森在周三比赛的第三节离开球场时，他感到非常疼痛。波波维奇说，当他躺在酒店房间的床上时，疼痛持续了一整晚，他再次僵硬起来。

佩森周四下午返回圣安东尼奥，去看物理治疗师。

佩森告诉 KSAT 电视台：“像这样的时刻让我觉得不值得，日复一日地与所有这些疼痛作斗争。”

佩森的背部在过去 15 天内已经两次脱臼，本赛季至少四次。周三的事件是最可怕的。

当底特律球星格兰特·希尔带球突入禁区时，佩森伸出手拉住了他。这扭伤了佩森的背部，促使他痛苦地大叫起来。

波波维奇说：“他很害怕，很惊恐。他无法在地板上移动一英寸。你可以看到。球员们想把他抱起来（把他抬走），但他一直在说’不，不’。”

佩森无法用自己的力量走。当训练师约翰·安德森和力量教练迈克·布伦加特终于把他抱起来时，他的脚没有着地。两人把这位身高 6 英尺 8 英寸、体重 230 磅的球员抬到了更衣室。

波波维奇说：“他非常紧张，非常担心自己会被触碰的方式。起初他不想被任何人碰。当是这样的时候，你必须担心。”

在赛后的更衣室里，佩森在与记者交谈时感觉好了一些。

当被问及他是否可能会错过季后赛时，他回答说：“你必须把那个椎间盘从我的背上撕下来。”

佩森的背部本赛季已经脱臼三次——一次是在 10 月末的季前赛中，这场比赛让他错过了常规赛的前五场比赛；一次是在 2 月末在达拉斯，这场比赛让他又错过了五场比赛；再一 次是在 3 月 10 日，在新泽西比赛的胜利庆祝活动中。

当它针对新泽西时，他痛苦地弯下腰，但他用自己的力量摇摇晃晃地走下球场，然后在两天后回到阵容中。

佩森在历史三分球排行榜上排名第四，有 1,139 个三分球，在 1996 年 10 月进行背部手术后，上个赛季整个赛季都没有出场。

他最早可以在周四的主场比赛中对阵迈阿密热火队时重新加入球队，但这取决于物理治疗的成功。

与此同时，马刺队将面临在没有他们排名前七的球员的情况下在客场之旅中保持获胜节奏的挑战。西恩·埃利奥特即将从膝腱手术中康复，自 1 月 27 日接受手术以来一直没有出场。

即使是 76 人队也可能会给他们带来困难。费城队连续输了四场，六场输了五场，但前锋德里克·科尔曼和控球后卫阿伦·艾弗森可能会造成麻烦。

通常情况下，约翰逊会在对阵 76 人队的比赛中打 40 到 45 分钟，同时防守艾弗森。

波波维奇说：“蛇头（约翰逊）已经走了，这相当可怕。”

在后场，贾伦·杰克逊和文尼·德尔内格罗可能会在今晚首发，以平息雷吉·加里在底特律比赛后期在场上失控的进攻。

此外，首发小前锋的位置也悬而未决。除非出现意外，否则将由蒙蒂·威廉姆斯获得，他的下巴在周三比赛中受伤。但波波维奇暗示一切皆有可能。

他说：“我不知道我们要做什么。”

尽管输掉了 132 场球员比赛，但马刺队（47 胜 23 负）仍然在西部联盟排名第四的位置。排名第四的种子将给他们带来首轮季后赛主场优势。

波波维奇说：“考虑到发生在我们身上的一切，西雅图和犹他仅仅比我们领先四五场，这真的很神奇。这对我们的球员来说相当艰难。我告诉你，我爱他们。没有人抱怨或呻吟。”

约翰逊预测他的队友们将应对逆境，并在客场之旅的最后三场比赛中表现出色。

约翰逊说：“希望我们能够像我知道我们能做到的那样做出回应。我们的球队非常老练。我们只需要站出来。”马刺队的笔记：活塞队投篮命中率为 50.7%，本赛季仅是对手在马刺队身上达到这个数字的第八次。凭借他们的 103 分，这也是马刺队对手第八次达到三位数。

点击查看原文：Person's future up in the air

Person’s future up in the air

PHILADELPHIA - Could the career of one of the greatest three- point shooters in NBA history be nearing an end?

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Thursday that he has not discussed any retirement scenarios with 33-year-old forward Chuck Person, who is out again with a low-back injury.

But as the Spurs prepare to play the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at the CoreStates Center, Popovich admitted his concerns about how the continued pounding on the court could mean to Person’s long-term health.

“I’m very worried,” Popovich said. "It’s just logical. These last couple of incidents have happened pretty close together. It starts to really make you worry (about his future health).

“How’s this going to affect him when he’s 47 years old?”

Both Person and starting point guard Avery Johnson suffered injuries during the Spurs’ 103-94 loss at Detroit on Wednesday night. The setback left the Spurs 1-1 on their five-game road trip.

Neither player will be available tonight.

Johnson suffered a reoccurrence of a right hip strain - technically, piriformis syndrome - that kept him out of two games two weeks ago.

Popovich said it’s unlikely Johnson will play in Sunday afternoon’s nationally televised game at Indiana, and that he may be held out of the road trip’s finale Tuesday at New York.

The status of Person, who had a bulging disc surgically repaired 17 months ago, is much more tenuous.

He was in a great deal of pain when he left the court in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game. It continued into the night as he stiffened up again while laying in bed in his hotel room, Popovich said.

Person returned to San Antonio on Thursday afternoon to see a physical therapist.

“Times like this make me feel like it’s not worth it, battling all this pain, night in and night out,” Person told KSAT television.

Person’s back has gone out on him twice in the past 15 days and at least four times this season. Wednesday’s incident was the scariest yet.

As Detroit star Grant Hill dribbled and drove toward the paint, Person put a hand on him. It twisted Person’s back, prompting him to cry out in pain.

“He was scared, mortified,” Popovich said. “He could not move an inch on that floor. You could see it. Guys were trying to pick him up (to carry him off) and he was saying, ‘No, no.’”

Person could not walk off on his own power. His feet were not touching the ground when trainer John Andersen and strength coach Mike Brungardt finally picked him up. The two carried the 6-foot- 8, 230-pounder to the dressing room.

“He was real tense and real concerned about how he wanted to be touched,” Popovich said. “At first he didn’t want to be touched by anyone. When it’s like that, you have to be worried.”

In the dressing room after the game, Person was feeling a little better as he talked to reporters.

Asked if he might miss the playoffs, he responded, “You’d have to tear that disc out of my back.”

Person’s back has gone out on him three other times this season - once in late October in a preseason contest, which cost him the first five games of the regular season; once in late February at Dallas, which cost him another five games; and again on March 10, in a victory celebration after the New Jersey game.

When it flared up against New Jersey, he doubled over in pain, but he wobbled off the court on his own power and then returned to the lineup two nights later.

Person, fourth on the all-time list with 1,139 three-pointers, sat out all of last season following back surgery in October 1996.

The earliest he could rejoin the team would be Thursday at home against Miami, but it depends on the success of the physical therapy.

Meanwhile, the Spurs will be challenged to maintain a winning pace on the road trip without three of their top seven players. Sean Elliott, getting closer to a return from knee-tendon surgery, has been out since he underwent an operation Jan. 27.

Even the Sixers could give them a hard time. Philly has lost four in a row and five of six, but forward Derrick Coleman and point guard Allen Iverson could cause problems.

Normally, Johnson would play 40 to 45 minutes against the Sixers while guarding Iverson.

“The head of the snake (Johnson) is gone, and that’s pretty scary,” Popovich said.

In the backcourt, Jaren Jackson and Vinny Del Negro may get the start tonight in an effort to calm down an offense that went haywire under the direction of Reggie Geary late in the game at Detroit.

Also, the starting small-forward spot is up in the air. Barring a surprise, it will go to Monty Williams, who suffered a bruised jaw Wednesday. But Popovich hinted that anything is possible.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said.

Despite losing 132 player-games to injury or illness, the Spurs (47- 23) are clinging to fourth place in the Western Conference standings. The No. 4 seed would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“With all that’s happened to us, it’s really amazing that Seattle and Utah are only four or five games ahead of us,” Popovich said. “This has been pretty tough on our guys. I tell you, I love 'em. No one is complaining or moaning and groaning.”

Johnson predicted that his teammates will respond to the adversity and play well in the final three games of the trip.

“Hopefully we’ll respond like I know we can,” Johnson said. “We have a real veteran ball club. We just have to step up.” Spurs notes: The Pistons shot 50.7 percent from the field, only the eighth time an opponent has hit that figure on the Spurs this season. With their 103 points, it was also the eighth time that a Spurs opponent has reached triple figures.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-28, By Jerry Briggs

Fun-filled foray in Philly - Spurs flex muscles against lowly Sixers

PHILADELPHIA - The Spurs, stung with recent injuries to starting point guard Avery Johnson and forward Chuck Person, returned to their monster lineup Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The monster roared for a 110-85 victory over the Sixers in front of 18,119 at the CoreStates Center.

It wasn’t a banner evening all together for the fran- chise because the team learned earlier in the day that Person might miss the remainder of the season with a back injury.

But with Person at home resting in bed and Johnson resting on the bench in street clothes with a right hip strain, the Spurs played about as well as they have all season.

Rookie Tim Duncan, splitting time at both forward positions, scored 32 points. Will Perdue, in a start at center, enjoyed a career high with 21 points.

With the win, the Spurs improved to 10-3 on the season when they start 7-footers Perdue, Duncan and David Robinson.

The monsters mashed the opposition in the third quarter when the Spurs outscored the Sixers 35-14.

As a team, San Antonio established the CoreStates Center record for field-goal percentage in a period (92.3) on 12-of-13 shooting. “That big lineup worked well for us,” said Robinson, who played power forward most of the night and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. “It really changes the other team.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich marveled at his team’s performance in the third quarter, when it held the Sixers to 22.7 percent shooting (5 of 22). A 15-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half led to a 20- point lead.

“That quarter was quite an anomaly for us,” Popovich said. “Probably never to be seen again. We just had one of those nights.”

For the Sixers, it was misery. Every timeout called for Coach Larry Brown turned into just another opportunity for fans to bellow their discontent.

“I don’t know what to say,” Brown said. “Our goal was to stop Duncan and David because I think they are two of the best players in the league. But even if we had played our best, I’m not sure we could have handled the way they executed.”

Execution was a major pregame worry for the Spurs, who don’t have great depth behind Johnson at point guard. Vinny Del Negro stepped in, took on most of the ball-handling responsibilities and produced 12 assists with no turnovers.

And he did it against Allen Iverson, one of the quickest defenders in the business.

“Playing the point was different,” said Del Negro, who scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. “I’m used to catching passes from AJ. Tonight, I was developing them, but everyone helped me out. Dave helped a lot on the high pick-and-roll.”

Even though the opposition was weak, it was a big win for the Spurs as they forged ahead with a 2-1 record on a five-game road trip.

They also improved to 48-23 on the season, which kept them two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference standings. The Suns (46-25) defeated the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Spurs need to finish a game ahead of the Suns to clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The stretch drive may get much tougher, so it was a night for the Spurs to savor their success.

“I’ve seen it happen so many times,” Popovich said. “A team loses a couple of players and they know they have to step up. We had several guys do that tonight.”

