马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-06, By Kevin O’Keeffe

犯规判罚：AJ的关键时刻毁于一旦

盐湖城 - 奇迹仍在继续… 几乎。

艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)，他凭借着对菲尼克斯太阳队的出色表现将马刺队带入季后赛首轮胜利，在周二晚上比赛还剩55秒时，从约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton)身边突破上篮得分，将比分反超。

或者说，他以为自己得分了。

但就在AJ把球投进篮筐的时候，裁判杰克·奈斯(Jack Nies)却吹罚了大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)移动掩护犯规。

对于长期支持马刺队的球迷来说，这个判罚令人不寒而栗，仿佛是过往季后赛的重现。

当艾弗里还是高中一年级生时，马刺队也曾成为一个幽灵般的移动掩护犯规判罚的受害者。

那是1979年东部决赛第七场对阵华盛顿子弹队的比赛。

约翰·瓦纳克(John Vanak)吹罚了马刺队的比利·帕尔茨(Billy Paultz)犯规，而子弹队的托马斯·亨德森(Thomas Henderson)则在这场比赛中获得了奥斯卡奖。

至少，斯托克顿比亨德森更有礼貌。爵士队的后卫有礼貌地没有嘲笑，而是从三角洲中心球场的球场上爬了起来。

当被问及是否认为奈斯的判罚是正确的时，爵士队主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)说：“我不打算担任裁判。我曾经做过一次，结果错了。”

马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)强烈认为奈斯是错误的——错误到他不得不被助理教练拉住。

“这是结束比赛的一个糟糕方式，”波波维奇说。

当然，比赛并没有真正结束。这个判罚是在比赛还剩56.9秒时做出的。马刺队还有其他机会。实际上，还有两次。

但查克·珀森(Chuck Person)在比赛还剩31.9秒时投出了一记不合时宜的投篮，随后，当犹他队的格雷格·福斯特(Greg Foster)贴身防守时，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的15英尺跳投在比赛结束的蜂鸣声响起时弹框而出。

犹他队83，马刺队82。

约翰逊在前半场表现出色，但在下半场表现低迷。那些让太阳队苦不堪言的抛投和突破，在前半场还能轻松命中，但在下半场却屡屡不进，他在下半场仅6投1中。

在这场比赛中，AJ得到了14分，而他的控球后卫对手斯托克顿在西部半决赛的第一场比赛中得到了15分。

不过，AJ明白，他在对太阳队的比赛中所展现出的出色表现，包括投篮命中率高达65%，现在已经成为过去式。

在这个系列赛中，AJ又一次活在他的对手的阴影之下。

就像太阳队的杰森·基德(Jason Kidd)和凯文·约翰逊(Kevin Johnson)在系列赛开始前就获得了所有关注一样，斯托克顿在与AJ的这场对决中也得到了大多数专家的认可。

艾弗里·约翰逊对与斯托克顿的对抗充满热情，斯托克顿被公认为NBA 50位最伟大的球员之一，毫无疑问将进入名人堂。

“约翰·斯托克顿，哦，天哪，”AJ说。“我在我们之前的两次（季后赛）系列赛中都与他交过手，他一直都很强硬。我接受这个挑战，我知道这不是个人恩怨。”

斯托克顿在与休斯顿的比赛中背部受伤，但在第一场比赛中看起来很健康。

“人们都在谈论斯托克顿的背部，”约翰逊说，“但爵士队却一直在赢球。这并没有阻止他竞争，阻止他帮助球队在季后赛中继续获胜。”

斯托克顿在设置掩护时可以免受第一次犯规的惩罚，这对约翰逊来说是一个问题，由于斯托克顿的名声，约翰逊在裁判眼里吃了亏。

这种情况在第三节发生了，斯托克顿开始热身，最终导致了移动掩护犯规，而约翰逊则被吹罚了进攻犯规。

“我不会每晚都得到30分，但这并不是我的职责，”约翰逊说。“我的职责是突破防守。”

他做得很好，足以在周二晚上赢得比赛。几乎。

点击查看原文：Foul play: Call ruins AJ's moment

Foul play: Call ruins AJ’s moment

SALT LAKE CITY - The magic continues … almost.

Avery Johnson, whose charmed existence against the Phoenix Suns propelled the Spurs to a first- round playoff triumph, streaked past John Stockton for the go- ahead layup with 55 seconds remaining Tuesday night.

Or so he thought.

But as AJ was putting the ball in the hoop, official Jack Nies was calling David Robinson for a moving screen.

For longtime Spurs fans, the play was a chilling reminder of past playoffs.

When Avery was a freshman in high school, the Spurs also were victimized by a phantom moving- screen call.

That one came in Game 7 of the 1979 Eastern Conference finals against the Washington Bullets.

John Vanak blew the whistle on the Spurs’ Billy Paultz as the Bullets’ Thomas Henderson picked up an Academy Award on the play.

At least, Stockton had better manners than Henderson. The Jazz guard had the courtesy not to laugh as he picked himself off the Delta Center court.

Asked if he thought Nies’ call was a good one, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, “I’m not going to officiate. I did it once and I was wrong.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich strongly believed Nies was wrong - so much so that he had to be restrained by his assistant coaches.

“It was a hell of a way to end the game,” Popovich said.

Of course, it didn’t actually end the game. The call was made with 56.9 seconds left. The Spurs had other chances. Two in fact.

But Chuck Person missed an ill- advised shot with 31.9 seconds remaining, then Tim Duncan, with Utah’s Greg Foster in his face, had a 15-footer bound off the rim at the buzzer.

Utah 83, Spurs 82.

Johnson, who played well in the first half, faded in the second. The floaters and drives that killed the Suns and were falling in the opening half wouldn’t go down in the second for AJ, who was but 1 for 6 from the field.

For the game, AJ had 14 points and his point guard counterpart, Stockton, wound up with 15 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Still, AJ understood his brilliant show against the Suns, which featured 65-percent shooting from the floor, is old news now.

Again in this series, AJ lives in the shadow of his foe.

Just as the Suns’ Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson got all the pre- series attention, Stockton gets the nod by most of the pundits in this duel.

Avery Johnson is warm to the challenge against Stockton, recognized as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players and a certain Hall of Famer.

“John Stockton, oh man,” AJ said. “I’ve played against him in our other two (playoff) series and he’s always been tough. I accept the challenge, and I know it’s not personal.”

Stockton, who struggled with a bad back against Houston, looked healthy in Game 1.

“People talk about Stockton’s back,” Johnson said, “but the Jazz keep winning. It doesn’t keep him from competing, from helping his team continue to win in the playoffs.”

Stockton’s ability to get away with the first foul in setting picks has been a problem for Johnson, who suffers in the eyes of the officials because of Stockton’s reputation.

Such was the case as Johnson was nailed for a third-quarter charge as Stockton began warming up his act, which culminated with the moving screen.

“I’m not going to score 30 points every night, but that’s not my job,” Johnson said. “My job is to break down the defenses.”

Which he did well enough to win Tuesday night. Almost.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-06, By Glenn Rogers

无论谁赢了这场争端，普通球迷都是输家

当季后赛球场上的汗水挥洒之际，纽约大苹果城的谈判室里，言语飞速交织。

联盟与球员协会之间正在进行着你来我往的谈判，我们希望，这是一种真诚的努力，旨在避免7月1日的停摆。

会实现吗？

一些观察者认为不会。他们相信联盟将陷入停滞，合同将无人签署，夏季训练营将关闭，交易将陷入僵局，自由球员谈判也将停止。唯一会发生的是联盟和管理层发言人之间的口头炮轰。

工会的巴克·威廉姆斯(Buck Williams)已经预测了“血腥的洗礼”，希望他不是在暗示将使用火枪和猎刀。

一些乐观者预测会实现。他们指出，双方已经进行了五次会谈，本周晚些时候还将举行另一次会谈。

这本身就是一个好兆头。联盟总裁大卫·斯特恩(David Stern)一直出席会议，而他通常直到最后一刻才会出现。

不过，一个不好的迹象是，工会的头号人物杰夫·凯斯勒(Jeff Kessler)，一个在关键问题上寸步不让的极端分子，也出席了会议。

球员们将责任归咎于老板们，他们发放了巨额合同，导致一些球队开始面临破产的威胁。他们和经纪人质疑，为什么小市场应该决定金融体系。如果他们无法竞争，那就应该像任何领域中的许多小企业一样，放弃竞争。

老板们坚持认为，拉里·伯德(Larry Bird)条款为高额薪水打开了大门，必须取消。他们希望将新秀合同延长至五年，以防像凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett)那样的合同迅速出现。

最有可能发生的情况是什么？会发生停摆，但双方在互相羞辱了整个夏天后，将在所有合同签署、交易谈判完成以及第一场季前赛的第一颗球抛出之前及时走到一起。大多数大市场老板将简单地认可一个新的计划，并可能同意某种形式的收入分享机制。

然后，双方都能开始赚大钱，电视也会很高兴，而能负担得起球票的普通球迷数量将继续下降。

大西洋赛区

伤病？胡说八道：当奥兰多魔术队开始重建球队时，主教练查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)心中只有一个优先事项——耐力。

“我们需要能够打球，并且打很多比赛的球员。这是你作为一个团队发展起来的唯一途径，”戴利说。“球员们变得越来越不耐磨。在82场比赛结束时，有多少人打得不到82场？这是我们需要问的问题。”

本赛季，魔术队只有前锋博·奥特劳(Bo Outlaw)打了全部82场比赛。佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)只打了19场。尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)打了58场。霍勒斯·格兰特(Horace Grant)打了76场。马克·普莱斯(Mark Price)打了63场。达雷尔·阿姆斯特朗(Darrell Armstrong)打了48场。即使是通常耐磨的德里克·哈珀(Derek Harper)也只打了58场。

“当我们出去寻找球员时，你必须看看你想要的球员类型。谁耐磨，谁会打比赛？”戴利说。“我不知道是否需要变得更年轻。我们只需要有人打球。”

戴利越来越厌烦哈达威，他本应该成为球队的领袖。在哈达威从膝盖手术中恢复过来之后，戴利认为球队可以在下半场奋起直追。但哈达威出现了小腿问题，久治不愈。

“你可以尽情地自欺欺人，但这个联盟是关于天赋的，”戴利说。

好吧，现在如果我们能想出办法让球员们免受伤害……

中西部赛区

改变心意：有传言说夏洛特黄蜂队更愿意在下个赛季让中锋马特·盖格(Matt Geiger)回归，而不是弗拉德·迪瓦茨(Vlade Divac)。

盖格在对阵老鹰队的首轮系列赛中因右腿筋拉伤而缺席，但主教练戴夫·考恩斯(Dave Cowens)显然认为这位大个子应该打得更多。

考恩斯暗示了几句。盖格无视了这些。考恩斯说，盖格应该“半死不活”了，至少应该在季后赛中试一试。盖格厌烦了这一切，于是他在夏洛特的一家全方位体育电台反驳道。

“我不会冒着我的职业生涯和撕裂腿筋的风险，去为戴夫·考恩斯打球，”盖格说。“他不值得我去冒这个风险。”

糟糕。

考恩斯拒绝进一步评论此事，而盖格在与媒体谈话时也退缩了。他说他只是很沮丧。

也许太晚了，除非他帮助黄蜂队在对阵公牛队的比赛中取得一些胜利。

改变心意 II：爱荷华州立大学主教练蒂姆·弗洛伊德(Tim Floyd)现在真的认真考虑接手芝加哥公牛队的主教练职位了吗？

弗洛伊德必须知道，如果他明年站在场边，而不是菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)，而且没有迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)和斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)，他将会在风城遭到毒打。

他的稻草人将会和球队副总裁杰里·克劳斯(Jerry Krause)的稻草人一起，从密歇根湖边随风飘荡。

我猜杰克逊会回来。下一个猜测：弗洛伊德会建议克劳斯和/或老板杰里·莱因斯多夫(Jerry Reinsdorf)再等一年，平息风波，然后再让新人上场。

太平洋赛区

急需：皮蓬：太阳队在对阵马刺队的系列赛中被迅速淘汰，这让菲尼克斯总经理杰里·科兰吉洛(Jerry Colangelo) (为什么NBA的关键职位上会有这么多杰里？)更加关注即将成为自由球员的斯科蒂·皮蓬。

丹尼·曼宁(Danny Manning)可能在经历了第三次前交叉韧带撕裂后结束了他的职业生涯，而雷克斯·查普曼(Rex Chapman)也经常因伤病困扰。皮蓬将会是一个不错的答案，他可以弥补曼宁的篮板和内线实力，以及查普曼的一些外线投篮和凯文·约翰逊(Kevin Johnson)的控球，如果约翰逊最终决定退役的话。

潜在问题：皮蓬喜欢掌控进攻，成为组织者，而这项任务属于天赋异禀的杰森·基德(Jason Kidd)。

最佳猜测：科兰吉洛会抓住皮蓬，如果他可以的话，然后再去担心基德。

大西洋赛区

梦想时刻：小牛队主教练唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)在薪资空间有限的情况下，正指望选秀来提升他陷入困境的球队。