Iverson led the Sixers with 24 points and six assists.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-28, By David Hendricks

圣安东尼奥马刺队的霍尔特：一个改变之人

彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)在成为圣安东尼奥马刺队主席的路上经历了漫长的自我寻找之旅。

最漫长的部分是找到自己，就这么简单。

霍尔特，49岁，出生于“黄血”之家，这是人们对卡特彼勒重型设备家族成员的昵称。

霍尔特的曾祖父，本杰明·霍尔特(Benjamin Holt)，在本世纪初的加州发明了一种履带式拖拉机，它是如今卡特彼勒设备的基础。

霍尔特在本周在圣玛丽大学企业家早餐论坛上的讲话中提到，这项发明源于对一种迫切需求的回应，即在收获农作物时不会过度压实土地，以至于无法重新种植。

随着卡特彼勒自身发展成为一家位于伊利诺伊州皮奥里亚的制造公司，霍尔特家族成员开始从事经销业务，尤其是彼得·霍尔特的叔叔比尔·霍尔特(Bill Holt)，他负责德克萨斯州一半地区和整个墨西哥的经销业务。

霍尔特出生于皮奥里亚，但在科珀斯克里斯蒂长大，他的父亲B.D.霍尔特(B.D. Holt)在那里建立了一家经销商公司，后来通过收购其他家族经销商而不断扩大。该公司还增加了能源产业，生产和销售天然气压缩机。

但年轻的霍尔特希望摆脱这种生活。他上了几所大学，并在越南服役了一段军旅生涯，并获得了勋章。

他说：“我并不是一个好学生。我对啤酒和女孩更感兴趣。我从未完成学业。这是我的一大遗憾。我修了140个学分，换了17个专业。”

越南战争结束后，他在加州度过了十年，在索诺马县经营一家小型酒店和餐厅。

他离开西海岸时身无分文，回到德克萨斯州工作，最初是为时任美国参议员劳埃德·本特森(Lloyd Bentsen)筹款，然后在1981年为父亲工作。

当时公司正在发展，霍尔特在1984年接替父亲成为霍尔特公司(Holt Cos.)的首席执行官后，继续推动公司发展。从1984年到1987年，公司员工人数从300人增长到2500人。

他说：“但内部情况正在崩溃。我们的人员流失率高达40%。我缺乏背景和经验。我的管理风格，”他说，“就是要么照我的做，要么滚蛋。”

随着公司逼近危机，霍尔特求助于商业哲学作家肯·布兰查德(Ken Blanchard)和迈克·奥康纳(Mike O’Connor)，他们合著了一本名为《以价值观为导向的管理》(Managing by Values)的书。

他说：“我虚假的自尊心一直阻碍我寻求帮助。”在1988年与作者进行了一整个周末的讨论后，霍尔特决定改变自己的管理行为。

他拥抱了一套价值观准则，其中包括道德、成功、卓越、承诺和活力等关键词。霍尔特遵循了作者的建议，让员工在设定目标和解决问题时自己定义这些词语。

霍尔特说：“人们可以感受到创业精神，并持续地保持这种精神。”

尽管过去五年公司的销售额创下纪录，但霍尔特仍然在利用这种方法来改变和改进公司。

他说：“我们甚至可能拆分公司”，就像其他公司所做的那样，以便变得更好。

霍尔特说，他将这种方法带到了圣安东尼奥马刺队。霍尔特大约两年前成为球队的大股东。

他说：“我们正在做出一些改变。”“现在，旅程中最令人兴奋的部分开始了。”

点击查看原文：S.A. Spurs' Holt a changed man

S.A. Spurs’ Holt a changed man

Peter Holt had a long journey to find himself as chairman of the San Antonio Spurs.

The longest part of that journey was to find himself, period.

Holt, 49, was born with “yellow blood,” a favorite term for members of the Caterpillar heavy- equipment family.

Holt’s great grandfather, Benjamin Holt, was the inventor early this century in California of a track-type tractor that was the basis for Caterpillar equipment today.

The invention grew out of the need to harvest farm land without compacting the ground so densely that replanting was impossible, Holt said in his speech this week to the St. Mary’s University breakfast Forum on Entrepreneurship.

As Caterpillar itself developed into a manufacturing company based in Peoria, Ill., the Holt family members went into dealerships, especially Bill Holt, Peter Holt’s uncle, who was a dealer for half of Texas and all of Mexico.

Holt was born in Peoria but grew up in Corpus Christi where his father, B.D. Holt, based a dealership that later grew by acquisition of other family dealerships. Energy Industries was added to make and sell gas compressors.

But Holt wanted to break away from that as a young man. He went to several colleges and served a decorated Army tour in Vietnam.

“I wasn’t a great student. I was interested in beer and girls. I never did finish college. That is one of my regrets. I took 140 semester hours and had 17 different majors,” he said.

After Vietnam, he spent a decade in California, running a small hotel and restaurant in Sonoma County.

He left the West Coast broke and went to work in Texas, first as a fund-raiser for then-U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and then for his father in 1981.

The company was growing then, and Holt continued the growth after being named chief executive of Holt Cos. in 1984, replacing his father. From 1984 to 1987, the company grew from 300 to 2,500 employees.

“But internally we were falling apart. We had a 40 percent turnover rate. I didn’t have the background and experience. My style of management,” he said, “was my way or the highway.”

As the company edged toward crisis, Holt turned to business philosophy authors Ken Blanchard and Mike O’Connor, who had written a book titled, “Managing by Values.”

“My false pride had kept me from reaching out for help,” he said. Over a weekend of discussion with the authors in 1988, holt decided to change his management behavior.

He embraced a code of values that included the key words of ethics, success, excellence, commitment and dynamics. Holt followed the advice to let the employees define those words for themselves in setting goals and solving problems.

“People can feel entrepreneurial and do so continuously,” Holt said.

Despite record sales the last five years, Holt is still using that approach to change and improve the firm.

“We may even break up our companies” to become better, as other corporations have done, he said.

Holt said he’s brought that approach to the San Antonio Spurs. Holt became majority owner about two years ago.

“We’re making some changes,” he said. “Now the journey is the exciting part.”

By David Hendricks, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-29, By Jerry Briggs

Spurs decide big’s better to face Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS - Rookie forward Tim Duncan admitted to stumbling through some awkward moments in the infancy of the experiment involving the Spurs’ monster lineup.

Duncan would cringe at the thought of committing turnovers failing to cover his man properly, or doing something that would hurt the team.

“At first it was kind of weird,” Duncan said. “But now that we’ve played with it this long, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with it.”

Duncan, a 6-foot-11 NBA Rookie of the Year candidate, will show off his small forward skills to a national-television audience at 11:30 a.m. today when the Spurs take on the Indiana Pacers at Market Square Arena.

“It sounds silly,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said admittedly. “It’s not really his position. But because he is who he is, he’ll do whatever is asked of him. And he usually does it well.”

The Spurs returned to the big lineup Friday at Philadelphia in the wake of a back injury to small forward Chuck Person.

Duncan, a center in college and a power forward for most of his first NBA season, started at small forward against the 76ers. David Robinson opened at power forward and Will Perdue played center.

The Spurs cruised to a 110-85 victory, improving to 10-3 in games when the three big men start together. Duncan led the way against Philadelphia with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting.

“I felt real good,” Duncan said. “I was comfortable. And I don’t really know why, except that everyone was moving and getting into the right positions.”

The Spurs (48-23) have won 14 of 23 since the All-Star break and rank fourth in the Western Conference. The Pacers (49-21) have won four out of their last five and maintained a hold on the third seed in the East.

The Spurs’ 91-79 victory over Indiana in San Antonio on Dec. 23 ranked as one of the poorer efforts of the season for the Pacers, who are having one of their best years ever under first- year Coach Larry Bird.

Indiana will be without star guard Reggie Miller, who was suspended Saturday for one game without pay for flagrantly elbowing Charlotte’s Vlade Divac on Friday night. Miller also was fined $7,500.

“I don’t remember too much about that game, except that we defended them really well,” Duncan said. “I expect a great game today - nothing less than high energy.”

What a national TV audience sees may be what it will get in the playoffs. Popovich admitted that he’s leaning toward starting the big guys together in the postseason.

“It’s as good as anything else (we have),” said Popovich, whose team is 2-1 on the current five-game road trip. “If you start off and you don’t like it, you can always change it. Tim gets to be out on the floor. It opens things up for David, and Will plays great in it.”

Perdue enjoyed a career-high, 21-point outburst against the Sixers. Catching passes from either Duncan or Robinson, he threw down four dunks and hit 9 of 10 from the field.

“Most of the time Tim and David get most of the attention, so I just sneak in the creases,” Perdue said. “In this offense, my man tends to leave me, rotating to the other guys.”

Injuries continue to affect the Spurs’ thinking going into the final 11 games of the regular season. They probably wouldn’t be considering going to the big lineup for the playoffs if Person had not gone down with a back injury Wednesday at Detroit.

“This is the worst episode he’s had (this season),” Popovich said. “It’s a real dangerous situation for him. For the doctor to say he may have further disc injury doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season.”

Spurs point guard Avery Johnson will most likely sit out his second game in a row with a right hip strain. Johnson did not work out with the team in a scrimmage at Butler University.

Popovich left the door open for an appearance by Johnson in the road trip finale Tuesday night at New York, saying it would likely be a game-time decision.

In a mild surprise, forward Sean Elliott scrimmaged for the first time since his Jan. 27 surgery on his left knee tendon.

“He said he felt good and he wanted to give it a shot,” said Popovich, who indicated Friday that Elliott might still be a week or two away from scrimmaging. “So we let him go ahead and do it. We’ll see how he feels (today).”

Popovich speculated that Elliott might be able to play the last four or five games of the regular season. Elliott’s appearance at practice seemed to soften the blow of losing Person perhaps for the rest of the season.

“When you continuously take away weapons and contributors, it’s going to affect things,” said Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro, who has taken on point-guard duties in Johnson’s absence. “Chuck being out is a blow. It’s huge. It’s very sad. I feel so bad for Chuck.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-03-31, By Jerry Briggs
邓肯的下一个目标：盯死纽约的沃德

纽约 - 今晚，当马刺队在客场与纽约尼克斯队的五连客之旅中进行收官之战时，马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇可能会再次尝试诡异的篮球科学。

除非纽约教练杰夫·范甘迪采取反制措施，否则波波维奇预计将让 6 英尺 11 英寸的新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯对位 6 英尺 2 英寸的尼克斯队后卫查理·沃德。

周日下午，在马刺队以 74-55 创造纪录地战胜印第安纳队之后，波波维奇让邓肯对位6 英尺 3 英寸的马克·杰克逊。

这一策略帮助马刺队（49-23）在客场之旅中以 3-1 继续前进。它还帮助步行者队将得分控制在 1954 年引入投篮计时器以来 NBA 比赛中最低的得分。

必要性是波波维奇最新发明之母。这一点以及充分发挥其球队的优势——它的高个球员。

由于小前锋查克·珀森和控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊受伤，波波维奇让邓肯与 7 英尺 1 英寸的大卫·罗宾逊和 7 英尺的威尔·珀杜搭档上场。