“明年我们将拥有大约1000万美元，那将是我们自由球员市场出手的一年，”他说。“在那之后，我们将搬入新球馆，并准备好真正地、真正地竞争。”

小牛队有11人在全职进行选秀工作，尼尔森称之为他20年执教生涯中最详尽的选秀工作。

“这可能是我们球队历史上至关重要的时刻，”助理教练多尼·尼尔森(Donnie Nelson)说。“我们不能犯错。这是一个所有人齐心协力的局面。”

小牛队很可能在选秀中拥有第六顺位，还有三个第二轮选秀权——不算肥沃的土壤，这也解释了他们如此密集的选秀研究工作。

小牛队迫切需要一名控球后卫，他们垂涎于迈克·比比(Mike Bibby)，但除非他们真的幸运地抽到了乐透签，或者能够向上交易，否则他们只能另寻他人。

如果尼尔森用肖恩·布拉德利(Shawn Bradley)作为交易筹码，也不会令人感到意外，但大多数球队可能认为布拉德利不值得用一个前途无量的比比来交换。

值得一提

人才济济：当北卡罗来纳大学的安托万·贾米森(Antawn Jamison)宣布自己有资格参加NBA选秀时，我不得不向一些总经理们打探消息。普遍的观点是，任何一位球员都有可能成为状元秀——贾米森、比比、保罗·皮尔斯(Paul Pierce)、雷夫·拉弗伦茨(Raef LaFrentz)或太平洋大学的中锋迈克尔·奥洛沃坎迪(Michael Olowokandi)。我得到的印象是，这些球员的潜力没有太大的区别，所以即使是前五名的球队也会根据需要进行选择，而且很可能会有球队进行向上或向下交易。

物有所值？在薪资排名排名前十的NBA球队中，排名第三的奥兰多魔术队(4578.2万美元)和排名第五的华盛顿奇才队(4089万美元)是唯一两支没有进入季后赛的球队。薪资最低的两支进入季后赛的球队是排名第21的明尼苏达森林狼队(2728万美元)和排名第19的夏洛特黄蜂队(2776万美元)。

两人同床：消息人士告诉我，华盛顿奇才队已经决定交易克里斯·韦伯(Chris Webber)，并留下朱万·霍华德(Juwan Howard)，除非霍华德也要求交易，这将是一个艰难的决定，因为霍华德下个赛季的薪水是1312万美元。韦伯的薪水是1000万美元。

点击查看原文：No matter who wins this dispute, average fan loses

No matter who wins this dispute, average fan loses

While the sweat’s flying on the playoff courts, words zip in negotiating rooms in the Big Apple.

The give and take goes on between the league and the Players Association in what, we hope, is a genuine effort to prevent a July 1 lockout.

Way, or no way?

No way, say some watchers. They believe the league will grind to a standstill, contracts will be lying on desks unsigned, summer camps closed, trades held in limbo and free-agent negotiations halted. The only action will be the verbal cannonades between union and management spokesmen.

The union’s Buck Williams already has predicted a “blood bath,” hopefully not insinuating that muskets and bowie knives will be employed.

Way, some optimists predict. They note that the two sides already have met five times, with another session scheduled late this week.

That in itself is a good sign. Commissioner David Stern has been present at the meetings and he usually doesn’t appear until the last minute.

Bad sign, though, is that the union’s top gun, Jeff Kessler, an extremist who won’t budge on key issues, also is on hand.

Players blame owners for handing out huge contracts that are beginning to threaten bankruptcy for some franchises. They and agents ask why small markets should dictate the financial system. If they can’t compete, then they have to throw in the towel, like many small businesses in any field.

Owners insist the Larry Bird salary-cap exception opens the door to sky-high salaries, and it has to go. They want to extend rookie contracts to five years, to protect against the Kevin Garnet- ttype contract looming so quickly.

Most likely to happen? There will be a lockouts but the forces, after insulting each other all summer, will come together just in time to get all contracts signed, trades negotiated and the first ball put up for the first preseason game. The majority of owners in the bigger markets simply will endorse a new plan and, perhaps, agree to some new type of revenue-sharing concept.

Then the money can start rolling in for both antagonists, television will be happy, and the number of average hoop fans able to afford tickets will continue to decline.

Atlantic Division

Injuries? Bah, humbug: When the Orlando Magic start rebuilding their team this summer, Coach Chuck Daly has one priority in mind - durability.

“We need personnel who are going to play, and play a lot of games. That’s the only way you develop as a team,” Daly said. “Players have become less and less durable. At the end of 82 games, how many played less than that? That’s a question we need to ask.”

The Magic had only forward Bo Outlaw playing all 82 games this season. Penny Hardaway played only 19. Nick Anderson played 58. Horace Grant played 76. Mark Price played 63. Darrell Armstrong played 48. Even normally durable Derek Harper played only 58.

“When we’re out there looking for players, you have to look at the kind of personnel you want. Who’s durable, and who is going to play the games?” Daly said. “I don’t know if need to get younger. We just need people to play.”

Daly grew increasingly frustrated with Hardaway, who was supposed to be the leader of the team. After Hardaway returned from knee surgery at midseason, Daly thought the team could make a second-half charge. But Hardaway developed a calf problem that wouldn’t go away.

“You can kid yourself all you want about coaching, but this league is about talent,” Daly said.

Fine, now if we can figure out how to keep guys from getting hurt …

Central Division

Change of heart: There had been rumblings in Charlotte that the Hornets would prefer to bring back center Matt Geiger next season instead of Vlade Divac.

Geiger was sidelined with a pulled right hamstring during the opening series against the Hawks, but Coach Dave Cowens apparently figured the big guy should have played more.

Cowens dropped hints. Geiger ignored them. Cowens said Geiger should be 'half-dead" not to at least try it in the playoffs. Geiger got sick of this, so he bit back on an all-sports station in Charlotte.

“I’m not going to be out there risking my career, and the chance of tearing my hamstring, for no Dave Cowens,” Geiger said. “He’s not worth it to me.”

Oops.

Cowens declined to comment further on the matter, and Geiger backpedaled when talking to the press. He said he was just frustrated.

Maybe too late, unless he helps swing some against the Bulls.

Change of heart II: Can Iowa State coach Tim Floyd really be serious now about grabbing the head-coaching slot in Chicago?

Floyd has to know he will be murdered in the City of Big Shoulders if he’s on the sidelines next year instead of Phil Jackson, and minus Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

His effigy will be swinging in the breeze from Lake Michigan alongside that of team vice president Jerry Krause.

I’d guess that Jackson will be back. Next guess: Floyd will advise Krause and/or owner Jerry Reinsdorf to wait another season, calm the waters, then bring in the new guy.

Pacific Division

Wanted: Pippen: The Suns’ quick ouster in their series against the Spurs has Phoenix honcho Jerry Colangelo (how come there are so many Jerrys in key positions in the NBA?) looking still harder at free-agent-to-be Scottie Pippen.

Danny Manning’s career may be over after his third anterior-cruciate ligament tear, and Rex Chapman is hobbled regularly with injuries. Pippen would be a nice answer, adding the rebounding and inside play of Manning and some outside shooting of Chapman and the ball handling of Kevin Johnson, if the latter should finally decide to retire.

Potential problem: Pippen likes to run the offense, be the playmaker, and that duty belongs in the hands of the talented Jason Kidd.

Best guess: Colangelo will grab Pippen, if he can, and worry about Kidd later.

Atlantic Division

Dream Time: Mavericks coach Don Nelson, with little money under the cap, is counting on the draft to boost his struggling franchise.

“Next year we’ll have about $10 million and that will be our free- agency year,” he said. “After that, we’re in the new building and ready to be really, really competitive.”

The Mavericks have 11 people working on the draft full-time in what Nelson calls the most exhaustive scouting effort of his 20-year career.

“This could be the pivotal point in the history of our franchise,” said assistant Donnie Nelson. “We cannot afford to make a mistake. It’s one of those all-hands-on-deck situations.”

The Mavericks likely will have the sixth pick in the draft, along with three second-round picks - not considered fertile grounds, which explains the intensive draft-study effort.

The Mavs desperately want a point guard and they drool over Mike Biby, but unless they get real lottery-lucky or can trade up, they’ll have to look elsewhere.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Nelson offers Shawn Bradley as trade bait, but most teams probably don’t consider Bradley worth a promising Bibby.

For what it’s worth

Crowded at the top: Had to pick some GMs’ brains when North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Consensus was that any one of five players - Jamison, Mike Bibby, Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz or Pacific center Michael Olowokandi - could be the No. 1 pick. Sense I got is there’s no real difference between these guys’ potential, so even top-five teams will be selecting on need, and there’s a good chance of teams trading up or down.

Money well spent? Of the NBA teams with the top-10 payrolls, the No. 3 Orlando Magic ($45.782 million) and the No. 5 Washington Wizards ($40.89 million) were the only two that did not make the playoffs. The teams with the lowest payrolls that did make the playoffs are the No. 21 Minnesota Timberwolves ($27.28 million) and No. 19 Charlotte Hornets ($27.76 million).

Two’s a crowd: Sources tell me that the Washington Wizards have decided to move Chris Webber and keep Juwan Howard unless Howard also asks to be traded, which would be a difficult move given Howard’s salary of $13.12 million next season. Webber is down for $10 million.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-07, By Jerry Briggs

历史并不站在马刺一边，但邓肯还没有在季后赛中说完了话

盐湖城 - 如果你从未看过蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)第四节的精彩集锦，你可能会相信，关于谁将赢得西部半决赛，马刺和犹他爵士之间，已经没有悬念了。

相反，你可能会问，排名第一的爵士队需要多长时间才能淘汰来自德克萨斯州的黑马。

在季后赛宇宙中，所有星星和行星似乎都与爵士队站在一起，他们将在今晚 9:30 在三角洲中心进行的七场四胜制系列赛第二场比赛中登场。

例如，马刺队在输掉揭幕战后从未在季后赛中反败为胜。在 22 个 NBA 赛季中，他们在第一场比赛失利后连续 13 次被淘汰。

但话说回来，历史数据可能是具有欺骗性的。马刺队可能从未拥有过像邓肯这样的明星球员，他在第四节的 17 分几乎挽救了他的球队，最终他们以 83-82 惜败。

在职业生涯的第五场季后赛中，邓肯以 22 投 13 中的命中率得到了 33 分。

这场比赛让人想起他在对阵菲尼克斯队的首场比赛中第四节的 18 分狂飙。这两场比赛的主要区别是什么？邓肯在对阵菲尼克斯队的比赛中打出了英雄般的表现并获得了胜利。对阵爵士队的失利对他来说是一个沉重的打击。

在比赛结束时，他错失了一记 15 英尺的投篮，这本来可以让他获胜，之后他带着明显的表情走下了球场。

“我告诉他，‘好球’，"马刺队前锋查克·佩尔森(Chuck Person)说道，他是第一个在邓肯走下球场时与他交谈的球员。“我告诉他，‘再投一次，下次我们会把球传给你。’”

当然，前提是马刺队今晚能找到邓肯。预计他将被爵士队双人包夹。如果爵士队可以做到的话，他们可能会把他盖住，用绳子捆住他。

“蒂姆是一个特别的球员，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说道。“每个人都意识到了这一点。他早就已经不是一个新秀了。”

有了邓肯在阵中，马刺队表现出一种自信。波波维奇似乎并不太担心，甚至不担心他们将再次面临爵士队的艰难挑战。

“在过去几年中，”波波维奇说道，“当犹他队淘汰圣安东尼奥队时，两次都是（在 1994 年和 1996 年）耻辱性的失败。我们不想让这种事情再次发生。我们想赢得这场系列赛。我们相信自己有能力做到。”

但这并不容易。

在首战中，爵士队并没有发挥出他们的最佳水平。

他们的投篮命中率只有 40.5%。明星前锋卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 22 投 10 中。高分后卫杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek) 13 投仅 5 中。此外，有人一定会告诉格雷格·福斯特(Greg Foster)停止在外线投篮，他 10 投 2 中。

但即使爵士队今晚再次表现不佳，他们也拥有丰富的经验，可以在本周末将系列赛移师圣安东尼奥进行背靠背比赛时扭转局势。

“那支球队充满了自豪感，他们不会轻易倒下，”马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说道。“你必须战胜他们。你不能给他们任何机会。”

自从马刺队上次在三角洲中心赢球以来已经超过两年了。当邓肯的最后一次投篮弹框而出时，他们在该球场的连败纪录已经达到了八场。

此外，自从 1994 年以来，马刺队在该球场上的六场季后赛全部失利。其中一些比赛是惨败，包括 1996 年的两场惨败，分别输了 30 分和 27 分。

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的冠军梦想在 1994 年和 1996 年都被终结于此，他似乎在这个球馆里受到了诅咒。他不仅没有在这里赢得过季后赛的胜利，而且在 4 月 8 日还被马龙的肘击打昏。

在 “肘击事件”将他送进医院接受脑震荡治疗后，他第一次来到这里，他 17 投 5 中，其中下半场 7 投 0 中。更糟糕的是，裁判杰克·奈斯(Jack Nies) 在比赛还剩一分钟时吹罚罗宾逊对约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton)移动掩护犯规。

这个哨声取消了约翰逊本可以完成的超前上篮。

“我认为他说我移动了，”罗宾逊说道。“我不太确定。你知道裁判们在做出错误的判罚时会怎么做。他们不想谈论它。”

罗宾逊说，他认为马刺队，他们在上半场落后 16 分后奋起直追，仍然有很大的机会赢得这场系列赛。

“我们将重新集结，卷土重来，”他说。“对我们来说，关键是防守。我们不能等到第一节过后才开始防守。我们必须从一开始就做好防守，并阻止他们的快速得分。”

马刺队对阵爵士队

西部半决赛

（爵士队以 1-0 领先，七场四胜制）

今晚：第二场比赛 - 马刺队 @ 犹他队

时间、地点：晚上 9:30，盐湖城三角洲中心

电视：KSAT/TNT

广播：WOAI-AM 1200（西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350）

点击查看原文：History not on Spurs' side But Duncan hasn't had his say in playoffs past

History not on Spurs’ side But Duncan hasn’t had his say in playoffs past

SALT LAKE CITY - If you never have seen a Tim Duncan fourth-quarter highlight reel, then you might believe there is no longer a question about who will win the Western Conference semifinals between the Spurs and Utah Jazz.

Rather, you might ask how long it will take for the top-seeded Jazz to close out the upstarts from Texas.

All the stars and planets in the playoff cosmos seem to be aligned for the Jazz going into Game 2 of the best-of-seven series at 9:30 tonight at the Delta Center.

For instance, the Spurs never have rallied to win a playoff series after losing the opener. In 22 NBA seasons, they have been eliminated 13 times in a row after Game 1 losses.

Then again, historical notes can be deceiving. The Spurs may never have had a star quite like Duncan, whose 17 fourth-quarter points nearly saved his team from what turned out to be an 83-82 heartbreak Tuesday night.

In only the fifth playoff game of his career, Duncan finished with 33 points on 13-of-22 shooting.

It was a performance reminiscent of his 18-point fourth-quarter spree in the first game of the Phoenix series. The major difference in the two games? Duncan’s heroics led to a victory at Phoenix. The loss against the Jazz was a crusher for him.

He walked off the court wearing a noticeable frown after he misfired on a 15-footer that would have won it at the end.

“I told him, ‘Good shot,’” said Spurs forward Chuck Person, who was the first player to speak with Duncan as he walked off the floor. “I told him, ‘Take it again. We’re coming right back to you next time.’”

That is, if the Spurs can find Duncan tonight. He is expected to be double-teamed regularly. If the Jazz could get away with it, they probably would throw a blanket over his head and tie him up with a rope.

“Tim’s a special player,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Everyone’s figured that out. Being a rookie passed him by a long time ago.”

With Duncan in their midst, the Spurs exude a certain confidence. Popovich doesn’t seem to be too worried, not even about the prospect of another uphill struggle against the Jazz.

“In past years,” Popovich said, “when Utah eliminated San Antonio, both times (in 1994 and '96) it was a humiliation. We don’t want that to happen again. We want to win this series. We feel we have the ability to get this done.”

It won’t be easy.

In the opener, the Jazz didn’t play nearly as well as they are capable of playing.

They shot only 40.5 percent from the field. Star forward Karl Malone hit 10 of 22 shots. High-scoring guard Jeff Hornacek made only 5 of 13. Plus, someone is bound to tell Greg Foster to stop shooting from the perimeter. He went 2 for 10.

But even if the Jazz stumble around again tonight, they have the veteran savvy to pick it up when the series switches to San Antonio for back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday.

“That team has a lot of pride over there, and they are not going to go down easily,” Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “You have to beat them. You can’t give them any light.”

It’s been more than two years since the Spurs have seen the light of victory at the Delta Center. Their losing streak here reached eight games when Duncan’s final shot bounced off the back of the iron.

Moreover, the Spurs have lost all six of their playoff games here since '94. Some of them were blowouts, including two embarrassments by margins of 30 and 27 points in '96.

David Robinson, whose championship dreams were snuffed here in both '94 and '96, seems to be cursed in this building. Not only has he not won a playoff game here, he was knocked unconscious by an elbow thrown by Malone on April 8.

In his first visit since “The Elbow” sent him to the hospital with a concussion, he went 5 for 17 from the field, including a 0-for-7 performance in the second half. To make matters worse, referee Jack Nies called Robinson for an illegal screen against John Stockton with a minute remaining.

The whistle negated what would have been a go- ahead layup by Johnson.

“I think he said I was moving,” Robinson said. “I’m not exactly sure. You know how the referees get when they make a bad call. They don’t want to talk about it.”

Robinson said he thinks the Spurs, who rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit, still have a good chance to win the series.

“We’ll regroup and come back,” he said. “The key for us is the defense. We can’t wait until after the first quarter to play defense. We’ve got to play it early and take away some of their early runs.”

www.expressnews.com/spurs has the latest Spurs news, including real-time scores, stories, photos, and Spurs and Jazz forums. Also featured are stories by Salt Lake Tribune reporters.

Spurs vs. Jazz

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(Jazz lead best-of-seven series 1-0)

Tonight: Game 2 - Spurs @Utah

When, where: 9:30, Delta Center, Salt Lake City

TV: KSAT/TNT

Radio: WOAI-AM 1200 (in Spanish on KCOR-AM 1350)

Online: www.expressnews .com/spurs

WEDNESDAY’S NBA GAMES

East: Charlotte 78, @Chicago 76 (Series tied 1-1)

West: L.A. 92, @Seattle 68 (Series tied 1-1) TODAY’S GAME

East: New York @Indiana, 7 p.m. (TV: TNT - Pacers lead series 1-0)

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-07, By Kevin O’Keeffe

圣安东尼奥遭遇挫折，却从中获得灵感

盐湖城 - 如果我不知道西部半决赛第一场比赛的最终比分，我完全有理由相信马刺队在与犹他队的系列赛中处于领先。

周三早上，马刺队在周二晚上以 83-82 输掉了比赛，但他们仍然心情不错，为今晚在三角洲中心举行的第二场比赛做准备。除了大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)之外，马刺队球员都没有表现出沮丧的神情，他膝盖上都绑着冰袋。他还承认自己感到疼痛，并接受了至少 10 分钟的拉伸以缓解背部疼痛。

“我们希望赢得第一场比赛，”查克·珀森(Chuck Person)说道，他在比赛还剩 33.4 秒时投出的三分球差一点就成为英雄，但球却擦着篮筐弹了出去。

请记住，马刺队在七场四胜制的季后赛系列赛中，如果输掉第一场比赛，战绩为 0-9。

“但如果你是犹他队，”珀森说道，“你会认为马刺队从三角洲中心落后 16 分的情况下追了回来，并且有机会在最后时刻赢得比赛。”

珀森主动与蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)交谈，后者在比赛结束时投出的 15 英尺跳投失手了。

“我抓住他，告诉他，‘蒂姆，那是你的投篮。你投了，你应该继续投篮，’”珀森说道。“然后我对他说道，‘比赛结束了。是时候继续前进。’”

毫无疑问，和蔼可亲的珀森对自己投出的三分球也有着同样的想法。如果他投进了，马刺队将在比赛还剩 33.4 秒时以 85-83 领先。

这是一个好球，虽然我当时也是质疑珀森的投篮决定的那些人之一，因为篮下没有人可以抢篮板。

但是珀森表现出良好的判断。通过快速投篮，无论爵士队接下来发生什么，他都确保马刺队可以获得另一次进攻机会。

问题是，艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)过早地把球传给了珀森。想要跑到底角的“步枪手”被迫突然停下脚步，他没有得到充分的准备。

“尽管如此，”珀森说道，“那是我的投篮……我会再次尝试。”

不幸的是，对于马刺队来说，这仅仅是珀森在 22 分钟的比赛时间里投出的第二个三分球。

这种情况今晚可能会改变，因为爵士队必须更加关注邓肯，他全场比赛得到 33 分，其中第四节得到 17 分，差一点就帮助马刺队赢得比赛。

爵士队没有人可以单独防守邓肯。因此，他们会对他进行包夹。

但是马刺队的失利并非因为珀森或邓肯的失误。而且，对不起马刺队的球迷，他们的失利也不是因为杰克·奈斯(Jack Nies)在比赛还剩 56.9 秒时对罗宾逊的移动掩护犯规的糟糕判罚。

现在，另外两个糟糕的判罚 - 比赛开始 18 秒后马龙(Malone)对罗宾逊的假摔以及四分钟后斯托克顿(John Stockton)对AJ的假摔 - 似乎让马刺队失去了攻击性。

马刺队的替补席球员因为与犹他队替补球员之间的 26-3 分差而受到了一些不公平的批评。

但是在指责圣安东尼奥的替补球员之前，我们应该记住，他们只出手了 6 次，而犹他队出手了 27 次。

罗宾逊的表现也值得批评，他整场比赛似乎都没有进攻能量。他在下半场 7 投 0 中，第四节没有出手。

罗宾逊 17 投 5 中的命中率是不可接受的。他还需要比罚球 11 投 6 中的表现做得更好。

部分失利的责任在于主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)，他让自己的首发球员在第四节比赛开始时提前了两分钟零四秒对阵爵士队的替补球员。

今晚，如果裁判判罚爵士队非法防守 - 他们有一名球员站在禁区内等待邓肯 - 那么这可能会为内线球员创造一些空间。

底线是：马刺队必须赢。如果他们今晚输掉比赛，他们需要在接下来的五场比赛中取得四场胜利，其中两场将在盐湖城进行。

这种可能性……足以让他们心情沮丧。

点击查看原文：San Antonio finds setback inspirational

San Antonio finds setback inspirational

SALT LAKE CITY - Had I not known the final score of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, there would have been every reason to believe the Spurs led their series against Utah.

Wednesday morning, the Spurs, who dropped an 83-82 contest Tuesday night, were in good humor as they prepped for Game 2 this evening in the Delta Center. There were no long faces among the Spurs, save for David Robinson, who was wearing ice bags on both knees. He also confessed to being sore and was stretched for at least 10 minutes to aid his back.

“We would have liked to have gotten the first one,” said Chuck Person, who came within a few inches of being a hero when his three-point effort with 33.4 seconds left skidded off the rim.

Keep in mind, the Spurs are 0-9 in best-of-seven playoff series when they have lost the first game.

“But if you’re Utah,” Person said, “you’re thinking that the Spurs came back from 16 points down in the Delta Center and had a chance to win it at the end.”

Person took it upon himself to talk to Tim Duncan, whose 15- footer at the end missed.

“I grabbed him and told him, ‘Tim, that was your shot. You took it and you should take it again,’” Person said. “Then I said to him, ‘It’s over. Time to move on.’”

No doubt, the amiable Person had the same discussion with himself for his trey that went awry. Had he knocked that in, the Spurs would have held an 85-83 lead with 33.4 seconds remaining.

It was a good shot, although I was among those who at first questioned Person’s decision to shoot since there was no one under the basket to rebound.

But Person demonstrated sound thinking. By shooting quickly, he ensured the Spurs of another possession regardless of what happened with the Jazz.

Trouble was, Avery Johnson dished the ball to Person too soon. The Rifleman, who wanted to get into the corner, had to stop quickly before he was properly set.

“Still,” Person said, “that’s my shot … and I’d take it again.”

Unfortunately for the Spurs, it was only Person’s second three- point effort in 22 minutes played.

That may change tonight as the Jazz must pay more attention to Duncan, whose 33 points - 17 in the fourth quarter - nearly brought the Spurs to victory.

The Jazz have no one to handle Duncan alone. Thus, there will be double teams.

But the Spurs didn’t lose because of Person’s or Duncan’s misses. And, sorry Spurs faithful, they didn’t lose because of Jack Nies’ horrid call on Robinson for a moving screen with 56.9 seconds left.

Now, two other lousy calls - a Malone flop on Robinson 18 seconds into the game and a John Stockton flop on AJ four minutes later - seemed to suck the aggressiveness from the Spurs.

The Spurs’ bench took a few unfair rips for the 26-3 point differential with Utah’s reserves.

But before laying any blame on San Antonio’s subs, let’s remember they took six shots to 27 for Utah.

Robinson, who never seemed to have any offensive energy, deserves criticism. He was 0 for 7 in the second half and failed to take a shot in the fourth.

Robinson’s 5-for-17 reading from the field is inexcusable. He also must do better than 6 for 11 from the free-throw line.

Some blame for the loss goes to Coach Gregg Popovich, who allowed his starters to play two minutes, four seconds early in the fourth against the Jazz reserves.

Tonight, if the officials call the Jazz for illegal defense - they have a man standing in the lane waiting for Duncan - then it might free up some space inside.

Bottom line: It’s must-win time for the Spurs. If they lose tonight, they’ll need four wins in five games with two of the games in Salt Lake City.