在客场之旅的过去两场比赛中，“三塔”都有首发出场，并且均获得胜利。

通常情况下，珀森会打首发小前锋，约翰逊会打首发控球后卫，在周日对位杰克逊。

但是，由于珀森因背伤在圣安东尼奥家中休息，而约翰逊因臀部拉伤退场，波波维奇再次启用了他的高个阵容，并让邓肯盯死了步行者的组织后卫。

他这样做是因为杰克逊并不是一个优秀的进攻威胁。同样的想法可能会适用于今晚的对决。

“这是我们在（因伤病）被迫采取的策略。”波波维奇说，他在周一将珀森列入了伤病名单。“我们只是想发挥创造力。比起让他去追赶穿过掩护的球员（比如印第安纳队的克里斯·穆林或纽约的阿兰·休斯顿），邓肯盯防控球后卫要容易得多。如果查理想要下来投篮，我们会抓住机会。”

波波维奇制定计划时预测，尼克斯队领先的得分手休斯顿将出任首发小前锋。但尼克斯队的一位发言人周一傍晚表示可能会有所变动。

范甘迪可能会做出调整，让前马刺队球员特里·卡明斯出任首发中锋，查尔斯·奥克利出任大前锋，休斯顿出任得分后卫，沃德出任控球后卫。

在这种情况下，马刺队可能被迫重新考虑他们的策略，让邓肯盯防尼克斯队的一位高个球员。

与此同时，自周三在底特律以 103-94 输球后，约翰逊和珀森将连续第三场缺席马刺队的比赛。

珀森的伤势最为严重。背部疼痛有可能让他无缘本赛季剩余比赛。波波维奇说，作为他进入伤病名单的回应，马刺队可能会在周四主场对阵迈阿密热火队的比赛之前签下另一名球员。

33 岁的珀森本赛季已经三次进入伤病名单，缺席了 12 场比赛。他接受了背部手术后缺席了上个赛季所有比赛。

与此同时，约翰逊表示，他希望在对阵迈阿密热火队的比赛中复出。

“在过去的两天里，我感觉好多了。”约翰逊说，他在周一在篮球城（切尔西码头运动场的一部分）举行的马刺队训练中只进行了轻微的跑步。“以前我受伤的时候，我只会更加努力地打球。这一次，我知道我必须处理好伤势。”

在二人缺席期间，邓肯在进攻端表现出了提升，无论他在防守端的位置如何。

他在周五晚上对阵费城 76 人队的比赛中打出了防守小前锋，并砍下了 32 分。他还在对阵印第安纳队的比赛中打出了防守控球后卫，并得到 24 分。

虽然联盟中大多数新秀在打了 72 场比赛后会喘不过气来，但在三塔阵容中打进攻型小前锋的邓肯似乎正在迎来第二春。

- 马刺队动态：本场对阵步行者队时表现没有往常那么炸裂的罗宾逊没有参加训练。整个过去一个月，他的膝盖一直酸痛。

• 文尼·德尔·内格罗表示，他受伤的右肘感觉好多了。他在费城受伤，之后在印第安纳队打出了全场 0 中 4 的成绩。

• 波波维奇表示，珀森原计划在周一在圣安东尼奥开始进行游泳池治疗。

• 致电 227-5500 了解定于 4 月 5 日在 Majestic 剧院举行的第五届埃弗里·约翰逊基金会晚宴的信息。罗宾逊计划在约翰逊的演讲中发言。但他说海将军不想唱歌，就像他去年那样。

约翰逊还说，马利克·罗斯将在他的音乐处女秀中演奏大号。

晚宴收益将捐赠给塞顿之家、100 俱乐部、盖茨小学和临终关怀。

点击查看原文：Duncan's next point: Go after N.Y.'s Ward

Duncan’s next point: Go after N.Y.'s Ward

NEW YORK - Spurs coach Gregg Popovich may take another stab at weird basketball science tonight when his team plays the finale of a five-game road trip against the New York Knicks.

Barring a countermove by New York coach Jeff Van Gundy, Popovich is expected to open with 6- foot-11 rookie forward Tim Duncan on 6-2 Knicks guard Charlie Ward.

Popovich put Duncan on 6-3 Mark Jackson in the Spurs’ record- setting 74-55 victory at Indiana on Sunday afternoon.

It was a ploy that helped the Spurs (49-23) improve to 3-1 on the road trip. It also helped hold the Pacers to the fewest points in an NBA game since the inception of the shot clock in 1954.

Necessity is the mother of Popovich’s latest invention. That, and maximizing his team’s strength - its big men.

Popovich is starting Duncan, along with 7-1 David Robinson and 7-0 Will Perdue, in the wake of injuries to small forward Chuck Person and point guard Avery Johnson.

The “Tri-Towers” have opened the past two games on the road trip, both of them victories.

Normally, Person would have started at small forward, and Johnson would have started at the point, guarding Jackson, on Sunday.

But as Person rested at home in San Antonio with a back injury and Johnson sat out with a hip strain, Popovich went with his big lineup again and stuck Duncan on the Pacers’ playmaker.

He made the move because Jackson isn’t a great offensive threat. The same thinking may apply to tonight’s matchup.

“It was something we were forced into (because of injuries),” said Popovich, who put Person on the injured list Monday. “We’re just trying to be creative. It’s easier for Tim to guard a point guard rather than have him chase someone (like Indiana’s Chris Mullin or New York’s Allan Houston) through screens. If Charlie wants to come down and shoot it, we’ll take our chances.”

Popovich made the plans based on his projection that Houston, the Knicks’ leading scorer, would be the starting small forward. But a Knicks spokesman said late Monday afternoon that there could be a change.

Van Gundy may shuffle things by moving former Spur Terry Cummings into the lineup at center, with Charles Oakley at power forward, Houston at shooting guard and Ward at the point.

In that case, the Spurs may be forced to rethink their strategy, using Duncan on one of the Knicks’ big men.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Person will miss their third game in a row for the Spurs since both were hurt in a 103-94 loss at Detroit on Wednesday.

Person’s injury is the most severe. The bad back is threatening to knock him out for the season. In response to him being on the injured list, the Spurs probably will sign another player before Thursday’s home game against the Miami Heat, Popovich said.

Person, 33, has been on the injured list three times this season, missing 12 games. He missed all of last season after undergoing back surgery.

Johnson, meanwhile, said he hopes to play against Miami.

“Over the last two days, I felt better,” said Johnson, who did only light running at the Spurs’ practice Monday at Basketball City, part of the Chelsea Pier sports complex. “Whenever I was hurt before, I just played harder. This one, I know I have to manage it.”

In their absence, Duncan has stepped up offensively, no matter where he plays on defense.

He played a defensive small forward against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night and exploded for 32 points. He played defensive point guard against Indiana and scored 24.

While most rookies in the league are gasping for breath after 72 games, Duncan - who plays offensive small forward in the Tri-Towers lineup - seems to be getting a second wind.

- Spurs notes: Robinson, who wasn’t his usual explosive self against the Pacers, did not practice. He has battled a sore knee for the past month.

-Vinny Del Negro said his sore right elbow is feeling better. He injured it at Philadelphia and then went 0 for 4 from the field at Indiana.

-Popovich said Person was scheduled to begin swimming pool therapy in San Antonio on Monday.

-Call 227-5500 for information on the Fifth annual Avery Johnson Foundation dinner, scheduled for April 5 at the Majestic Theater. Robinson is scheduled to speak in the roast of Johnson. But he said The Admiral does not want to sing, like he did last year.

Johnson also said Malik Rose will play the tuba in his musical debut in San Antonio.

Proceeds from the dinner will benefit Seton Home, The 100 Club, Gates Elementary and Respite Care.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-01, By Glenn Rogers

三塔或将盖过太阳

曾经，马刺——以及西部联盟的其他球队——在季后赛中面对太阳队时都心怀恐惧。

如今，太阳队可能要担心面对任何一支球队了。

菲尼克斯队在美洲西区球馆战胜西雅图队后，一度认为他们已经找到了季后赛的节奏。

并非如此。

菲尼克斯队最近接连输给了圣安东尼奥队和犹他队，这支由众多得分手组成的球队在面对强硬的防守和半场执行力以及一些快速转换进攻时，显得非常糟糕。

“如果那是我们的季后赛阵容，我们麻烦大了，”丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge)教练在球队输掉其中一场比赛后说道。“我认不出那支球队了。我不知道那些家伙是谁。我们在场上缺乏领导力，四散奔逃。”

安吉指出，即使是两个小时的进攻战术训练也没能使球队在场上产生必要的凝聚力。

菲尼克斯队设法在对阵华盛顿队和温哥华队的比赛中取得连胜，但灰熊队在比赛的最后几分钟才被拉开差距。

马刺队对阵西部联盟顶级球队的战绩惨不忍睹。但太阳队同样在2月14日于圣安东尼奥取得胜利后，直到周二战胜休斯顿队，才在客场击败了一支西部的季后赛球队。

“我们似乎在场上失去了信心，而现在绝对不是失去信心的時候，”太阳队前锋克利福德·罗宾逊(Clifford Robinson)说道。

当马刺队庞大的前场阵容在球场上面对菲尼克斯队的“小个子”阵容时，也不应该被轻易忽视。除非突然发生变化，否则圣安东尼奥队将在第一轮比赛中保持主场优势。

这应该足够了。

中部赛区：

**赞美梅森：**黄蜂队控球后卫大卫·韦斯利(David Wesley)已经找到了如何应对性格古怪的安东尼·梅森(Anthony Mason)的方法。

梅森一直抱怨大卫·考文斯(Dave Cowens)教练的战术，并且在本赛季也对韦斯利投去了一些白眼。梅森认为韦斯利持球时间过长或出手次数过多。

但现在韦斯利传球更多了，虽然他从未被认为是一个自私的控球后卫，梅森也喜欢上了他的队友。

“梅森是一个非常有竞争力的人，他会在战斗中说很多话，”韦斯利说道。“现在我只是用‘让我们谈谈’的方式来处理，无论是我还是其他人。”

另一方面，尼克斯队的帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)只是对梅森的任何抱怨不屑一顾，或者说，实际上是让他滚蛋。

**杰克逊的方式：**那么，为什么迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)如此喜欢菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)呢？

乔丹将公牛队的守护者比作他在北卡罗来纳州的教练迪恩·史密斯(Dean Smith)。

乔丹说道：“迪恩不会对你大喊大叫、批评你，而是会说些什么类似于‘如果你还在高中，你会这样打球吗？’的话。这不是诅咒，但你懂他的意思。在比赛的关键时刻，菲尔可能会在我们中的一人投出糟糕的三分球后叫暂停，然后他会说‘你一定是真的很火热，是不是？’托尼(Toni)可能连续投丢了三个三分球，菲尔会说‘托尼，他正在发光。’而不是说‘那是一个愚蠢的投篮。’”

中西部赛区：

**胜利的坏处：**现在是时候了，有些球队看到“W”不断增加，会感到苦恼。他们想要那些深层的乐透签。

但达拉斯队主教练唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)认为这对小牛队来说没什么区别，因为他们无法排到前三。

尼尔森非常喜欢亚利桑那队的控球后卫迈克·毕比(Mike Bibby)，他暗示如果小牛队没有排在前三，他就会交易以获得前三的签位。

“我们正在打得更快、节奏更快、更有趣，”尼尔森谈到小牛队的几场胜利时说道。“这对我们球队的成长非常棒。”三月份，小牛队在主场从落后19分逆转击败芝加哥队，从落后17分逆转击败波士顿队，从落后13分逆转击败明尼苏达队。