That prospect … is enough to put them in a bad humor.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-07, By Jerry Briggs and Glenn Rogers

笔记

马刺队老将查克·珀森(Chuck Person)为他在周二与犹他队的比赛最后时刻的投篮选择辩护，最终马刺队以 83-82 惜败。

当马刺队落后于最终比分时，珀森在右翼接到了艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的传球，并在比赛还剩大约 30 秒时投出了一记三分球，但没有命中。

“那是我的投篮，”珀森说道。“我整个职业生涯都在投这个球。如果再次出现这样的机会，我还会投。”

珀森表示，在他出手的时候，他知道 24 秒计时器会让马刺队至少获得一次进攻机会。马刺队最终在比赛还剩 4.6 秒时重新获得了球权，并叫了暂停，布置了发球战术。

球传给了蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)，他在本节比赛中得到 17 分。这位新秀在距离篮筐 15 英尺的地方出手未中，帮助爵士队锁定胜局。

珀森替补出场 22 分钟，一分未得。他只投了 3 球，其中 2 个是三分球。

最后的祈祷？回放显示，蒂姆·邓肯最后一次投篮弹开时，马刺队还没有输掉比赛。当长距离篮板球被犹他队的拜伦·拉塞尔(Bryon Russell)在罚球线附近控制时，至少还剩下一小部分时间。

当邓肯出手时，马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)进入篮板球位置，准备进行潜在的制胜补篮。但球的高弹跳——超过了罗宾逊的头顶——使任何奇迹般的结局都变得不可能。

波波维奇的观点：马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)不同意这场比赛可能是在第三节输掉的，当时他的球队 19 投 3 中。

爵士队在同节比赛中 22 投 6 中，但仍然将他们在半场时的领先优势从 6 分扩大到 8 分（68-60），进入最后一节。

一些媒体记者想知道为什么马刺队在下半场没有更多地使用蒂姆·邓肯，而是让大卫·罗宾逊上场。罗宾逊在第三节的 7 次投篮全部失手。邓肯只投了 3 球，命中 1 球。

“我们会像现在这样重新进行比赛，”波波维奇说道。“这其中有很多情况需要考虑。事情没有那么简单。”

罗宾逊的背部：大卫·罗宾逊驳斥了关于他在周三训练之前一夜之间背部可能加重的疑问。他说自己感觉很好。尽管如此，罗宾逊还是在球场上花费了至少 10 分钟的时间伸展自己的腿筋，而其他球员则在进行罚球练习。

篮板球的统治：马刺队的“三座塔楼”——大卫·罗宾逊、蒂姆·邓肯和威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)——在第一场比赛中对爵士队发动了篮板球冲击。马刺队以 47-34 的比分赢得了篮板球争夺战。罗宾逊、邓肯和珀杜三人合计贡献了 36 个篮板球。

顶级防守球员：大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯入选了 NBA 最佳防守阵容第二阵容。犹他队的卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)入选了第一阵容。

阿拉莫的集会：圣安东尼奥快报是周五下午 5:30 到 7:00 在阿拉莫前举行的马刺队“我们能做到”加油集会的赞助商之一。入场免费。

预计将出席活动的人员包括银色舞者、土狼以及霍华德·皮克市长(Howard Peak)。

大开眼界：犹他队主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)发现眼见为实。

“我们知道蒂姆·邓肯很优秀，”他说。“但他比任何人都告诉我们的要好得多。”

脚踝松动：爵士队后卫杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek)似乎并不太担心他那不稳定的脚踝。

“他们只是把肌腱弹回原位，稍微用绷带包扎一下，然后让我回去，”霍纳塞克说道。“不，这不是骨头问题，而是脚踝上方的肌腱。上周我下车时感觉它弹出来了。”

霍纳塞克说，他无法确定爵士队的进攻为何在季后赛中出现停滞。

“但是，到目前为止，我们的防守一直让我们留在比赛中，”他说。“季后赛与常规赛有点不同。对手非常了解你，他们可以阻止你的战术。我们想像在第三场对火箭队的比赛（第一轮 89-85 的胜利）那样推动进攻。”

马龙获得荣誉：卡尔·马龙被评为 1997-98 年 IBM 奖的获得者，该奖项由一个计算机评级系统决定，该系统衡量球员对球队的整体贡献。马龙是自 1984 年该奖项设立以来第一位获得该奖项的犹他队球员，他场均得到 27 分、10 个篮板和 3.9 次助攻，投篮命中率为 53%。

大卫·罗宾逊四次获得该奖项，查尔斯·巴克利三次获得该奖项。

点击查看原文：Notes

Notes

A shot from the Rifleman: Spurs veteran Chuck Person defended his shot selection in the final minute of Tuesday’s 83-82 loss to Utah.

With the Spurs trailing by the eventual final score, Person took a pass from Avery Johnson on the right wing and fired a three-pointer that missed the mark with about 30 seconds remaining.

“That’s my shot,” Person said. “I’ve been taking it all the time during my career. If it comes up again, I’ll take it.”

Person said that by firing up the shot when he did, he knew that the 24-second clock would give the Spurs at least one more possession. The Spurs eventually got the ball back with 4.6 seconds left, called time, and set up an inbounds play.

It went to Tim Duncan, who had 17 points in the quarter. The rookie missed from 15 feet, sealing the win for the Jazz.

Person went scoreless in 22 minutes off the bench. He took only three shots, two from three-point range.

One final prayer? Replays showed that the Spurs weren’t dead when Tim Duncan’s last shot bounced away. There was at least a fraction of a second remaining when the long rebound was corraled at the free-throw line by Utah’s Bryon Russell.

When Duncan’s shot went up, Spurs center David Robinson moved inside for rebounding position and a potential game-winning tip. But the bounce of the ball - high over Robinson’s head - negated any chance of a miracle finish.

Pop’s perspective: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t agree that the game may have been lost in the third quarter, when his team shot 3 for 19 from the field.

The Jazz, held to only 6-of-22 shooting in the same period, nevertheless increased their halftime lead from six points to eight (68-60) entering the final quarter.

Some at press row were wondering why the Spurs didn’t go more to Tim Duncan after halftime, instead of David Robinson. Robinson misfired on all seven field-goal attempts in the third quarter. Duncan took only three shots, making one.

“We’d replay the game exactly like we did,” Popovich said. “There were all kinds of circumstances involved. It’s just not that simple.”

Robinson’s back: David Robinson dismissed questions that his back might have tightened up on him overnight before Wednesday’s practice. He said he felt fine. Nevertheless, Robinson spent at least 10 minutes on the floor stretching his hamstrings while the rest of the team shot free throws.

Glass cleaning: The Spurs’ Triple Towers of David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Will Perdue led a rebounding assault on the Jazz in Game 1. The Spurs won the battle of the glass 47-34. Robinson, Duncan and Perdue combined for 36 rebounds.

Top defenders: David Robinson and Tim Duncan were second-team selections on the NBA All-Defensive Team. Utah’s Karl Malone was a first- team choice.

Rally at the Alamo: The San Antonio Express-News is among the sponsors of a Spurs “We Can” Pep Rally on Friday from 5:30-7 p.m. in front of the Alamo. Admission is free.

Among those scheduled to appear are the Silver Dancers, the Coyote and Mayor Howard Peak.

An eye-opener: Utah coach Jerry Sloan discovered that seeing is believing.

“We knew Tim Duncan was good,” he said. “But he was much better than anybody told us he would be.”

Loose ankle: Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek doesn’t seem overly concerned about his wobbly ankle.

“They just pop the tendon back into place, tape it a little and send me back out there,” Hornacek said. “No, it’s not a bone, it’s the tendon high on the ankle. I felt it pop out last week when I stepped out of the car.”

Hornacek said he can’t quite put his finger on why the Jazz offense is sputtering in the playoffs.

“But, so far our defense has been keeping us in the games,” he said. “The playoffs are a little different from the regular season. The opposition knows you so well, they can stop your plays. We want to push it up like we did in Game 3 against the Rockets (an 89-85 victory in the first round).”

Malone honors: Karl Malone has been named the winner of the 1997-98 IBM Award, determined by a computerized rating measuring a player’s overall contribution to a team. Malone, the first Utah player to win the award since its inception in 1984, averaged 27 points, 10 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game and shot 53 percent.

David Robinson has won the award four times and Charles Barkley three times. - Jerry Briggs, Glenn Rogers

By Jerry Briggs and Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-07, By Buck Harvey

邓肯如何命中目标，却错过飞镖

盐湖城 - 蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)应该享受这一刻，因为生活不会总是这么轻松。大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)可以告诉他这一点。

曾经有一段时间，罗宾逊作为新秀也获得了部分最有价值球员的认可。全世界对他的一切都感到惊叹，从他的速度到他在奏国歌时如何笔直站立。然后，在他的职业生涯开始不到两年后，蜜月期结束了，几支飞镖开始向他射去。

现在，飞镖挡住了阳光。随着邓肯的崛起，对罗宾逊的赞美变成了牺牲品，仿佛一方的成就离不开另一方的牺牲。而周二的一切都说明了这一点。在邓肯接管了另一节第四节之前，罗宾逊错过了罚球和一些近距离的投篮。但当罗宾逊打出了比任何人都好的防守 - 包括年度最佳防守球员 - 他除了为邓肯提供弱侧帮助，还做了另外一件事。

他吸收了所有的批评。总有一天，当邓肯独自一人时，他会渴望有这样的时光，那时他可以错过最后一秒的跳投而不会感到飞镖刺痛自己。

现在，他们两人都不关心谁该受责怪，因为今晚有一件更紧迫的事情。输掉比赛，马刺将面临一个周末的比赛，这场比赛将会很艰难。因此，马刺对自己周二的表现感到懊恼，而其他人则指责罗宾逊。一位专栏作家写道邓肯在扶持罗宾逊，而 ESPN 将两人进行了比较。当邓肯在第四节得到 17 分时，海军上将在哪里？在甲板下面某个地方，ESPN说道。

过去一个月的媒体主题一直在延续。邓肯已经成为了“那个人”，因此有必要贬低 50 号球员，宣布他不能做什么，而不是他能做什么。

这正是人们在急于加冕下一位巨星时会发生的事情。一些现实被践踏了。邓肯在周二的表现让人想起他在与菲尼克斯太阳队的首场比赛中所做的事情，但这同时也掩盖了他在对阵太阳队的最后一场比赛中只得到 11 分的事实。当罗宾逊两年前对阵爵士队得到 11 分时，另一组飞镖击中了他。

至于扶持：罗宾逊在 3 月份对阵公牛队的比赛中也能得到 35 分，就像邓肯在对阵公牛队的比赛中能得到 14 分一样。

本周还有其他例子。NBA 公布了年度最佳防守球员的投票结果，邓肯获得了四票，这几乎和邓肯没有获得三张年度最佳新秀票一样荒谬。邓肯确实能封盖，但即使是威尔·珀迪(Will Perdue)也打出了更好的防守。

那么，周三，邓肯是如何被选入 NBA 最佳防守阵容二队的？马刺队对此开玩笑。同样可笑的是，罗宾逊和邓肯一起入选了二队，而他应该进入一队。罗宾逊不仅能封盖，他还能像任何 7 英尺高的球员一样（例如他在周二的第四节中没有得分）采取犯规动作。再加上他能够阻止安东尼奥·麦克戴斯(Antonio McDyess)的敏捷脚步，马刺队的工作人员一致认为，罗宾逊，而不是迪肯贝·穆托姆博(Dikembe Mutombo)，是联盟中最优秀的防守球员。

因此，罗宾逊在周二抢下了 16 个篮板，封盖了 4 次，可能还改变了 12 次进攻。这就是马刺队希望他打球的方式。这也是对邓肯帮助最大的事情之一，尽管大多数人没有意识到这一点。如果邓肯在波士顿或费城打中锋，每场打 40 分钟，身边还有其他年轻人，他的数据可能会更好。但他的生活不会更好。

邓肯应该得到赞扬；当媒体和教练都认可他的防守时，这说明了他所谓的弱点。但是，罗宾逊应该得到他所遭受的待遇吗？问问马刺队吧，他们即将参加一场他们需要赢的比赛，他们拥有一个长长的左臂，可以挡住几乎所有东西，包括飞镖。

点击查看原文：How Duncan hits the target, misses darts

How Duncan hits the target, misses darts

SALT LAKE CITY - Tim Duncan should enjoy the moment, because life won’t always be this easy. David Robinson could tell him that.

There was a time when Robinson got some MVP consideration as a rookie, too. The world marveled at everything from his quickness to how he stood at attention for the national anthem. Then, less than two years into his career, the honeymoon ended when a few darts began to fly at him.

Now the darts block the sun. As Duncan ascends, the compliments come at Robinson’s expense, as if one can’t happen without the other. And Tuesday said it all. Robinson missed free throws and some point-blank layups before Duncan took over another fourth quarter. But as Robinson played defense better than arguably anyone can - including the defensive player of the year - Robinson did something else for Duncan besides provide weakside help.

He absorbed all criticism. Someday, when Duncan is alone, he will long for the time when he could miss a last-second jumper and not feel the darts himself.

Neither concerns himself with blame now, since tonight provides a more pressing matter. Lose and the Spurs face a weekend made for a split. So the Spurs kick themselves over Tuesday, and everyone else kicks Robinson. A columnist wrote Duncan props up Robinson, and ESPN compared the two. While Duncan was scoring 17 points in the fourth period, where was the Admiral? Down below deck somewhere, said the network.

The media theme of the past month plays on. Duncan has become The Man, and thus it’s necessary to demote No. 50 and announce what he can’t do instead of what he can.

It’s what happens in the rush to anoint the next star. Some reality gets trampled. Duncan’s run Tuesday reminds of what he did to Phoenix in Game 1 of that series, but it also obscures that he scored 11 in the finale against the Suns. When Robinson scored 11 two years ago against the Jazz, another formation of darts fell.

As for propping up: Robinson was as capable of scoring 35 against the Bulls in March as Duncan was of 14.

Other examples came this week. The NBA released the voting for defensive player of the year and Duncan got four votes, which is almost as outrageous as Duncan not getting three ballots for rookie of the year. Duncan blocks shots, all right, but even Will Perdue plays better post defense.

So on Wednesday, how could Duncan get voted to the NBA’s all- defensive second team? The Spurs joke about it. And just as laughable is that Robinson joins Duncan on the second team, when he ought to be on the first. Robinson not only blocks shots, he takes charges unlike any 7-footer (such as in his scoreless fourth quarter Tuesday). Combine that with quick feet that can stop an Antonio McDyess, and the Spurs’ staff is united in its belief that Robinson, not Dikembe Mutombo, is the league’s best defender.

So Robinson grabbed 16 boards Tuesday, blocked four shots and probably changed a dozen others. This is how the Spurs want him to play. And this also is something that helps Duncan more than most realize. If Duncan were in Boston or Philly playing 40 minutes at center, with some kid next to him, his stats might be better. His life wouldn’t be.

Duncan deserves the praise; when both media and coaches honor his defense, it says a lot about his so-called weakness. But does Robinson deserve what he gets? Ask the Spurs today, as they go into a game they need to win, with a long, left arm that deflects almost everything. Darts included.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-07, By Glenn Rogers

爵士队一切如常 尽管赢得首场比赛，犹他队希望有更好的表现

盐湖城 - 周三早上，在韦斯特敏斯特学院的体育馆里，气氛沉重，几乎像葬礼一样。

普遍的看法是：“我们很幸运赢了那场比赛。”

这指的是爵士队在周二晚上西区半决赛第一场比赛中以 83-82 险胜马刺队的比赛。

犹他队遏制了圣安东尼奥队的猛烈反扑，抵挡住了蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 33 分的狂轰滥炸。爵士队在最后几分钟依靠卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 的几次投篮，以及邓肯在最后几秒钟的投篮失手才取得了胜利。

然而，比赛结束后，爵士队球员们并没有露出笑容，在训练后也是如此。也许一些阴郁的表情与马龙的缺席有关。

“邮差”没有参加训练，而是被送往当地一家医院，为他的右腕进行 X 光检查，他在周二的比赛中受伤，在比赛快结束时摔倒了。X 光检查结果显示阴性，马龙将回归，爵士队表示他只是轻微扭伤。

在周三的训练结束后，犹他队主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan) 陷入了自怨自艾的情绪。

“他们给了我们所有他们能给的，”斯隆说。“他们在篮板球上碾压了我们，抢下了 50 个（47 个）篮板。我们的中锋位置只抢下了 6 个篮板。如果他们抢下所有篮板球，而他们可以做到，我不知道我们还能做什么。”

然而，马刺队只抢下了 7 个进攻篮板，得到 4 分二次进攻得分，投篮命中率为 45%。犹他队获得了 7 分二次进攻得分，投篮命中率为 41%。

斯隆甚至暗示他正在失去对球队的控制。

“如果你叫暂停，球员们甚至不知道你要做什么战术，你就失去了对球队的控制，”斯隆说。“当你这样做了，你就会输球。最近这种情况发生的太频繁了。”

尽管如此，爵士队还是赢得了这场比赛，在七场四胜制的系列赛中取得了 1-0 的领先。

“这不像一场胜利，”斯隆说。“我真的不知道我们作为一支球队处于什么状态。当我们无法作为一个团队完成任务时，当我们无法防守时，我真的很担心。”

然而，斯隆并没有过多地提到他令人印象深刻的替补席，他们出场了 97 分钟，贡献了 26 分。马刺队的替补球员，主要是查克·珀森(Chuck Person) 和贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)，出场了 60 分钟，只得到了 3 分。

格雷格·福斯特(Greg Foster) 在比赛结束后或训练结束后并不高兴。他与邓肯纠缠在一起，在另一端只得到了 4 分。

“我们必须在进攻篮下更加强势，”他说。“他们有那些身材高大的球员，但我们，尤其是我要，必须直接冲向他们。

“我们有点软弱，有点害怕，你这样打是得不到任何判罚的。”

爵士队主要依靠正面防守，他们在周二晚上坚持了这种策略，只是在几次战术中对邓肯进行了双人包夹和三人包夹。但犹他队并没有透露他们对第二场比赛的策略。

“我不知道我们要怎么做，”斯隆在被问及是否会进行更多双人包夹时说。

“我们今天没有谈论过这个，”前锋亚当·基夫(Adam Keefe) 说。“我们前几天开始这样做，并且阻止了他们的一些快攻。我们现在已经看到了他们的打法，我们对进攻端做了一些调整，一些小变化。”

爵士队的希望是把邓肯包裹在几层那些皱褶中。

点击查看原文：It's business as usual for the Jazz Despite Game 1 victory, Utah looks for better effort

It’s business as usual for the Jazz Despite Game 1 victory, Utah looks for better effort

SALT LAKE CITY - There was a somber gathering at the Westminster College gym Wednesday morning. Almost funereal.

The prevalent notion: “We were lucky to win that game.”

That referred to the Jazz’s 83-82 victory over the Spurs on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Utah stemmed a furious San Antonio rally and weathered a 33-point Tim Duncan storm. The Jazz won when Karl Malone hit a couple of shots in the final minutes and Duncan finally missed one with just seconds left.

But there was no smiling among the Jazz players after the game nor after their practice. Perhaps some of the gloomy looks pertained to the absence of Malone.

The Mailman didn’t practice; he was taken instead to a local hospital for X-rays of his right wrist, hurt when he fell late in Tuesday’s game. X-rays were negative and Malone will be back in position with what the Jazz say is a sprain.

After Wednesday’s practice, Utah coach Jerry Sloan was deep in his woe-is-us mode.

“They gave us all we could handle,” Sloan said. “They whacked us on the boards with 50 (47) rebounds. We got six rebounds from our center position. If they get all the rebounds, which they can, then I don’t know what we can do.”

Still, the Spurs only grabbed seven offensive rebounds, scored four second-chance points and shot 45 percent from the floor. Utah had seven second-chance points and shot 41 percent.

Sloan even intimated that he was losing his grasp on the team.

“If you have a timeout and guys don’t even know what you’re running, you’ve lost control of the team,” Sloan said. “When you do that, you’re going to lose. That’s been happening too often lately.”

Nevertheless, the Jazz won this game and are 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

“It was not like a win,” Sloan said. “I just don’t know where we are as a team. I’m really concerned when we can’t do things as a team, when we don’t defend.”

Not mentioned much by Sloan, though, is his impressive bench, who put in 97 minutes and scored 26 points. The Spurs reserves, primarily Chuck Person and Jaren Jackson, played 60 minutes and scored three points.

Greg Foster wasn’t jovial after the game or after the workout. He had his hands full of Duncan and retaliated at the other end with just four points.

“We have to be more aggressive going to the basket,” he said. "They have those big guys in there, but we, especially me, have to just go right through them.

“We were a little soft, a little intimidated and you’re not going to get any calls playing that way.”

The Jazz rely primarily on straight-up defense and they stuck with that Tuesday night, except for a few stretches when they doubled and tripled Duncan. But Utah did not reveal its strategy for Game 2.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Sloan said when asked if more double-teaming will be in order.

“We didn’t talk about that today,” forward Adam Keefe said. “We started doing that some the other night and we stopped some of their fast breaks. We’ve seen them play now and we’ve made some adjustments on the offensive end, a few wrinkles.”

The Jazz’s hope is to wrap Duncan in a couple of those wrinkles.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Jerry Briggs

盐湖城之殇马刺争夺失利，加时赛第 2 场失利

盐湖城 - 周四晚上，犹他爵士队在三角洲中心以 109-106 的加时赛比分战胜马刺队，在西部半决赛中取得 2-0 的领先优势。

卡尔·马龙得到 22 分，是爵士队的头号得分。杰夫·霍纳塞克得到 21 分，约翰·斯托克顿 18 分。

蒂姆·邓肯在加时赛中扭伤了脚，得到马刺队的最高分 26 分。大卫·罗宾逊和艾弗里·约翰逊分别得到 21 分。

输球之后，马刺队将不得不为保住他们的赛季而奋战，因为系列赛将在周六和周日在阿拉莫穹顶球场移至圣安东尼奥进行第 3 场和第 4 场比赛。

在 NBA 历史上，只有 12 支球队在 0-2 落后的情况下反弹获胜，但在 20 世纪 90 年代这种情况更常见，当时有 6 支球队实现了这一目标。

爵士队不仅在系列赛中取得了领先优势。他们还将三角洲中心的连胜纪录扩大至对阵马刺队的九连胜和自 1994 年以来在这里进行的三场系列赛中的七场季后赛胜利。

加时赛一开始，马刺队就遭遇惊吓：邓肯倒地捂住他的脚。罗宾逊投中加时赛的第一个球后，大约一分钟后，邓肯返回球场。

罗宾逊在还剩 2:53 时罚球命中，使马刺队以 101-98 领先。

从那时起，爵士队抓住了比赛的势头。斯托克顿投中一记 15 英尺的中投。马龙在邓肯的防守下突破底线，用左手扣篮得分。

在另一端，邓肯冲入禁区造成犯规，但两罚不中。拜伦·拉塞尔投中一记 15 英尺的投篮，在还剩 36.3 秒的时候为犹他队取得 104-101 的领先优势。

暂停之后，马刺队发动进攻，由文尼·德尔·内格罗投进一记 15 英尺的投篮，在还剩 25.1 秒时将分差缩小至一分。

但爵士队做出了回应，将霍纳塞克孤立在禁区外，由德尔·内格罗防守。德尔·内格罗犯规，将犹他队后卫送上了罚球线。霍纳塞克在还剩 15.2 秒时两罚全中，使犹他队以 106-103 领先。

马刺队再次未能投进一个像样的球。约翰逊疯狂的转身单手投篮不中。爵士队将球转化为拉塞尔的两罚命中，以 108-103 领先。

贾伦·杰克逊投中三分球，将马刺队的分差缩小至 2 分。霍纳塞克在界外线被犯规，罚球命中，随后罚失，给马刺队留下了希望。

但是，德尔·内格罗大约 28 英尺的投篮偏出，比赛结束。

在最后一节过半时，查克·帕森命中了他在这场系列赛中的第一个三分球，文尼·德尔·内格罗紧随其后，在侧翼投中一记 20 英尺的球，使马刺队以 92-89 领先。

爵士队没有退缩。当斯托克顿上篮命中，霍纳塞克三分命中时，他们重新领先两分。

作为回应，马刺队在接下来的八分中得到了六分。邓肯在还剩 30.3 秒时投中一记 14 英尺的投篮，使马刺队以 98-96 领先。紧接着发生了一次有争议的比赛，马龙冲入禁区与罗宾逊发生身体接触。

马龙投篮命中，扳平比分，并判罚罗宾逊犯规。罗宾逊愤怒地跳起来抗议，声称马龙通过高踢他的腿主动引发了身体接触。当马龙罚球不中时，比赛仍然处于平局。

安托万·卡尔抢下篮板，给爵士队他们认为将是最后一次投篮。但约翰逊抢断传球并叫了暂停，为马刺队争取胜利做准备。

在一次界外球配合中，文尼·德尔·内格罗传球给内线的邓肯，然后传出给贾伦·杰克逊。杰克逊在蜂鸣声响起时未能命中绝杀球。

在第四节初期落后五分的情况下，马刺队在两分钟内以 8-2 的比分反超爵士队。邓肯罚球两中，并投中一记艰难的勾手球。

约翰逊完成抢断，快速上篮，使马刺队以 83-82 再次领先，迫使爵士队在还剩 8:53 时叫暂停。一分钟后，约翰逊暴跳如雷。他冲着裁判比尔·奥克斯大喊大叫，并被判技术犯规。

中场休息后，爵士队在落后 8 分的情况下奋起反击，依靠杰夫·霍纳塞克的出色表现，以 79-75 领先进入最后一节，这让主场观众兴奋不已。

在第三节最后 7:37 分钟里，24-12 的进攻波让马刺队感到震惊。霍纳塞克在这个阶段得到 9 分。

与第 1 场比赛的慢节奏相比，在第一节中，情况看起来像是截然不同的一个系列赛。

马刺队 vs. 爵士队

西部半决赛

（爵士队以 2-0 领先七场系列赛）

周四：第 2 场 - @犹他 109，马刺 106 （加时）

高得分球员：马刺 - 邓肯 26 分，罗宾逊 21 分，约翰逊 21 分；爵士 - 马龙 22 分，霍纳塞克 21 分。

周六：第 3 场 - 犹他 @马刺，下午 2:30，阿拉莫穹顶球场（电视：NBC）

在线：www.expressnews.com/spurs

周四的比赛

东部：@印第安纳 85，纽约 77 （步行者以 2-0 领先）

今天的比赛

东部：芝加哥 @夏洛特，晚上 7 点（电视：TNT）（系列赛战平 1-1）

西部：西雅图 @洛杉矶湖人，晚上 9:30（电视：TNT）（系列赛战平 1-1）。

点击查看原文：Salt Lake heartbreak Spurs falter down stretch, lose Game 2 in overtime

Salt Lake heartbreak Spurs falter down stretch, lose Game 2 in overtime

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Jazz took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals Thursday night when they outlasted the Spurs 109-106 in overtime at the Delta Center.