**变化的伤害：**那么，为什么掘金队一败涂地呢？试试这个答案吧。

掘金队在90年代已经换了三位总经理——伯尼·比克尔斯塔夫(Bernie Bickerstaff)、艾伦·布里斯托(Allan Bristow)和丹·伊塞尔(Dan Issel)。自十年开始以来，他们已经换了七位主教练——道格·莫(Doug Moe)、保罗·韦斯特海德(Paul Westhead)、伊塞尔、吉恩·利特尔斯(Gene Littles)、比克尔斯塔夫、迪克·莫塔(Dick Motta)和比尔·汉兹利克(Bill Hanzlik)。

当然，马刺队的情况几乎一样糟糕。他们经历了拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)、鲍勃·巴斯(Bob Bass)、杰里·塔卡尼安(Jerry Tarkanian)(可能没有足够的不法分子让杰里来指导)、雷克斯·休斯(Rex Hughes)(只有一场比赛)、约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas)、鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)和格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)。

马刺队拥有很多可以依靠的优秀球员，但频繁的教练更换最好停止，否则大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)将无缘总冠军戒指，黯然退出NBA。

太平洋赛区

**没有开始：**湖人队的尼克·范·埃克塞尔(Nick Van Exel)可能对这种谦逊和成熟的态度过于执着。这位控球后卫表示，他非常愿意坐在德雷克·费舍尔(Derek Fisher)身后打替补。

德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris)教练说，他会让范·埃克塞尔决定何时准备好回到首发阵容。范·埃克塞尔说这将是一个漫长的等待。

“我知道他是一个团队球员。他愿意不打首发。但我宁愿看到他在他舒服的时候回来，”主教练说道。

“我几乎已经告诉他，他必须告诉我他要首发，”范·埃克塞尔说道。“我不会告诉他我想要首发。”

范·埃克塞尔说他喜欢从替补席上带来的活力。此外，他可能还喜欢减少对伤膝的负担。

大西洋赛区：

**尤因观察：**帕特里克·尤因可能正在与尼克斯队进行训练，但杰夫·范·甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)教练还没有准备好完全乐观。

“你知道吗？如果帕特里克在今年年底前进行训练，我不会感到惊讶，”主教练说道。

但他补充道：训练并不直接导致比赛。

“你可以比控制比赛更有效地控制训练，”范·甘迪承认。“你可以告诉球员不要去攻击他的手腕，或者当他上篮时，不要把他撞倒在地上。”

点击查看原文：Tri-Towers will probably eclipse the Suns

Tri-Towers will probably eclipse the Suns

There was a time when the Spurs - and the rest of the Western Conference teams - mightily feared facing the Suns in the postseason.

Now the Suns may be worried about facing any team.

Phoenix had a rousing win over Seattle at America West Arena and figured they were fusing into a playoff form.

Not quite.

Phoenix has recently been drilled by both San Antonio and Utah and that racing group of scorers can look pretty pitiful against strong defense and half court execution mixed with some rapid transition scores.

“If that’s our playoff team, we’re in trouble,” said Coach Danny Ainge after one of his team’s losses. “I didn’t recognize that team. I have no idea who those guys were. We lacked leadership on the court, we were scattered all over the place.”

Ainge noted that even two hours of work on offensive sets failed to produce needed cohesion on the court.

Phoenix managed to pick up consecutive wins against Washington and Vancouver, but the Grizzlies were in that contest until the final minutes.

The Spurs’ record against top Western Conference teams is abysmal. But the Suns, too, hadn’t beaten a Western playoff-bound team on the road since Feb. 14 at San Antonio until they defeated Houston on Tuesday night.

“We seemed to lose a little confidence out there, and this is definitely not the time of year to be doing that,” said Suns forward Clifford Robinson.

The Spurs’ huge frontcourt shouldn’t be discounted too quickly when it takes the floor against the Phoenix mites. Barring a sudden change, San Antonio will maintain home court advantage in the first round.

It should be enough.

Central Division:

Flattering Mason: Hornets point guard David Wesley has figured out how to handle the enigmatic Anthony Mason.

Mason, who has complained about Coach Dave Cowens’ tactics, also has aimed a few glares at Wesley throughout the season. Mason thought Wesley held the ball too long or shot too much.

But now Wesley passes more, although he never was considered a selfish guard, and Mason is fond of his teammate.

“Mase is a very competitive person and he says a lot of things in the heat of battle,” Wesley said. “Now I just approach it as, ‘Let’s talk about it,’ whether it’s me or somebody else.”

The Knicks’ Patrick Ewing, on the other hand, simply shrugged off any of Mason’s complaints or, in effect, told him to take a hike.

Jackson’s way: So, why does Michael Jordan like Phil Jackson so much?

Jordan compares the Bulls guardian somewhat to Jordan’s North Carolina coach, Dean Smith.

Said Jordan: “Instead of yelling at you, criticizing you, Dean would say something like, ‘Would you make that play if you were in high school?’ It’s not a curse, but you got the point. At a crucial point in a game, Phil might call a timeout after one of us took a bad three-pointer and he’ll say, ‘You must be really hot, aren’t you?’ Toni will have missed three three-point shots in a row, and Phil will say, ‘Toni, he’s on a roll.’ Instead of saying, ‘That was a dumb shot.’”

Midwest Division:

Winning’s bad: It’s that time of year when some teams have to grimace when they see the Ws mount up. They want those deep lottery picks.

But Dallas coach Don Nelson figures it won’t make any difference to the Mavs because they can’t get down to the top three.

Nelson, who likes Arizona point guard Mike Bibby, has hinted that if he isn’t in the top three he’ll trade to get there.

“We’re playing a faster, up-tempo, funner game,” Nelson said of the Mavs few wins. It’s great for the development of our team." In March the Mavs have rallied from 19 down to beat Chicago, 17 back to beat Boston and 13 down to beat Minnesota, all at home.

Change hurts: So, why are they dead in Denver? Try this on.

The Nuggets have had three General Managers in the 1990s - Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and Dan Issel. They have had seven head coaches since the decade began - Doug Moe, Paul Westhead, Issel, Gene Littles, Bickerstaff, Dick Motta and Bill Hanzlik.

The Spurs are almost as bad, of course. They’ve gone through Larry Brown, Bob Bass, Jerry Tarkanian (probably not enough outlaws for Jerry to guide), Rex Hughes (one game), John Lucas, Bob Hill and Gregg Popovich.

The Spurs have some dynamite players to build on, but the coaching switches best halt or David Robinson will drift out of the NBA with no serious chance at a ring.

Pacific Division

Non Start: The Lakers’ Nick Van Exel may be taking this humble and mature attitude a bit too far. The point guard says he’s quite willing to come off the bench behind Derek Fisher.

Coach Del Harris says he will leave it to Van Exel to tell him when he’s ready to go back in with the first unit. Van Exel said it would be a long wait.

“I know he’s a team guy. He would be willing not to start. But I’d rather see him back in there when he’s comfortable,” the coach said.

“I pretty much have told him he’s going to have to tell me to start,” Van Exel said. “I’m not going to tell him I want to.”

Van Exel says he likes the spark he gives the team off the bench. Also, he may like having less pounding on his bad knees.

Atlantic Division:

Ewing watch: Patrick Ewing may be engaging in practices with the Knicks, but Coach Jeff Van Gundy isn’t ready yet to cry full optimism.

“You know what? It wouldn’t surprise me to see Patrick practice sometime before the end of the year,” the coach said.

But he adds caution: Practicing does not lead directly to game play.

“You can control practice much more than you can control games,” Van Gundy admits. “You can tell guys to not rake his wrist, or when he goes up, don’t knock (him) to the floor.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-02, By Glenn Rogers
来自迈阿密的热火队现在热度变小，但莫宁受伤将缺阵

尽管热火队即将到来，但今天晚上 Alamodome 的温度应该会稍微凉爽一些。

在周二晚热火队与波士顿队的比赛中，中锋阿隆佐·莫宁左颧骨骨折，加入了迈阿密伤病球员的名单。莫宁与前锋贾马尔·马什本和 P.J. 布朗一道出现在了热火队的伤病名单上。

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇仍然预测迈阿密船员队会群情激愤。

“如果说有什么球队能深挖潜力，非迈阿密莫属，”波波维奇在周三晚上说。“他们会做好战斗准备，我们最好系好在球鞋带，做好迎接他们的准备。”

马刺队正在与自己的大批伤病作斗争，但在上一次客场比赛中，尽管没有埃弗里·约翰逊、查克·帕森和肖恩·埃利奥特，他们还是设法赢得了五场比赛中的四场。

三人中只有约翰逊有望在 7:30 的开球中亮相。

“这是一个棘手的小问题，”约翰逊说，谈到他右臀深处的肌肉拉伤。“（马刺队队医）施密特（大卫）医生在（周三）早上看到它时不喜欢他看到的。我预计很快就会回来，也许是（今晚），也许是周六晚上（对阵金州勇士）。我们得看看它每天的情况。

“我的感觉确实好多了，我能够进行一些跑步（周三），但我想在回来之前摆脱（疼痛）。

马刺队周三在圣道成肉身大学为大约一半的球队进行了轻量级训练。

“问题是，当我肌肉痉挛时，我的腿就会僵住，”约翰逊说。“肌肉会摩擦到神经，导致我的腿麻木。过去，每当我疼痛时，我都只是忍受疼痛。但这有所不同。”

帕森不愿过多谈论他的伤势，这是他椎间盘疾病的加重，但本赛季的回归仍然存在疑问。

“我离复出还差得远呢，”帕森说。“我无法对（这次伤病是否危及职业生涯）做出评论，因为我现在的唯一能做的是走路。”

埃利奥特正在从左股四头肌手术中恢复，他希望能赶在常规赛结束前复出。

“没有具体日期，但我希望在未来几周内复出，”埃利奥特说。“我还没有摆脱运球后的阻碍，但我一直在投篮，我也一直在摆脱挡拆。（周三的）训练非常令人振奋。去年，过了五个月我才能够真正做些什么。这一次，只有大约九个星期。

“但无论何时切除膝盖上的东西，身体都需要时间来愈合。我仍然感到疼痛，但这不是剧烈的疼痛，我预计会有一些疼痛。”

埃利奥特参加他的第一场比赛之前不会进行最终测试。

“在那之前我不会知道碰撞的情况，”埃利奥特说。“在行动之前，我仍然会（考虑膝盖），但也在这方面有所改善。”

波波维奇也希望埃利奥特能在常规赛暂停之前参加四五场比赛。

波波维奇说：“我曾希望肖恩在两场客场比赛中获得四五分钟的上场时间，但这没有奏效”。“他，查克和埃弗里恢复得很慢。但我们仍然会看到肖恩参加一些（常规赛）比赛。”

马刺队希望继续向巩固西部联盟第四个季后赛席位迈进，也许可以与洛杉矶湖人队争夺第三个种子。马刺队比排名第五的菲尼克斯领先两场比赛，落后洛杉矶两场半。

预计圣安东尼奥将再次以其“三塔”首发阵容对阵迈阿密——威尔·帕杜、大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯。文尼·德尔·内格罗和贾伦·杰克逊将在后场首发。

罗宾逊和约翰逊强调了这样一个事实：尽管有伤病，马刺队一直在赢球。

“这对我们阵容深度的实力是个有力的证明，”罗宾逊在周二客场 95-78 战胜尼克斯队后说。“每个人都参与进来，做好他们需要做的事情。”

约翰逊说：“我们发现了另一种阵容，这将帮助我们在季后赛中获胜。大家都在获得大量的经验。”

- 马刺队动态：球队周三以一份 10 天的合同签下了 6 英尺 11 英寸的前锋布拉德·洛豪斯。

在被交易到纽约之前，洛豪斯在 1995-96 赛季为马刺队打了 32 场比赛。洛豪斯本赛季效力于意大利 A1 联赛的 V.L. 佩萨罗。

“没有初出茅庐的年轻新星，所以我们想引进一位快速掌握我们的计划并立即投入训练的资深球员，”波波维奇说。“如果我们在比赛中能从布拉德身上得到一些坚实的即战力，（而且）他能神准投篮，那就更好了。”

- 马刺队周三宣布，本赛季他们的第一场季后赛门票将于周六上午 10 点开始发售。

门票可在位于 Alamodome 西南端的马刺队售票处以及所有 TicketMaster 门店（包括 Foley 和 Drug Emporium）购买。也可以通过电话 (210) 224-9600 购票。

五场系列赛第一轮的最佳门票（采用 2-2-1 格式）售价范围为 9.50 美元至 49.50 美元。马刺队的对手以及比赛的日期和时间尚未确定。

点击查看原文：Catching Heat now not as bad Spurs meet Miami, but Mourning out hurt

Catching Heat now not as bad Spurs meet Miami, but Mourning out hurt

The temperature should be a little cooler in the Alamodome tonight despite the arrival of the Heat.

Center Alonzo Mourning joined the list of Miami’s injured players when he suffered a fractured left cheekbone during the Heat’s game against Boston on Tuesday night. Mourning joins forwards Jamal Mashburn and P.J. Brown on the Heat’s out-of-action list.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich still predicts a riled-up Miami crew.

“If any team can dig down deep, Miami can,” Popovich said Wednesday night. “They will come out ready for battle and we better have our sneakers laced and be ready for them.”

The Spurs are contending with their own rash of injuries but managed to win four of their five games on the last road trip despite the absence of Avery Johnson, Chuck Person and Sean Elliott.

Johnson is the only one of the three with a chance of appearing in the lineup for the 7:30 tipoff.

“It’s a tricky little problem,” Johnson said of the strained muscle deep in his right hip. "(Spurs team physician) Dr. (David) Schmidt didn’t like what he saw when he looked at it (Wednesday) morning. I expect to be back soon, maybe (tonight), maybe Saturday night (against Golden State). We’ll have to see how it looks day-to-day.

“I do feel a lot better, and I was able to do some running (Wednesday), but I want to get rid of (the pain) before I come back.”

The Spurs went through a light workout for about half the team Wednesday at the University of the Incarnate Word.

“The problem is, my leg locks up when I get a spasm,” Johnson said. “The muscle rubs up against the nerve and just shuts down my leg. In the past, whenever I had pain, I just played through it. But this is different.”

Person declined to talk much about his injury, an aggravation of his back disc ailment, but his return this season remains in doubt.

“I’m not even close to playing,” Person said. “I really can’t comment (on whether the injury could be career threatening) because all I can do now is walk.”

Elliott, recovering from surgery on his left quadriceps, hopes to be back in action before the regular season ends.

“There’s no specific date, but I hope it’s within the next couple of weeks,” Elliott said. "I can’t beat people off the dribble yet, but I’ve been shooting and I’ve been coming off screens. (Wednesday’s) work was very encouraging. Last year, it took five months before I was able to really do anything. This time, it’s been only about nine weeks.

“But whenever they cut something out of your knee, it’s going to take time for the body to heal. I still have pain, but it’s not significant pain and I expect to have some pain.”

The final test won’t come until Elliott appears in his first game.

“I won’t know about the banging until that time,” Elliott said. “I still think a little (about the knee) before acting, but I’m improving in that area, too.”

Popovich also hopes Elliott will be able to play in four or five games before the regular season grinds to a halt.

“I had hoped to get four or five minutes for Sean in a couple of the road games, but it didn’t work out,” Popovich said. “He, Chuck and Avery are coming along slowly. But we still see Sean playing in some (regular-season) games.”

The Spurs want to continue their push toward solidifying a hold on the No. 4 playoff slot in the Western Conference and perhaps make a run at the Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed The Spurs are two games ahead of fifth-seeded Phoenix and 21/2 behind Los Angeles.

San Antonio is expected to go again with its “Tri-Tower” starting lineup - Will Perdue, David Robinson and Tim Duncan - against Miami. Vinny Del Negro and Jaren Jackson will start in the backcourt.

Robinson and Johnson emphasized the fact that the Spurs have been winning despite their disabling injuries.

“That’s a strong statement to our depth,” Robinson said after Tuesday’s 95-78 victory over the Knicks. “Everyone has stepped in to do the job they had to do.”

Said Johnson: “We’ve discovered another lineup and that will help us in the playoffs. Guys are getting a lot of experience.”

- Spurs notes: The team signed 6- foot-11 forward Brad Lohaus to a 10-day contract Wednesday.

Lohaus played 32 games with the Spurs during the 1995-96 season before being traded to New York. Lohaus started this season with V.L. Pesaro in the A1 Italian league.

“There are no budding young stars out there, so we wanted to bring in a veteran who would pick up our schemes quickly and jump right into practices,” Popovich said. “If we can get some solid minutes from Brad during games, (and) he can shoot the lights out, so much the better.”

- The Spurs announced Wednesday that tickets for their first playoff game this season will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased at the Spurs Ticket Office, located at the southwest end of the Alamodome, and at all TicketMaster outlets, including Foley’s and Drug Emporium. Seats also can be bought by telephone at (210) 224-9600.

Prices for first-round, best-of- five series, which features a 2-2-1 format, will range from $9.50 to $49.50. The Spurs’ opponent, as well as the dates and times of the games, have yet to be determined.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-02, By Buck Harvey

四强赛的最终点睛之笔：体育的价值

我宁愿用一个周末与图比(Tubby Smith)交换，换取与蒂米(Tim Duncan)共度十年。宁愿用一场四强赛换取一个最终解决方案。宁愿用阿拉莫体育馆换取一个能容纳 22,000 人的竞技场。

既然现在已经无法交换，那么我便接受上周的真相，体育展现了它能为一座城市带来的意义。今天你问问周围的人，一个社区投资体育设施是多么愚蠢的事情？

彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)并没有公开提出这个问题。他积极参与联盟和球队的事务，周二晚上他在纽约观看马刺队大胜尼克斯队。但他对球馆问题保持沉默，因为他不愿听到任何人的意见。

也许这种情况将开始改变。随着四强赛的结束，阿拉莫体育馆的座位将重新配置，以备今晚对阵迈阿密的比赛，但篮球战术会发生改变吗？肯塔基州立大学和犹他州立大学证明了篮板球和防守在季后赛中的重要性，而马刺队在这两方面都做得相当出色。

马刺队在东部之旅中取得了 4 勝 1 负的战绩，而且大部分时间缺少三位曾经被认为至关重要的球员（艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)、肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和查克·珀森(Chuck Person)）。如果这仅仅让他们成为联盟中第六或第七好的球队，那么圣安东尼奥并没有因为四强赛而变得过于溺爱，对吧？仅仅因为阿什莉·贾德(Ashley Judd)没有坐在比利·帕克(Billy Packer)的同一张餐桌上，并不意味着你不能为蒂姆·邓肯追逐控球后卫而兴奋。

然而，如果球迷之间有越来越浓厚的兴趣，从政客们那里却很难看出来。休斯敦和达拉斯的市长领导了设施提案，并在公投中获得通过，而圣安东尼奥则保持被动。无论最终的决定是赞成还是反对，调查一下、弄清楚霍尔特想要什么以及马刺队愿意投入多少、看看一些选择，不是更有意义吗？

相反，霍华德·皮克(Howard Peak)上周末在四强赛的各种活动中查看了一些自助餐台，而没有告诉电视摄像机这场活动对这座城市来说是多么美好。他没说的是：如果皮克在 20 世纪 80 年代掌权，阿拉莫体育馆就不会建成。

皮克会争辩说，应该把钱用来填补坑洼而不是建竞技场，不止一位经济学家会同意他的观点。城市总能找到其他花钱的方式。因此，圣安东尼奥历史上最耀眼的全国聚光灯——商会可以宣传十年都无法达到同样的效果——阿拉莫钢铁厂仍然是市中心最受欢迎的旅游景点。

至于聚光灯是如何消失的：没有比记者更刻薄的批评家了，上周末可能是报纸历史上最快乐、最惊讶的群体。

话虽如此，我不知道阿拉莫体育馆是否是在 10 年前可供选择的最佳方案，即使共和党全国大会之后四强赛又回来了。什么更重要——一些轰动的营销活动，还是一个能把这座城市唯一的一支职业联赛球队留在城里的顶级竞技场？

体育的价值体现在这两个方程式中。当星期二到来，圣安东尼奥的日期从大学篮球比赛的故事中消失时，马刺队在纽约，创造了另一个日期，就像他们过去 20 年所做的那样。

所以是阿拉莫体育馆还是竞技场？我倾向于后者。圣安东尼奥在过去的一个周末所损失的东西，将被一个能帮助举办大会、举办音乐会、升级牛仔竞技比赛和留住马刺队的竞技场所抵消。

但在 1998 年，出售一个阿拉莫体育馆和一个竞技场的想法比以往任何时候都更有意义。为了商业利益。为了旅游业。为了马刺队。为了获得 2007 年泛美运动会的机会。为了上周末带给我们的东西。

点击查看原文：Final Four's final touch: Value of sports

Final Four’s final touch: Value of sports

I’d trade a weekend with Tubby for another decade with Timmy. A Final Four for a final solution. The Alamodome for a 22,000-seat arena.

And since it’s too late to trade? Then I’d accept the truths of last week, when sports showed what it can do for a city. Ask around today. How silly is it for a community to invest in sports facilities?

Peter Holt isn’t asking that publicly. He’s active in league and franchise matters, and he was in New York on Tuesday night when the Spurs dismantled the Knicks. But he sticks to his silence on the arena issue, based on the theory no one wants to hear.

Maybe that dynamic begins to change. With the Final Four over, the dome seating will be reconfigured for tonight against Miami, but will the basketball schemes? Kentucky and Utah proved what rebounding and defense can mean in the postseason, and the Spurs are doing both about as well as anyone.

The Spurs went 4-1 on an Eastern trip mostly without three guys (Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott and Chuck Person) once considered vital. And if that still only makes them the league’s sixth or seventh best team, San Antonio isn’t that spoiled by the Final Four, is it? Just because Ashley Judd isn’t dining at one table with Billy Packer at the other doesn’t mean you can’t get worked up about Tim Duncan chasing point guards.

Still, if there is a growing interest among fans, it’s hard to tell from the politicians. The Houston and Dallas mayors led facility proposals that passed in referendums, while San Antonio’s stays passive. Whether the ultimate decision is pro or con, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate, to find what Holt wants and how much the Spurs are willing to invest, to check out a few options?

Instead, Howard Peak spent last weekend checking out a few buffet tables at Final Four functions, when he wasn’t telling TV cameras how wonderful this event was for the city. What he doesn’t say: If Peak had been in charge in the 1980s, the dome isn’t built.

Peak would have argued in favor of filling potholes over arenas, and more than one economist would have agreed with him. Cities can always find other ways to spend money. And so instead of the biggest national spotlight in San Antonio’s history - the chamber could sell for a decade and not have the same impact - Alamo Iron Works would still be a favorite downtown tourist site.

As for how the spotlight went: There are no meaner critics than journalists, and last weekend might have produced the most delighted and surprised mob in newspaper history.