Karl Malone finished with 22 points to lead the Jazz. Jeff Hornacek added 21 and John Stockton 18.

Tim Duncan, who twisted his foot in the overtime, led the Spurs with 26 points. David Robinson and Avery Johnson produced 21 points apiece.

With the loss, the Spurs will be fighting to save their season as the series switch to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday at the Alamodome.

Only 12 teams in NBA history have rebounded to win a series after falling behind 0-2, but it’s been more common in the 1990s, as six teams have pulled it off.

The Jazz not only took a commanding lead in the series. They also extended a pair of Delta Center home-court winning streaks over the Spurs – nine games in a row overall, and seven playoff games in three series played here since 1994.

Overtime started with a scare for the Spurs when Duncan fell down holding his foot. He returned about a minute later after Robinson hit the first basket of the extra period.

Robinson added a free throw with 2:53 remaining, lifting the Spurs into a 101-98 advantage.

From there, the Jazz seized the momentum. Stockton sank a 15- foot jumper. Malone drove the baseline on Duncan and jammed with his left hand.

On the other end, Duncan wheeled into the lane and drew a foul but missed both free throws. Bryon Russell canned a 15-footer to give Utah a 104-101 lead with 36.3 seconds left.

After a timeout, the Spurs went into motion on offense and settled for a 15-footer by Vinny Del Negro, cutting the lead to one with 25.1 seconds remaining.

But the Jazz responded, isolating Hornacek on the perimeter with Del Negro. Del Negro fouled, sending the Utah guard to the line. Hornacek buried both free throws with 15.2 seconds left for a 106-103 Utah lead.

Once again, the Spurs couldn’t get off a decent shot. Johnson’s wild spinning one-hander missed. The Jazz turned it into a pair of free throws by Russell and a 108- 103 edge.

Jaren Jackson hit a three-pointer to pull the Spurs to within two. Hornacek, fouled on the inbounds, made the first free throw and missed the second, leaving the door open for the Spurs.

But Del Negro’s leaning 3-pointer from about 28 feet was wide and off the mark, ending the game.

Midway through the final period, Chuck Person hit his first 3-pointer of the series and Vinny Del Negro followed with a 20-footer off the side for a 92-89 Spurs lead.

The Jazz wouldn’t fold. They went back up by two when Stockton hit a layup and Hornacek added a trey.

In response, the Spurs scored six of the next eight points. A 14-footer by Duncan with 30.3 seconds left made it 98-96 Spurs. A controversial play followed, with Malone driving into the paint and drawing contact with Robinson.

Malone hit the shot to tie the game, and Robinson was called for the foul. Robinson leaped in protest, claiming that Malone initiated the contact by high-kicking him in he leg. The game remained tied when Malone missed the free throw.

Antoine Carr rebounded, giving the Jazz what they figured to be the last shot. But Johnson stole the pass and called time, setting up the Spurs to go for the win.

On an inbounds play, Vinny Del Negro threw inside to Duncan, who tossed out to Jaren Jackson. Jackson missed what would have been the game winner from beyond the arc at the buzzer.

Trailing by five early in the fourth quarter, the Spurs outscored the Jazz 8-2 in two minutes to regain the lead. Duncan sank a couple of free throws and hit a tough hook.

Johnson made a steal and sped for a breakaway layup to put the Spurs back on top 83-82, forcing the Jazz to call time out with 8:53 remaining. A little more than a minute later, Johnson was fuming. He snapped at referee Bill Oakes and drew a technical foul.

The Jazz sent the crowd into a tizzy after intermission when they rallied from eight points down, riding the hot shooting of Jeff Hornacek to take a 79-75 lead into the final quarter.

A 24-12 run in the final 7:37 of the third period stunned the Spurs. Hornacek produced nine points in the stretch.

Compared to the plodding pace of Game 1, it looked like a totally different series in the first half.

Spurs vs. Jazz

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(Jazz lead best-of-seven series 2-0)

Thursday: Game 2 - @Utah 109, Spurs 106 (OT)

High scorers: Spurs - Duncan 26, Robinson 21, Johnson 21; Jazz - Malone 22, Hornacek 21.

Saturday: Game 3 - Utah @Spurs, 2:30 p.m., Alamodome (TV: NBC)

Online: www.expressnews .com/spurs

THURSDAY’S GAME

East: @Indiana 85, New York 77 (Pacers lead 2-0)

TODAY’S GAMES

East: Chicago @Charlotte, 7 p.m. (TV: TNT) (Series tied 1-1)

West: Seattle @L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m. (TV: TNT) (Series tied 1-1).

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Jerry Briggs

马刺受到蜂刺的激励 夏洛特的第二场胜利鼓舞了圣安东尼奥

盐湖城 - 马刺似乎从夏洛特黄蜂队那里获得了动力，黄蜂队在周三晚上在芝加哥以1-1的比分扳平了东部半决赛，爆冷击败了头号种子芝加哥公牛队。

“（黄蜂后卫）B.J.（阿姆斯特朗）打出了自己的风格，”马刺前锋贾伦·杰克逊说。“他打得很好，而且还在说垃圾话。这表明在季后赛中任何事情都有可能发生。夏洛特在第二场比赛中打得更好。”

黄蜂队主教练戴夫·考恩斯在1996年之前曾担任马刺队的助理教练两个赛季。

“大戴夫很棒，”马刺队主教练兼总经理格雷格·波波维奇说，他聘请了考恩斯。“我真的很为大卫高兴。我认为他们一起打球，就像他们肩负着使命一样。我为他感到兴奋。”

• 从历史的角度来看：马刺队在输掉首场比赛的所有季后赛系列赛中都输掉了比赛 - 总共13场。其中6个系列赛是七场四胜制，他们只两次将对手拖到第七场。另外四次打到第六场。

• 电脑年度最佳球员：爵士队前锋卡尔·马龙在周四被评为IBM奖得主，该奖项由一个计算机评级系统决定，该系统衡量球员对球队的整体贡献。

在统计分析中，马龙以99.69分的成绩领先，紧随其后的是马刺队的队友蒂姆·邓肯（98.70）和大卫·罗宾逊（96.6）。

• 无痛之感：在下午的新闻发布会上，马龙淡化了他在周二晚上马刺队季后赛第一场比赛结束时扭伤的腕部。

“什么伤？“他笑着问道。“我不知道你在说什么。”

点击查看原文：Spurs catching a buzz Charlotte's Game 2 win motivates San Antonio

Spurs catching a buzz Charlotte’s Game 2 win motivates San Antonio

SALT LAKE CITY - The Spurs seemed to get a lift from the Charlotte Hornets, who upset the top-seeded Chicago Bulls to even the Eastern Conference semifinals 1-1 at Chicago on Wednesday night.

“(Hornets guard) B.J. (Armstrong) did his thing,” Spurs forward Jaren Jackson said. “He was playing great and talking stuff. It shows anything can happen in the playoffs. Charlotte just came out and played better in Game 2.”

Hornets coach Dave Cowens worked as an assistant on the Spurs’ staff for two seasons through 1996.

“Big Dave was great,” said Spurs coach and general manager Gregg Popovich, who hired Cowens. “I’m really happy for David. I thought they played together, like they were on a mission. I was thrilled for him.”

- Historically speaking: The Spurs have lost every playoff series - 13 in all - in which they have lost the opening game. Six of those series were best-of-seven, and only twice did they extend the opposition to seven games. The four others went six games.

- Computer player of the year: Utah forward Karl Malone on Thursday was named winner of the IBM Award, determined by a computerized rating that measures a players’ overall contribution to a team.

Malone finished with 99.69 points in the statistical analysis, just ahead of Spurs teammates Tim Duncan (98.70) and David Robinson (96.6).

- No pain here: During an afternoon news conference, Malone downplayed the sprained wrist that he suffered late in Game 1 of the Spurs’ playoff series Tuesday night.

“What injury?” he asked facetiously. "I don’t know what you’re talking about.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Buck Harvey

季后赛的失误：如何输得优雅

盐湖城 - 马刺队输球的方式比以前更优雅了。这一点我们都知道。如果马刺队在过去十年中的每一场季后赛都像过去两年一样输球，他们会成为 cult figures（崇拜对象）。

但他们也空手而归，只收获了关于爵士队如何进入总决赛的第一手资料。在每一点细节都至关重要的时刻，斯托克顿(John Stockton) 和马龙(Karl Malone) 似乎完成了每一次关键的战术。

爵士队今天会告诉马刺队：如果你在加时赛的最后1分钟罚丢两个球，然后又来一次失控的突破，你永远不会打败公牛队。

爵士队不会说太多，因为他们很幸运地以 2-0 的比分领先。他们仍然无法完全掌控蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)，也不能指望安东尼·卡尔(Antoine Carr) 像之前那样表现。马刺队也从来没指望过他。

卡尔能够为这些优秀的爵士队做出贡献让马刺队感到惊讶 - 几乎和爵士队一样惊讶。他离开圣安东尼奥时留下的形象并不光彩。

约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas) 总是喜欢他，但大多数其他人认为他只是个大块头、糟糕的篮板手。他从未融入大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 的阵容，而且他从未保持过良好的状态。所以当格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 到来时，他让卡尔离开了。当犹他队签下他时，杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan) 很好奇为什么。

但卡尔一直都能投篮，即使篮板不行。当他在第二节对马刺队贡献了11分时，他成为了决定系列赛的X因素。

另一个X因素在比赛开始前就困扰着马刺队，现在仍然如此。裁判。他们并没有在周四刻意偏袒马刺队，就像周二的一次判罚决定了比赛一样。但这在整个系列赛中挥之不去，尤其是在大卫·罗宾逊身上。

与湖人队和超音速队相比，这场比赛的争议相对温和。乔治·卡尔(George Karl) 在系列赛开始之前就抱怨过裁判的判罚，沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal) 回应说卡尔像个女人。如果公正的话，湖人队应该解雇德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris) 并用帕特·萨米特(Pat Summit) 替换他。然后奥尼尔将面临他职业生涯中最严厉的教练。

所以罗宾逊将争议提升到一个更高的层面，他的诉求也有一定的道理。在罗宾逊遭受脑震荡和犯规的同一场地，他还在周二被吹罚了一个移动掩护犯规。罗宾逊继续抱怨。马龙在他突破到篮下时踢了他，但不知何故，罗宾逊再次被吹罚了犯规。“这不是篮球，”罗宾逊说。“当你被踢的时候，这是危险的。我被踢过，我不喜欢。”

罗宾逊并没有就此止步。他对开球和他的五个犯规都提出了异议。在第五次犯规时 - 马龙突破到篮下，在距离常规时间结束还有16秒时，因为一次碰撞被吹罚了犯规 - 这似乎是一场噩梦的重演。凭借这个罚球，马龙可以结束比赛，并开始折磨马刺队。

马龙没投进。当罗宾逊在加时赛中先得三分时，马刺队是否掌控了比赛？

接下来的事情是犹他队十多年来一直都在经历的。马龙绕过蒂姆·邓肯突破得分，可能是因为邓肯几分钟前扭伤了脚踝。当邓肯罚丢两个球 - 比赛的关键时刻 - 约翰·斯托克顿突破，找到布莱恩·拉塞尔(Bryon Russell) 空位，并创造了最终导致马刺队失败的优势。艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 虽然贡献了21分，表现出色，但他的突破却无功而返，形成了鲜明的对比。

这种对比是有道理的。马龙和罗宾逊在90年代的季后赛中三次相遇，每次马龙都带着相同的教练和相同的体系。罗宾逊每次都有不同的教练和体系。

爵士队一直在一起，而马刺队正在迈出新的步伐。输球方式比以往任何时候都更优雅，这就是其中之一。

点击查看原文：Mistakes of the postseason: How to lose in style

Mistakes of the postseason: How to lose in style

SALT LAKE CITY - The Spurs lose better than they used to. That we know. If the Spurs lost every playoff game this decade as they have the past two, they’d be cult figures.