That said, I don’t know if the dome was the perfect option available 10 years ago, even if the GOP convention follows and the Final Four returns. What means more - a few sensational marketing days or a first-class arena that keeps the city’s only major-league franchise in town?

The value of sports fits in both equations. When Tuesday came and the San Antonio dateline had been removed from college basketball stories, there were the Spurs, in New York, making another dateline as they have for 20 years.

So dome or arena? I’d lean toward the latter. What San Antonio would have lost in weekends such as the last one would have been countered by an arena that could have helped conventions, hosted music shows, upgraded the rodeo and kept the Spurs.

But in 1998, selling the idea of a dome AND an area makes more sense than ever. For business. For the tourist industry. For the Spurs. For a chance at the 2007 Pan American Games. And for what last weekend gave us.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-03, By Glenn Rogers

马刺队依靠内线优势击败热火——圣安东尼奥大前锋压制迈阿密

周四晚上在阿拉莫穹顶体育馆进行了一场内线和外线的对决。

内线取得了胜利。

马刺队充分利用了中锋阿隆佐·莫宁缺席的机会，以一系列上篮和扣篮的狂风暴雨之势将迈阿密热火队淹没，最终以 103-89 击败对手。

圣安东尼奥将战绩提高至 51 胜 23 负，并将连胜场次扩大到四场。

热火队在内线优势面前尽最大努力予以反击。他们待在外线，远离那些拍打的长臂，并投出了 24 个三分球。但他们只命中了 6 球。

善于抢断的热火队试图通过争抢每个脱手球来弥补篮板球的劣势，但他们仍然无法抵消身高因素，最终以 27 比 37 输掉了篮板球。

热火队教练帕特·莱利用埃里克·默多克、蒂姆·哈达威和沃肖恩·伦纳德这三个矮个子球员来对抗马刺队的高大球员，让他们对阵大卫·罗宾逊、维尔·珀杜和蒂姆·邓肯。

这一策略在一段时间内奏效，罗宾逊、珀杜和邓肯的错位匹配让热火队在开局阶段取得了 44-39 的短暂领先。

罗宾逊说道：“这是一个我们将在季后赛中关注的阵容。文尼（德尔内格罗）在将球传到内线方面做得很好，并且投篮命中率很高。文尼和贾伦（杰克逊）可以待在外线并接过传球。”

在阿维里·约翰逊（因臀部肌肉拉伤缺席）缺阵的情况下，德尔内格罗担任控球后卫，杰克逊担任分卫。

罗宾逊说：“阿维里给了我们很多节奏，但我们也能从这个阵容中获得一些节奏。这只是给我们提供了另一个我们可以使用的阵容。”

波波维奇对马刺队在整场比赛中提高防守强度的方式感到满意。

这位教练说：“我们的身体对抗和执行力从比赛开始到结束都有所提高。球员们正在以制造犯规和将球快速传到球场上获得好投篮机会为基础来进行比赛。”

波波维奇说：“大卫一直是那里的基石（禁区内），封盖投篮，抢到篮板，在球场上全方位提供帮助。蒂姆一直在抢篮板，并将球传给其他球员。”

马刺队在第三节通过一波 11-7 的冲刺将领先优势扩大到 72-62，开始掌控比赛。当蒂姆·哈达威投出一个打铁的三分球，但球在一名马刺球员身上出界时，比赛似乎仍将继续。

在界内发球后，哈达威在一次防守失误后突破上篮得分。

在那次得分之后，波波维奇变得有些恼火。他转身走向替补席，踢了一下，将训练师约翰·安德森手中的战术板打飞了。

马刺队在下半场将 44-39 的落后局面扭转为 51-45 的领先优势。

圣安东尼奥队在禁区内表现强劲，通过上篮和扣篮得到了 34 分。马刺队在第一节得到了 11 次扣篮或上篮，但只以 28-25 领先 3 分。

邓肯和罗宾逊几乎是在戏耍体型较小的热火队，他们不断轻松得分，或是抢到错失的投篮并高高跃起再将其送入篮筐。

迈阿密中锋杜安·考斯威尔与罗宾逊的对决毫无胜算，在上半场仅仅出场了 4 分钟，并且在第二节开局不久就领到了他的第三次犯规。

迈阿密在上半场投出了 16 个三分，命中了 6 个，并在最后 1 分钟连续投失了 4 个。

热火队的三名球员在防守球员周围穿梭，突破内线，获得罚球或将球传出以尝试三分球。哈达威在下半场得了 16 分，默多克在第二节得了 5 分。

马刺队新闻：马刺队前锋蒂姆·邓肯在本赛季连续第五次被评为月最佳新秀。

邓肯在 3 月份场均得到 23.8 分、12.6 个篮板和 2.25 次盖帽。他的投篮命中率为 55.5%，在全联盟排行中篮板位居第二，得分位居第五，盖帽位居第八。

邓肯在本赛季每个月都获得了这项殊荣，现在有望成为继拉尔夫·桑普森（1983-84）和大卫·罗宾逊（1989-90）之后，第三位在其职业生涯第一个赛季的每个月都赢得该奖项的新秀。

• 马刺队将在 4 月 10 日主场迎战超音速队，届时他们将庆祝其成立 25 周年的赛季。

庆祝活动将在傍晚举行，在中场休息时，将邀请 20 名前马刺球员到球场上接受表彰。

参加此次活动的球员包括吉恩·班克斯、艾伦·布里斯托、科比·迪特里克、迈克·盖尔、乔治·格文、阿蒂斯·吉尔莫尔、保罗·格里芬、基思·埃德蒙森、威廉·富兰克林、乔治·约翰逊、乔治·卡尔、拉里·凯农、伯尼·拉罗、雷德·麦科姆斯、迈克·米切尔、道格·莫、约翰尼·摩尔、斯文·纳特、马克·奥尔伯丁、比利·保尔茨和詹姆斯·西拉斯。

阿兰莫穹顶体育馆的上层将在比赛中开放，上层门票将在马刺队售票处以 2 美元的折扣出售，另外还有来自任何 H- E-B 地点至少 10 美元的购物收据。

点击查看原文：Spurs cool Heat by staying inside - S.A. big frontline overpowers Miami

Spurs cool Heat by staying inside - S.A. big frontline overpowers Miami

There was an inside-outside battle Thursday night at the Alamodome.

The inside won.

The Spurs, taking full advantage of the absence of center Alonzo Mourning, drowned Miami 103-89 in a storm of layups and dunks.

San Antonio improved its record to 51-23 and stretched its win streak to four games.

The Heat countered as best they could against the Spurs’ inside advantage. They stayed outside, away from those swatting long arms, and hurled up 24 three-pointers. They hit but six.

The ball-hawking Heat tried to overcome the rebounding disadvantage by fighting over every loose ball, wresting them out of Spurs grasps. But they still couldn’t neutralize the height factor and were outrebounded 37-27.

Heat coach Pat Riley countered the Spurs’ big guys with three shrimps, pitting guards Eric Murdock, Tim Hardaway and Voshon Lenard against Robinson, Perdue and Duncan.

It worked only for a while as the mismatch went Riley’s way early on and Miami took a brief 44-39 lead.

“This is a lineup we’re going to have to take a look at in the playoffs,” said Robinson, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists." Vinny (Del Negro) does a good job of getting the ball inside and he is shooting well. Vinny and Jaren (Jackson) can stay out there and take the pitchouts."

In the absence of Avery Johnson (out with a sprained muscle in his hip), Del Negro is at the point and Jackson is playing off guard.

“Avery gives us a lot of rhythm but we get some rhythm from this lineup, too,” Robinson said. “This just gives us another lineup we can use.”

Popovich was pleased with the way the Spurs increased their defensive intensity throughout the game.

“Our physical play and our execution improved from the beginning to the end of the game,” the coach said. "The guys are predicating their game on making stops and getting the ball up court for good shots.

“David has been the rock down there (in the paint), blocking shots, getting to the boards, helping out all over the floor,” Popovich said. “Tim has been going to the boards and getting the ball out to the other guys.”

The Spurs began to take command of the game in the third quarter with an 11-7 sprint to take a 72-62 lead. It looked like that would hold up after Tim Hardaway tossed up an air-ball three but the ball went out of bounds off a Spur.

On the inbound, Hardaway drove the lane for a layup after a missed defensive assignment.

Popovich became more than a little heated after that score. He turned to the bench, kicked and knocked the clipboard out of the hands of trainer John Andersen.

The Spurs came back from the 44- 39 deficit to lead 51-45 at the half.

San Antonio was mighty in the paint, scoring 34 points off layups and dunks. The Spurs had 11 dunks or layups in the first quarter, but led by only three, 28-25.

Duncan and Robinson all but toyed with the smaller Heat down low, stepping in for easy scores or grabbing misses and reaching up and slipping them back in.

Miami center Duane Causwell had no chance against Robinson and managed only four minutes in the opening half, picking up his third foul early in the second quarter.

Miami fired 16 three-pointers in the first two quarters, hitting six and missing four straight in the last minute.

The Heat triplets drove around the trees, through the lanes, picked up free throws or pitched the ball out for three-point tries. Hardaway had 16 points in the half and Murdock scored five in the second quarter. Spurs notes: Spurs forward Tim Duncan has been named rookie of the month for the fifth consecutive time this season.

Duncan averaged 23.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.25 blocks during March. He hit 55.5 percent of his shots and ranked second in rebounding, fifth in scoring and eighth in blocks among all league leaders.

Duncan has won the honor every month this season and now is in line to become the third rookie, joining Ralph Sampson (1983-84) and David Robinson (1989-90), to win the award every month of his first season. -The Spurs will celebrate their 25th anniversary season April 10 when they play host to the SuperSonics.

Events will occur during the evening, with the highlight coming at halftime with 20 former Spurs honored on court.

Those attending the event will include Gene Banks, Allan Bristow, Coby Dietrick, Mike Gale, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Paul Griffin, Keith Edmondson, William Franklin, George Johnson, George Karl, Larry Kenon, Bernie LaReau, Red McCombs, Mike Mitchell, Doug Moe, Johnny Moore, Swen Nater, Mark Olberding, Billy Paultz and James Silas.

The upper level of the Alamodome will be open for the game and tickets to the upper level will be available at the Spurs ticket office for $2 along with a receipt for at least a $10 purchase from any H- E-B location.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-03, By Arthur Garcia

马刺队发现小阵容是轻松的目标

另一个大个子球员倒下了，马刺队在内线又迎来了一场狂欢。

连续第三场比赛，圣安东尼奥的对手都无法派出首发中锋，而马刺队的三位七尺巨人则连续第三次在内线大显身手。

迈阿密热火队由于全明星中锋阿隆佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)缺阵，目睹了大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)、蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)联手砍下 57 分、33 个篮板和 9 个盖帽，最终以 103-89 大胜马刺。

热火队被迫让杜安·考斯威尔(Duane Causwell)首发出场，顶替因周二对阵波士顿时左脸骨折的莫宁担任中锋。

考斯威尔在比赛开始两分钟后就因为两次犯规被罚下场。热火队也缺少了大前锋 P.J. 布朗(P.J. Brown)和小前锋贾马尔·马什本(Jamal Mashburn)。

“没有 P.J. 和阿隆佐真的很困难，”热火队主教练帕特·莱利(Pat Riley)说道。“我认为我们的球员拼尽了全力，但他们在禁区内得分太多。他们非常专注于自己的内线进攻。”

随着 7 尺高的考斯威尔离场，热火队只能依靠马克·斯特里克兰(Mark Strickland)、马蒂·康隆(Marty Conlon)和特里·米尔斯(Terry Mills)来保护篮筐。他们可不是“鸟-麦克海尔-帕里什”组合。

“我们无能为力，”6 尺 9 寸的斯特里克兰说道。“当你面对三个盖帽高手，以及一个打三号位的大四号(大前锋邓肯)时，这太难了。”

邓肯在过去两场比赛中负责盯防控卫，而这场比赛他则从一开始就盯防 6 尺 6 寸的丹·梅杰利(Dan Majerle)，迫使这位后卫兼前锋全场 11 投 3 中。

“面对这样的阵容，情况完全不同，”梅杰利说道。“他们逼着你投篮。”

热火队最终只投中了 80 球中的 27 球，命中率仅为 33.8%。

圣安东尼奥此前在面对纽约时，帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)和替补中锋克里斯·达德利(Chris Dudley)都缺阵；在对阵印第安纳的比赛中，里克·史密茨(Rik Smits)也缺阵。马刺队的三座塔楼在这两场比赛中场均贡献 52 分和 29 个篮板。

罗宾逊(21 分、14 个篮板)、邓肯(22 分、14 个篮板)和珀杜(14 分、5 个篮板)合计 45 投 25 中。

“我们不得不比以往更多地进行包夹，”莱利说道。

点击查看原文：Spurs find small lineup easy pickings

Spurs find small lineup easy pickings

Another big man down, another field day down low for the Spurs.

For the third straight game, San Antonio’s opponent hit the floor without its starting center and for the third time the Spurs trio of seven-footers went to work inside.

Miami, without All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, watched as David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Will Perdue combined for 57 points, 33 rebounds and nine blocks in a 103-89 Spurs romp.

The Heat were forced to go with Duane Causwell, making his first start of the season at center in place of Mourning, who fractured his left cheek on Tuesday against Boston.

Causwell was out of the game two minutes in after picking up his second foul. Miami was also without power forward P.J. Brown and small forward Jamal Mashburn.

“It’s hard without P.J. and Alonzo,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “I think our guys battled, but they scored a lot of points in the paint. They were committed to their post game.”

With the 7-foot Causwell out, the Heat turned to Mark Strickland, Marty Conlon and Terry Mills to protect the basket. Not exactly Bird-McHale-Parish.

“There was nothing you could do,” said the 6-foot-9 Strickland. “It’s tough when you have three guys that are shot-blockers and a four-man (power forward Duncan) playing a three (small forward).”

After guarding point guards in the last two games, Duncan started out on 6-6 Dan Majerle, forcing the guard-forward into a 3-of-11 shooting night.

“It’s a lot different playing against that lineup,” Majerle said. “They force you to make shots.”

The Heat didn’t, hitting only 27 of 80 for 33.8 percent.

San Antonio faced New York without Patrick Ewing and backup Chris Dudley, Indiana sans Rik Smits in its previous two games. The Spurs Tri Towers averaged 52 points and 29 boards in those two victories.

Robinson (21 points, 14 rebounds), Duncan (22 and 14) and Perdue (14 and five) converted on 25 of 45 shot attempts.

“We had to double more than we’ve ever done,” Riley said.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-04, By Glenn Rogers

马刺队希望与勇士队得分

蛇头今晚有望重新连到身体上。
埃弗里·约翰逊在过去四场比赛中因胯部肌肉拉伤而缺席，他确信自己能在马刺队在阿朗摩竞技场迎战金州勇士队的比赛中得分。
星期五上午，在马刺队在阿朗摩竞技场的训练后，约翰逊说道：“我应当穿着球衣出场。”
约翰逊参加了这支球队的锻炼，并且看起来跑得很好。但主教练格雷格·波波维奇，最初称约翰逊为蛇头，并不确定约翰逊是否准备好迎战勇士队。
波波维奇说道：“这将是一个需要当天决定的比赛。”“我们希望埃弗里能尽快恢复状态。”
约翰逊笑着补充道：“决定已经做出。如果我再听到需要当天做的决定，我会掐死某人的。”
约翰逊说，他胯部的受损肌肉正在对常规治疗做出反应。
约翰逊说：“我们对进入我身体的梨状肌（综合征）有了更多信息。”“这与你跌倒或被击中导致脚踝或肌肉扭伤不同。这是由于你的身体不平衡造成的，当做出调整时，会导致肌肉纤维断裂。很难说是什么导致了这种情况，多年来打了很多比赛，而且没有变年轻。”
约翰逊通过锻炼和按摩来治疗肌肉。约翰逊的一条腿比另一条略长，这会导致失衡。
马刺队在文尼·德尔·内格罗担任得分后卫、贾伦·杰克逊担任得分后卫，以及大卫·罗宾逊、威尔·珀迪和蒂姆·邓肯联合控制强大前锋线的情况下，连续赢下了四场比赛。
德尔·内格罗说：“当然，从得分后卫变成后卫，在心理上有些困难。”“但我们拥有一支经验丰富的球队，没有太多缺乏经验的年轻球员。我们不会采取很多策略。没有必要采用，直到另一支球队阻止我们为止。我们会把球传给大卫或蒂姆，（对手）必须对他们进行包夹。如果没有包夹，大卫或蒂姆就可以得分。如果他们进行包夹，我们其他人只需要到达我们的位置（才能接球）。”
德尔·内格罗在周四晚对迈阿密热火的比赛中脚踝略微扭伤，但他表示预计对勇士队的比赛不会受什么影响。
波波维奇说：“球员们对后场人员的变化做出了很好的反应。”“我们一直主打非常强硬的防守。由于阵容不断变化，我们的进攻仍然有些混乱，但正在改善。”
罗宾逊说，当马刺队和勇士队相遇时，对前一次的比赛进行回击是必要的。3 月 4 日，金州队以 90-83 击败了来访的马刺队，这让人大吃一惊。
罗宾逊说：“毫无疑问，我们欠这支球队一场比赛。”“我们上次的表现一点都不好。但我们必须为他们做好准备。他们非常有运动天赋，并且拥有许多投手。他们会猛扑过去，抢到很多长篮板球。但我们现在表现得很好。我们相信自己能够得分。我们一直在迎战人员短缺（因伤缺阵）的球队。但他们一直都很努力，而我们也能够做到这一点。”
波波维奇预计勇士队会信心满满地前来。
- 马刺队新闻：马刺队首场季后赛门票将于今日上午 10 点在位于阿朗摩竞技场西南端的马刺队售票处和所有 Ticketmaster 门店（包括 Foley’s 和 Drug Emporium）开始发售。
球迷们还可拨打 224-9600 购买门票，门票价格从 9.50 美元到 49.50 美元不等。
- 马刺队的约翰逊、夏洛特黄蜂队的鲍比·菲尔斯、纽约尼克斯队的艾伦·休斯顿和西雅图超音速队的赫西·霍金斯在周五被指定为 NBA 体育道德奖分区冠军。
在这个组别中，将在全国媒体小组投票后诞生一名全国冠军，该小组将在本赛季结束后进行投票。
6 名前球员从 29 名提名（每个俱乐部一名）选出了 4 名决赛选手。
该奖项每年颁发给“在场上最能代表体育道德理念的球员”。

点击查看原文：Spurs hope to make point vs. Warriors

Spurs hope to make point vs. Warriors

The head of the snake expects to be reattached to the body tonight.

Avery Johnson, on the sidelines for the past four games with a strained hip muscle, feels confident he will be at the point when the Spurs take on the Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome.

“I should be in uniform,” Johnson said after the Spurs’ practice at the dome Friday morning.

Johnson participated in the team’s workout and seemed to be running well. But Coach Gregg Popovich, who first referred to Johnson as the head of the snake, wasn’t as certain that Johnson would be ready to take the floor against the Warriors.

“It’s going to be a game-day decision,” Popovich said. “We hope to get Avery back in the flow soon.”

Added Johnson, with a laugh: “The decision has been made. I’ll choke somebody if I hear that game-day decision again.”

Johnson said the damaged muscle in his hip is responding to regular treatment.

“We have more information on this piriformis (syndrome) that is in my body,” Johnson said. "It’s different than when you fall down or get hit and sprain an ankle or a muscle. It’s caused by an imbalance in your body, and, when you make adjustments, it breaks down the muscle.

“It’s hard to say what caused it, playing so many minutes over the years, not getting any younger.”

Johnson treats the muscle with exercises and massages. One of Johnson’s legs is slightly longer than the other, which can contribute to the imbalance.

The Spurs have won four straight with Vinny Del Negro manning the point slot, Jaren Jackson starting at shooting guard, and tri-towers David Robinson, Will Perdue and Tim Duncan manning the overpowering front line.

“Sure, it’s a little difficult,” Del Negro said of the mental switch from shooting to point guard. "But we have a veteran team, not a lot of young, inexperienced players.

“We don’t run a lot of plays. There’s no need to until the other team stops them. We get the ball inside to David or Tim and (opponents) have to double-team them. If there’s no double, David or Tim can score. If the double team comes, then the rest of us just have to get to our spots (to receive the pass).”

Del Negro suffered a slightly sprained ankle during the win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night but said he expected to be fine for the Warriors.

“The guys have reacted well to the changed backcourt,” Popovich said. “We’ve been playing very strong defense. Our offense is still somewhat in flux because of the changing lineups, but it’s improving.”

Robinson said payback is in order when the Spurs and Warriors meet. Golden State surprised the visiting Spurs with a 90-83 victory March 4.

“No question, we owe this team one,” Robinson said. "We didn’t play well at all the last time. But we’re going to have to be ready for them. They are very athletic, and they have some shooters. They go after and get a lot of those long rebounds.

“But we’re playing well now. We are confident that we can make stops and that we can score. We’ve been catching teams without people (out with injuries). But they’ve been playing with a lot of effort, and we’ve been able to meet that.”

Popovich expects the Warriors to come in on a high note.

- Spurs notes: Tickets for the Spurs’ first playoff game go on sale at 10 a.m. today at the Spurs Ticket Office, located in the southwest end of the Alamodome, and at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Foley’s and Drug Emporium.

Fans also can purchase tickets, which range from $9.50 to $49.50, by calling 224-9600.

- The Spurs’ Johnson, Bobby Phills of the Charlotte Hornets, Allan Houston of the New York Knicks and Hersey Hawkins of the Seattle SuperSonics were designated divisional winners on Friday for the NBA Sportsmanship Award.

From that group will come a national winner to be selected by a vote of a national media panel after the season.

Six former players made the selections of the four finalists from among 29 nominees, one from each club.