But they also went home with nothing more than firsthand knowledge about how the Jazz went to the Finals. When every detail mattered, men named Stockton and Malone made seemingly every play.

What the Jazz would tell the Spurs today: You’ll never play the Bulls if you miss two free throws in the final minute of OT, then follow that with an out-of-control drive.

The Jazz wouldn’t say much else, because they feel lucky to lead the series 2-0. They still can’t handle Tim Duncan, and they can’t depend on Antoine Carr doing what he did. The Spurs never could.

The fact that he contributed to these good Jazz teams surprises the Spurs - almost as it does the Jazz. He left San Antonio with a less-than-grand image.

John Lucas always liked him, but most others saw him as big body, bad rebounder. He never fit next to David Robinson, and he never stayed fit. So when Gregg Popovich arrived, he let Carr go. When Utah picked him up, Jerry Sloan wondered why.

But Carr could always shoot, if not rebound. And when he stuck 11 points on the Spurs in the second quarter, he became the X Factor that can decide a series.

The other X Factor bothered the Spurs going in, and still does. The refs. They didn’t job the Spurs Thursday, any more that one call decided Tuesday. But it’s something that hangs on this series, and especially on David Robinson.

Compared to the Lakers and Sonics, the debate here has been civil. George Karl complained about officiating before that series even began, and Shaquille O’Neal responded by calling Karl a woman. If there is any justice, the Lakers will fire Del Harris and replace him with Pat Summit. Then Shaq faces the harshest coaching of his career.

So Robinson raised his debate to a higher road, and his plea had some ground. In the same building where Robinson got both a concussion and a foul for his trouble, he also was called for a moving screen on Tuesday. Robinson went on. Malone kicked him as he drove in the final minutes, but somehow again Robinson got called for the foul. “That’s not basketball,” said Robinson. “That’s a dangerous play when you get kicked. I’ve been kicked, and I don’t like it.”

Robinson didn’t stop there. He argued the opening tip and each one of his five fouls. And on the fifth - when Malone went into the lane on a drive and got a call on a bump with 16 seconds left in regulation - it appeared to be a nightmare revisited. With the free throw, Malone could end the game and begin torment.

Malone missed. And when Robinson scored the first three points of overtime, were the Spurs in control?

What followed was nothing Utah hasn’t seen for more than a decade. Malone drove around Tim Duncan for a drive, perhaps set up when Duncan twisted his ankle minutes earlier. And when Duncan missed two free throws - the key moment of the game - John Stockton drove, found Bryon Russell open and created the edge that would doom the Spurs. Avery Johnson, otherwise brilliant with 21 points, revealed the contrast with a drive that went nowhere.

The contrast only makes sense. Malone and Robinson have met three times in the '90s in the playoffs, and each time Malone has been here with the same coach and the same system. Robinson has had a different one each time.

The Jazz have been together, whereas the Spurs are taking new steps. Losing better than they ever have is one.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Kevin O’Keeffe

失落的天堂：对于马刺来说，是两次错失良机

盐湖城 - 本可以。

本来可以。

应该可以。

这会是马刺在 98 年西部半决赛中的墓志铭吗？

在这一系列比赛中，马刺第二次在比赛结束时有机会赢球。

第二次，他们失败了。

周四晚上，是贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)的投篮未能让马刺在三角洲中心赢得胜利。

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在第一场比赛中错失了潜在的制胜球。

“我们很高兴赢得了比赛，”犹他主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)说。“但我们到目前为止还没有做任何事。”

他们已经做到了足以在七场四胜制的比赛中取得 2-0 的领先。第三和第四场比赛将在本周末在阿拉莫穹顶举行。

“我只知道，那支球队对我们来说太难打了，”斯隆在以 109-106 的比分获得加时赛胜利后说道。

“那支球队可以连赢四场，”斯隆继续说，“所以我不会谈论我们做了什么，直到我们取得四连胜。”

当然，爵士已经完成了四连胜的一半。

“他们在两场比赛中都坚持到最后的能力，一定会让他们带着信心回到主场，”犹他的杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek)说道，他拿下了 21 分。

从某种意义上说，这一系列比赛开始变得像 90 年春天西区半决赛，当时马刺在波特兰的前两场比赛中险些落败。

但他们在圣安东尼奥大胜开拓者。这支马刺队必须在本周末做到这一点。

“双方都打得很好，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)开始说道，“但对我们来说结果仍然是可怕而糟糕的。

“我觉得我们应该赢了这两场比赛。”

但他们没有。

并不是所有的豪言壮语都能抹去马刺错过了一次，甚至两次在主场赢得胜利的绝佳机会的事实。

如果他们没有遇到一个赛季以来的老问题——罚球命中率，他们本可以赢下第二场比赛。

在整个赛季中，马刺的罚球命中率排名倒数第二，而他们周四晚上 68.8% 的命中率证明了这一点。

在加时赛中，马刺罚球 4 投 1 中，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)罚球 2 投 1 中，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)罚球 2 投 0 中，时间还剩 54 秒。

然而，考虑到邓肯正在遭受波波维奇所说的“一级踝关节扭伤”，他的失误也许可以原谅。

那是当邓肯在比赛的第一记封盖几乎让这位才华横溢的新秀付出代价时发生的。

在加时赛的第一回合，当 24 秒钟计时器即将到期时，邓肯封盖了霍纳塞克的投篮，但左脚落地时姿势不稳。

邓肯翻过身趴在地上。马刺替补席上的其他人都惊呆了。

邓肯离场，但片刻后又回来了，却罚丢了两罚。

罗宾逊赛前的言论，关于马龙不仅会跳起来撞他，还会踢他，似乎对裁判在第二场比赛中的大部分时间起到了作用。

然而，当罗宾逊最需要他的言论发挥作用时……却没有。

“现在我们有机会回到主场，我知道我们的球迷会很兴奋，”马刺的埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说。“这将是一个漫长的系列赛，但第三场比赛是必须赢的。”

不，AJ，第二场比赛是必须赢的。

马刺不可能在周末横扫对手，因为各种伤病——AJ 的臀部，查克·珀森(Chuck Person)的背部，罗宾逊的膝盖和背部，现在是邓肯的脚踝——将在两场背靠背的比赛中对他们不利。

就像老渔夫一样，马刺只能谈论那些溜走的鱼。

点击查看原文：Paradise Lost: For Spurs, two that got away

Paradise Lost: For Spurs, two that got away

SALT LAKE CITY - Woulda.

Coulda.

Shoulda.

Might that be the Spurs’ epitath in the '98 Western Conference semifinals?

For the second time in this series, the Spurs had the ball with a chance to win at game’s end.

For the second time, they failed.

Thursday night, it was Jaren Jackson’s shot that failed to get the Spurs a victory in the Delta Center.

Tim Duncan missed the potential game-winner in Game 1.

“We’re happy to have won,” said Utah coach Jerry Sloan. “But we haven’t done a thing so far.”

They have done enough to hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Games 3 and 4 will be this weekend in the Alamodome.

“All I know is, that team is awfully hard for us to play,” Sloan said following the 109-106 victory in overtime.

“That team can win four straight,” Sloan continued, “so I’m not going to talk about what we’ve done until we get to four wins.”

Of course, the Jazz are halfway to four.

“Their ability to hang with us to the end of both games here has to give them confidence going home,” noted Utah’s Jeff Hornacek, who had 21 points.

In that way, this series has begun to look like the West semis from the spring of '90 when the Spurs barely lost the opening two games in Portland.

But they routed the Trail Blazers in S.A. This Spurs team must be able to do that this weekend.

“Great game for both teams,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich began, "but the same horrible, ugly result for us.

“I feel like we had a couple of wins.”

But they don’t.

And not all the bravado erases the fact that the Spurs missed not one, but two excellent opportunities to claim a victory here.

They might have gotten Game 2 had it not been for a season-long bugaboo - free-throw shooting.

Ranking next-to-last from the stripe for the duration of the season, the Spurs’ 68.8 percent reading from the line proved to be a true measure Thursday night.

In the overtime, the Spurs were 1 for 4 from the free-throw line, with David Robinson missing 1 of 2 and Tim Duncan missing both with 54 seconds left in overtime.

Yet, Duncan’s misses might be excused considering he was suffering with what Popovich called a “Grade 1 ankle sprain.”

That came when Duncan’s first blocked shot of the night almost proved to be one too many for the brilliant rookie.

On the first possession of overtime as the 24-second clock expired, Duncan blocked an effort by Hornacek, but landed awkwardly on his left foot.

Duncan flipped over on his stomach. Everyone else on the Spurs’ bench had their stomachs flipping over.

Duncan left the floor, but came back moments later only to miss two freebies.

Robinson’s pre-game comments regarding Malone’s tendency to not only jump into him, but to kick also, seemed to work on the officials the better part of Game 2.

However, when Robinson needed his rhetoric to work the most … it didn’t.

“Now we get a chance to go home, and I know our fans will be psyched up,” Spurs Avery Johnson said. “It’s going to be a long series, but Game 3 is a must-win.”

No, AJ, Game 2 was a must-win.

The Spurs aren’t going to be able to sweep the weekend because the variety of ailments - AJ’s hip, Chuck Person’s back, Robinson’s knees and back, now Duncan’s ankle - will work against them in back-to-back games.

Like the old angler, the Spurs can only talk about the ones that got away.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Jerry Briggs and Glenn Rogers

备忘录

门票更新: 圣安东尼奥马刺队已经售出约 25,000 张周六在阿拉莫穹顶举行的第三场比赛门票，这促使球队取消了 NBC 的电视转播禁令。

因此，球迷可以在当地 KMOL-TV 频道观看比赛。比赛将于下午 2:30 开始。

大约售出了 23,000 张周日晚上在穹顶举行的第四场比赛门票。马刺队表示，TNT 的 35 英里转播禁令仍然有效。

两场比赛的座位容量暂时定为略高于 26,000 人。一位马刺队官员表示，对门票的需求可能会导致容量增加。

激发士气: 夏洛特黄蜂队似乎给了马刺队很大的鼓舞，他们在周三晚上在芝加哥以 1-1 的比分将东部半决赛扳平，击败了头号种子芝加哥公牛队。

“（黄蜂队后卫）B.J.（阿姆斯特朗）发挥了自己的实力，”马刺队前锋贾伦·杰克逊说。“他打得很好，还说了一些话。这表明季后赛中任何事情都有可能发生。黄蜂队在第二场比赛中打得更好。”

黄蜂队教练戴夫·考文斯在 1996 年之前担任马刺队助理教练两个赛季。

“大戴夫很棒，”马刺队教练兼总经理格雷格·波波维奇（Gregg Popovich）说，他聘用了考文斯。“我真的很高兴大卫。我认为他们一起打球，好像他们肩负着使命。我为他感到兴奋。”

历史数据: 马刺队在所有 13 个输掉首场比赛的季后赛系列赛中都输掉了比赛。其中 6 个系列赛为七场四胜制，只有两次他们将对手拖入了第七场比赛。另外 4 个系列赛进行到第六场比赛。

电脑年度最佳球员: 犹他爵士队前锋卡尔·马龙（Karl Malone）在周四获得了 IBM 奖，该奖项由一个计算机评分系统决定，该系统衡量了球员对球队的整体贡献。

在统计分析中，马龙以 99.69 分的得分领先，仅领先于马刺队队友蒂姆·邓肯（98.70 分）和大卫·罗宾逊（96.6 分）。

无伤无痛: 马龙在下午的新闻发布会上淡化了他在周二晚上第一场比赛结束时扭伤的腕部。

“什么伤？”他笑着说。“我不知道你在说什么。多年来，我经历过比这严重得多的伤病，但我还是打完了比赛。”

点击查看原文：Notes

Notes

Ticket update: The Spurs have sold approximately 25,000 tickets for Game 3 at the Alamodome on Saturday, prompting the team to lift the NBC television blackout.

As a result, fans can see the game locally on KMOL-TV. Tipoff is at 2:30 p.m.

About 23,000 tickets have been sold for Game 4, set for 8 p.m. at the dome on Sunday. The Spurs said the 35-mile TNT blackout still applies.

Seating capacity for both games tentatively is set for a little more than 26,000. Demand for tickets could dictate an increase in capacity, a Spurs official said.

Catching a buzz: The Spurs seemed to get a lift from the Charlotte Hornets, who upset the top-seeded Chicago Bulls to even the Eastern Conference semifinals 1-1 at Chicago on Wednesday night.

“(Hornets guard) B.J. (Armstrong) did his thing,” Spurs forward Jaren Jackson said. “He was playing great and talking stuff. It shows anything can happen in the playoffs. Charlotte just came out and played better in Game 2.”

Hornets coach Dave Cowens worked as an assistant on the Spurs’ staff for two seasons through 1996.

“Big Dave was great,” said Spurs coach and general manager Gregg Popovich, who hired Cowens. “I’m really happy for David. I thought they played together, like they were on a mission. I was thrilled for him.”