The award goes each year to the player “who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By John H. Johnson

马刺加时赛绝地反击，创五连胜纪录

周六晚上，马刺在加时赛中以 88-80 击败金州勇士后，避免了可能遭遇的一场令人尴尬的失利。

Alamodome 球馆的 18,887 名观众目睹了令他们感到恐惧的一幕：勇士队在第四节将马刺 14 分的领先优势几乎抹平，将比赛拖入到了加时赛。

但凭借着稳健的防守和在加时赛中 12 罚 10 中的出色表现，马刺最终取得了胜利。

新秀锋线蒂姆·邓肯连续罚中 4 球，而老将中锋大卫·罗宾逊在比赛最后 1 分 25 秒内罚中 2 球，帮助马刺队拉开了比分。

罗宾逊最终以 24 分、18 个篮板和 7 次盖帽的数据结束了这场关键之战。

在开局阶段表现迟缓后，邓肯得到 20 分和 14 个篮板，帮助马刺队在季后赛首轮的主场优势争夺战中领先菲尼克斯 21/2 场比赛。

马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇表示：“看看这场比赛的胜负记录，你会看到‘胜’字。除了我们这些教练，没有人会知道它的丑陋，但它是一场‘胜利’。他们打得很好。他们就是最近击败了西雅图的那个队。”

吉姆·杰克逊得到了 16 分，埃里克·丹皮尔得到了 14 分和 5 次盖帽，但正是替补球员杰森·卡菲和赛季中段加盟的杰拉德·马金斯这对不太可能搭档带领球队完成了令人震惊的第四节逆转。

在最后一节的开局阶段，马刺队以 69-55 落后，卡菲得到了 11 分，马金斯在 21-7 攻击波中再添 8 分。老将控球后卫马格西·博格斯在比赛最后 3 分钟内也贡献了 2 次关键的抢断。

马刺队在最后 1 分钟的一次进攻中连续投丢 2 球，这原本可能让他们取得领先优势。

前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯投出一个 18 英尺的球，打在了篮圈边框上，罗宾逊在弱侧得到了这个篮板球。但文尼·德尔尼格罗投丢了一个 19 英尺的球，让勇士队获得了最后一次获胜机会。

在比赛以 76-76 战平的情况下，勇士队在比赛还剩 8.1 秒时将球带到了场边。在底线发球后，丹皮尔进入空位区域，在罚球线位置投出了一个距离稍远、有点长的 16 英尺球，这个球在终场哨声响起时打中了篮板。

罗宾逊表示：“我们领先了两位数，而他们投进了一些好球。同时，我们的防守也确实崩盘了。我们在内线柱位陷入了困境，他们扣篮得分。这不是我们想要打出的那种防守。”

丹皮尔和卡菲都在加时赛中犯满离场，这使得马刺得以凭借优势的内线进攻。

罗宾逊说：“我认为我们在加时赛中重新控制了局面。我们很好地攻击了篮筐。”

这场比赛虽然难看，但排名西部第四的马刺队（52-23）增加了在季后赛首轮主场迎战菲尼克斯的可能性。

排名西部第五的菲尼克斯队（49-25）在周六晚上晚些时候以 90-83 战胜了波特兰队。

金州勇士队（16-59）除了进入抽签之外没有其他出路了，但他们在这条路上已经淘汰了一些竞争对手。

勇士队在周四晚上的休斯敦以 104-94 击败了休斯顿火箭队。他们还在 3 月 4 日以 90-83 击败了在加利福尼亚州奥克兰的马刺队。

在对阵马刺队的上半场比赛中，勇士队再次证明了自己的麻烦制造能力，马刺队的投篮命中率为 41.5%，失误 7 次，中场休息时仅以 38-36 领先。

邓肯在该半场比赛中要对其中的 4 次失误负责，并且在半场仅 7 投 2 中。

他在比赛开局阶段表现得似乎缺乏集中力，这对于年度最佳新秀奖的最热门人选来说是非常反常的。

在原本肯定可以扣篮的空位上，他移动了脚部，被判为走步。然后他投丢了一个上篮。随后他因进攻干扰而被吹罚，取消了队友蒙蒂·威廉姆斯的一个进球。

因此，勇士队在吉姆·杰克逊连续命中 4 个球后开启了一波攻击狂潮，在比赛开局的 10 分钟内以 22-10 领先。马刺队连得该节的最后 10 分，将分差缩小到只差 2 分。

在第二节开局阶段，马刺队甩掉了低迷的状态，在比赛前 8 分钟内以 16-4 领先勇士队。从替补席出发的艾弗里·约翰逊在这次进攻中投进了一个球，最终以 36-26 领先。

在半场结束时，马刺队没有任何人防守在中场线上穿越的博格斯。博格斯轻松命中了一个三分球，将马刺队的领先优势缩小到 2 分。

在半场最多落后 12 分的情况下，马刺队开始在第三节反弹。

他们在进攻端开始传递球。他们打出了稳固的阵地防守。最终，他们在该节以 27-14 的比分战胜勇士队，在最后一节以 65-52 取得领先。

领先两分的马刺队在第三节终场前打出了一波 13-2 的攻势。罗宾逊在这个攻势中得到 4 分，邓肯得到 3 分。贾伦·杰克逊通过一次上篮击破了勇士队的士气。

约翰逊在时隔一周多之后第一次上场，他出场了 12 分钟。他命中了两次上篮，得到 4 分，并助攻了几次。

点击查看原文：Spurs awaken in overtime, record fifth straight win

Spurs awaken in overtime, record fifth straight win

The Spurs escaped what might have been an embarrassing loss when they rallied to whip the Golden State Warriors 88-80 in overtime Saturday night.

A crowd of 18,887 at the Alamodome watched in horror as the woeful Warriors wiped out a 14- point Spurs lead in the fourth quarter and sent the game into the extra period.

But the Spurs pulled it out with solid defense and 10 for 12 free- throw shooting in the overtime.

Rookie forward Tim Duncan made four in a row and veteran center David Robinson added two more from the stripe in the final 1:25 to help the Spurs pull away.

Robinson finished with a monster game of 24 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

After a slow start, Duncan produced 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Spurs stayed ahead of Phoenix by 21/2 games in the race for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“Look at that win-loss column and it’ll say ‘W,’” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Nobody but us coaches will know how ugly it was, but it was a ‘W.’ They’re playing well. That was the same team that went up and beat Seattle (recently).”

Jim Jackson scored 16 points and Erick Dampier had 14 points and five blocks, but it was the unlikely duo of reserves Jason Caffey and midseason pickup Gerald Madkins who led the stunning, fourth-quarter comeback.

Down 69-55 early in the final quarter, Caffey scored 11 points and Madkins added eight in a 21-7 streak. Veteran point guard Muggsy Bogues also supplied a pair of key steals in the final three minutes.

The Spurs misfired on a pair of shots on one possession that would have given them the lead in the final minute.

Forward Monty Williams drew iron on an 18-footer, which Robinson rebounded on the weak side. But Vinny Del Negro missed a 19- footer, setting up the Warriors for a last shot to win.

With the game tied 76-76, the Warriors took the ball out on the side with 8.1 seconds left. After the inbounds pass, Dampier worked into open spaces and fired a little bit long from 16 feet at the buzzer.

“We were up double figures and they hit some good shots,” Robinson said. “At the same time, our defense really broke down. We got posted up on the blocks and they dunked. That’s not the kind of defense we want to play.”

Both Dampier and Caffey fouled out in overtime, allowing the Spurs to take it inside with authority.

“I thought we regained our composure in overtime,” Robinson said. “We did a good job of attacking the basket.”

The game was ugly, but the fourth-place Spurs (52-23) improved their chances of gaining a home-court advantage over Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs in the West.

No. 5 Phoenix (49-25) defeated Portland 90-83 later Saturday night.

Golden State (16-59) is going nowhere except to the lottery, but the Warriors have knocked off a few contenders along the way.

The Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 104-94 Thursday night at Houston. They also beat the Spurs 90-83 in Oakland, Calif., on March 4.

The Warriors proved to be trouble again in the first half for the Spurs, who shot 41.5 percent, turned it over seven times and went into the dressing room at intermission leading only 38-36.

Duncan, for his part, was responsible for four of the turnovers and shot 2 for 7 from the field in the half.

He seemed to lack some concentration early in the game during a wobbly start, very uncharacteristic for the leading Rookie of the Year candidate.

Wide open for what certainly would have been a dunk, he shuffled his feet and was called for traveling. Then he missed a layup. And then he was whistled for offensive interference, nullifying a basket by teammate Monty Williams.

Consequently, the Warriors took off on a hot streak behind Jackson’s four-straight baskets for a 22- 10 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes. The Spurs scored the last 10 points of the quarter to pull within two.

Early in the second period, the Spurs shook off their doldrums and outscored the Warriors 16-4 in the first eight minutes. Avery Johnson, playing off the bench in his first game back from a hip injury, scored a basket in the run that eventually led to a 36-26 lead.

At the end of the half, nobody on the Spurs picked up Bogues crossing the midcourt stripe. Bogues sailed in for an uncontested three- pointer that cut the Spurs’ lead to two.

Trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, the Spurs began to roll in the third quarter.

They started moving the ball around on offense. They played steady, position defense. And they ultimately outscored the Warriors 27-14 to take a 65-52 lead into the final period.

Leading by two, the Spurs constructed a 13-2 run to the third quarter buzzer. Robinson scored four points in the streak and Duncan added three. Jaren Jackson broke the Warriors’ spirit with a driving layup.

Johnson played 12 minutes in his first outing in a little more than a week. He hit two driving layups, scored four points and passed for a couple of assists.

By John H. Johnson, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By Jerry Briggs

自信的马刺准备迎接西部强队挑战

马刺队在周六晚上对阵金州勇士队的比赛中带着高度的自信。

“我们越来越好，”马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道，“我们的信心非常非常高。”

马刺队已经取得了四连胜，近七场比赛取得了六场胜利，他们需要保持自信以应对接下来的冲刺阶段。

他们最后七场比赛中的五场将对阵西部季后赛竞争者。

紧随其后的是周一晚上在主场对阵波特兰开拓者队的比赛。

之后，他们将在周三前往客场挑战西部联盟领头羊犹他爵士队。然后他们返回主场迎战西雅图超音速队和洛杉矶湖人队。

马刺队（51-23）在对阵金州勇士队之前排名西部联盟第四。他们落后排名第三的湖人队（54-20）三个胜场，领先排名第五的菲尼克斯太阳队（48-25）两个半胜场。

• 展望未来：第一轮季后赛的最佳对阵形势似乎已经确定，排名第四的圣安东尼奥将对阵排名第五的菲尼克斯。两队的赛季系列赛已经结束。太阳队以平均17.3分的优势赢得了前三场比赛，但马刺队在上周的最后一次交锋中获胜，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)得到了26分和21个篮板。

“现在感觉好多了，”邓肯说道，“如果我们在整个赛季都没能从他们那里赢下一场比赛，那么进入系列赛将会很艰难，但如果我们对阵他们，仍然会很艰难。”

点击查看原文：Confident Spurs brace for stretch vs. best in West

Confident Spurs brace for stretch vs. best in West

The Spurs carried a high level of confidence into their game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.

“We’re getting better and better,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “The confidence is very, very high.”

Winners of four in a row and six of their last seven, the Spurs will need to keep their confidence up for the stretch run.

Five of their final seven games will be played against Western Conference playoff contenders.

Upcoming immediately is a match Monday night at home against the Portland Trail Blazers.

After that, they go on the road to meet the Midwest Division-leading Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Then they return home to meet the Seattle SuperSonics and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs (51-23) were fourth in the Western Conference standings going into the Golden State game. They trailed the No. 3 Lakers (54- 20) by three games and led the fifth-place Phoenix Suns (48-25) by 21/2 games.

- Looking ahead: The best opening-round playoff matchup looks almost set with No. 4 San Antonio figuring to play No. 5 Phoenix. The season series between the teams is over. The Suns won the first three by an average of 17.3 points, but the Spurs won the final meeting last week as Tim Duncan had 26 points and 21 rebounds.

“It feels better now,” Duncan said. “It would have been tough going into a series having not won a game from them the entire season, but it’s still going to be tough if we play them.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News