Historically speaking: The Spurs have lost every playoff series - 13 in all - in which they have lost the opening game. Six of those series were best-of-seven, and only twice did they extend the opposition to seven games. The four others went six games.

Computer player of the year: Utah forward Karl Malone on Thursday was named winner of the IBM Award, determined by a computerized rating that measures a players’ overall contribution to a team.

Malone finished with 99.69 points in the statistical analysis, just ahead of Spurs teammates Tim Duncan (98.70) and David Robinson (96.6).

No pain here: During an afternoon news conference, Malone downplayed the sprained wrist that he suffered late in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

“What injury?” he asked facetiously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve had a lot of more worse injuries throughout the years that I’ve played through.” - Jerry Briggs, Glenn Rogers

By Jerry Briggs and Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Glenn Rogers

犹他队艰难取胜，但远非不可战胜

盐湖城——犹他爵士队星期四晚上险胜，但他们在面对马刺队的比赛中所向披靡的光环显然已经受损。

爵士队在整场比赛中都无法摆脱马刺队三塔组合以及艾弗里·约翰逊的游刃有余的进攻和防守。

但他们确实以 109-106 的比分逃出生天。犹他队在 90 年代的三次系列赛中，七次对阵马刺队时未输掉一场季后赛。

卡尔·马龙在加时赛还剩一分钟多时，帮助犹他队以 102-101 领先。此后，蒂姆·邓肯两次罚球失手，布莱恩·拉塞尔在还剩 31 秒时为犹他队以 104-101 领先。

在球迷们的欢呼声中，杰夫·霍纳塞克在维尼·德尔·内格罗跳投后罚中两球，爵士队守住了局面。贾伦·杰克逊投进一个三分球，让比分变为 108-106，但霍纳塞克在还剩 2.4 秒时再次罚中一球。

“我们还没有做任何事情，”犹他队主教练杰里·斯隆说。“这是一支很难对抗的球队；他们随时可以在四场比赛中连胜。现在我们必须去他们的主场。”

爵士队在第一场比赛后表示，他们躲过了一颗子弹，而且在常规赛中又躲过了几颗子弹。他们在第四节与马刺队势均力敌，进行了攻防交替。

卡尔·马龙有机会在常规赛中结束比赛，当时他在比赛剩余不到一分钟时冲到篮下。他投篮命中并被大卫·罗宾逊犯规。

这导致马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇在场边发作。波波维奇希望对马龙吹罚进攻犯规，马龙看起来用肘部袭击罗宾逊。

马龙的投篮将比分扳平为 98-98，但他未能将罚球投中。杰克逊在常规赛结束的几秒钟内试图为马刺队赢得比赛，但投篮不中。

“我们必须担心内线的这两个家伙（邓肯和罗宾逊），而且不能忘记他们的外线球员，”斯隆说。“他们有几次真的让我们手忙脚乱。

“约翰逊（21 分）的挡拆配合真的伤到了我们。我认为我们整晚都不能很好地解决这个问题。”

犹他队在第三节的前八分钟里拼尽全力。

马刺队给了他们重创。约翰逊勾手命中。罗宾逊突破防守。圣安东尼奥建立了 63-55 的领先优势。

爵士队前 14 次投篮中失手 11 次。马龙在多次上篮和补篮尝试中都未命中。沮丧的情绪蔓延。

但在该节的最后四分钟里，犹他队突然恢复了活力。

“在这种比赛中，你只需要保持专注，”斯隆说。“如果你失去专注两三分钟，你就会出局。我们失去了几次专注力，我们谈论过这个问题。”

点击查看原文：Utah pulls one out, but looks far from unbeatable

Utah pulls one out, but looks far from unbeatable

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Jazz snuck away with another squeaker Thursday night, but their aura of invincibility against the Spurs certainly was damaged.

The Jazz spent the night escaping the offense and defense of the Spurs’ Tri-Towers and the rambling ways of Avery Johnson.

But escape they did, 109-106. Utah still has not lost a playoff game to the Spurs in seven tries covering three series in the '90s.

Karl Malone gave Utah a 102-101 lead with a little more than a minute left in overtime. Tim Duncan then missed two free-throw attempts, and Bryon Russell gave Utah a 104-101 edge on a pull-up with 31 seconds to go.

The Jazz, with their fans roaring, held on when Jeff Hornacek made two free throws after a Vinny Del Negro jumper. Jaren Jackson hit a three to make it 108- 106, but Hornacek came through again with a free throw with 2.4 seconds to go.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “This is a tough team to play; they can beat you four straight at any time. Now we have to go to their place.”

The Jazz came out of Game 1 saying they had dodged a bullet, and they dodged a few more during regulation. They stayed with the Spurs through the fourth quarter, trading shots and defensive banging.

Karl Malone had his chance to end it in regulation when he bulled down the lane with less than a minute to go. He scored and was fouled by David Robinson.

This sent Spurs coach Gregg Popovich into an apoplectic fit on the sidelines. Popovich wanted an offensive foul called on Malone, who looked like he cleared Robinson out with his elbow.

Malone’s basket tied the score at 98-98, but he failed to convert the free-throw attempt. Jackson’s attempt to win it for the Spurs missed in the closing seconds of regulation.

“We have to worry about those two guys (Duncan and Robinson) inside and you can’t forget about their perimeter guys,” Sloan said. "They had us really scrambling out there a few times.

“Johnson (21 points) really hurt us with that pick and roll. I don’t think we were able to do much with it all night.”

Utah hung on by its fingertips through the first eight minutes of the third period.

The Spurs hit them hard. Johnson hooked. Robinson drove hard. San Antonio built a 63-55 lead.

The Jazz missed 11 of their first 14 shots. Malone misfired on repeated layup and putback attempts. Frustration grew.

But Utah suddenly revitalized during the last four minutes of the quarter.

“In these types of games you just have to keep your concentration,” Sloan said. “You lose it for two-and three-minute stretches, and you’re out of it. We lost our focus a couple of times and we talked about it.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-08, By Kevin O’Keeffe

奥斯特塔格从百万富翁变成“00”号

盐湖城 - 这年开始时，他赚得盆满钵满。

从那时起，他几乎一直在走下坡路。

当然，在爵士与火箭首轮系列赛的第五场比赛中，格雷格·奥斯特塔格(Greg Ostertag) 的出色表现，他封盖了对手7次，其中5次是在第四节，这帮助爵士晋级西部半决赛，这绝对算得上是高光时刻。

那场对阵马刺的半决赛第二场在周四晚上于三角洲中心举行。

但这两场好消息之间间隔太长了。

对于奥斯特塔格来说，1997-98赛季绝对是好消息与坏消息并存的典型。

而坏消息更多。

他于9月25日签下了一份为期6年，价值3900万美元的续约合同。在新闻发布会上，爵士老板拉里·米勒(Larry Miller) 表示，当卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 和约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton) 执行他们最后一次挡拆战术时，奥斯特塔格将会成为球队重建的一部分。

所有人都笑了。

对于奥斯特塔格来说，笑声很快就停止了。

马龙，这位将奥斯特塔格视为门徒并与这位来自邓肯维尔的7尺2寸中锋一起训练的人，注意到自从奥斯特塔格签下合同后，他开始缺席训练。

考虑到马龙对奥斯特塔格薪水的嫉妒，这位“邮差”对他的队友发起了猛烈的攻击。

“我受不了球队里那些胖屁股，他们认为自己可以休假整个夏天，然后带着超重的身躯来参加训练营。”马龙在10月份说道。

然后，奥斯特塔格遭受了终极侮辱：在洛杉矶的一次晨练中，被湖人队的沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal) 掌掴。

奥尼尔对奥斯特塔格在去年的季后赛中一直喋喋不休感到愤怒，当时奥斯特塔格明显表现优于他。

来自沙克的这一巴掌对奥斯特塔格的心理伤害远大于肉体伤害。他的表现很糟糕，并被从首发阵容中剔除。

在12月15日华盛顿的一场失利中被替补下场后，奥斯特塔格和教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan) 发生了争吵。奥斯特塔格踢了一把椅子，被斯隆赶下了板凳，并被禁赛了剩余的比赛。

“格雷格和我都有话要说，”斯隆说道，但拒绝透露细节。“就这样。”

但事情并没有结束。

奥斯特塔格挣扎了大约一个月，直到1月6日他创造了职业生涯单场封盖11次的最高纪录。

这让他重新回到了首发阵容……一段时间。

爵士总裁弗兰克·莱登(Frank Layden) 对奥斯特塔格的简单答案是，自他还在邓肯维尔的时候起，他的强度就一直受到质疑。

“格雷格不喜欢篮球，”莱登说道。“他喜欢篮球带给他的东西。”

在对阵马刺的第一场比赛中，奥斯特塔格似乎对比赛不太感兴趣，他只抢到一个球，并且在7分钟的出场时间内犯了4次犯规。

斯隆，这位在60年代与公牛队一起比赛时，球场上最凶猛的竞争者之一，对奥斯特塔格毫不留情。

“格雷格发现这个联盟大部分时间都不好玩，”斯隆说道。

斯隆对奥斯特塔格的失望程度达到了批评NBC的程度，NBC将00号球员评为对阵休斯敦系列赛决赛的最佳球员。

“我们中场休息时告诉格雷格，如果他能抢到一个篮板球就好了，”斯隆说道。

奥斯特塔格坚持了下来，他指出：“这个赛季太糟糕了，但这是新的赛季（季后赛）。我有一个机会重新证明自己。”

从对阵马刺的第一场比赛来看，奥斯特塔格还有很多工作要做。

点击查看原文：Ostertag goes from millions to a fat '00'

Ostertag goes from millions to a fat ‘00’

SALT LAKE CITY - The year began with him getting rich.

And it’s been almost all downhill from there.

Oh, there was one grand moment Sunday in Game 5 of the Jazz- Rockets opening-round playoff series when Greg Ostertag blocked seven shots, five in the fourth quarter. That helped the Jazz move to the Western Conference semifinals.

Game 2 of that duel with the Spurs was Thursday night in the Delta Center.

But that’s a long time between tidbits of good news.

For Ostertag, the 1997-98 campaign has been the ultimate good news/bad news story.

With mostly bad news.

There was the six-year, $39 million contract extension he signed Sept. 25. At the news conference, Jazz owner Larry Miller said Ostertag would be part of the rebuilding of the franchise when Karl Malone and John Stockton execute their last pick- and-roll.

Everyone laughed.

For Ostertag, the laughing stopped soon thereafter.

Malone, who took Ostertag under his wing and was working out with the 7-foot-2 center from Duncanville, noticed that once the ink was dry on the contract Ostertag began missing workouts.

Factor in Malone’s jealousy regarding Ostertag’s salary and the Mailman delivered scathing attacks on his teammate.

“I’m tired of the fat asses on this team who think they can take the summer off and show up for camp overweight,” Malone said in October.

Then came the ultimate insult to Ostertag: A slap in the face by the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal during a morning shootaround in L.A.

O’Neal was angered at Ostertag’s talking during the playoffs last year when he clearly outplayed O’Neal.

The smack from Shaq proved to be far more damaging psychologically than physically to Ostertag. He played horribly and was bounced from the starting lineup.

After getting benched during a Dec. 15 loss in Washington, Ostertag and Coach Jerry Sloan had a shouting match. Ostertag kicked a chair and was thrown off the bench for the remainder of the game by Sloan.

“Greg and I both said some things,” Sloan said, offering no details. “And that was that.”

But not really.

Ostertag struggled for about another month before setting a career-high mark Jan. 6 when he blocked 11 shots.

That got him back in the starting lineup … for a time.

Jazz president Frank Layden has a simple answer for Ostertag, whose intensity has been questioned since his days in Duncanville.

“Greg doesn’t like basketball,” Layden said. “He likes what basketball brings him.”

Ostertag didn’t seem too interested in Game 1 against the Spurs when he had only one steal and four fouls in seven minutes.

Sloan, one of the game’s fiercest competitors when he played with the Bulls in the '60s, cuts Ostertag no slack.

“Greg’s finding out this league isn’t fun most of the time,” Sloan said.

So down on Ostertag is Sloan that he criticized NBC for making No. 00 their star of the game in the series finale with Houston.

“We told Greg at halftime it would be nice if he got a rebound,” Sloan said.

Ostertag has hung in there, noting, “It’s been a cruddy season, but this is the new season (the playoffs). I have a chance to re- establish myself.”

Judging by Game 1 against the Spurs, Ostertag still has much work to do.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By Kevin O’Keeffe

Season-long problems hurt Spurs vs. Jazz

If we heard it once, we heard it a thousand times from the mouth of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: The '97-98 Spurs were a work in progress.

Never mind that, in Tim Duncan, the Spurs added the biggest impact rookie since Shaquille O’Neal.

Or that they welcomed back one of the best players in the game today, David Robinson, after his dismal '96-97 season where back and foot problems kept him on the shelf for all but six games.

Popovich never wavered from his party line.

He never indicated alarm about the plethora of turnovers or the poor free-throw shooting, even though the Spurs ranked last or next-to-last from line just about all season.

This was a team, Popovich reminded constantly, that was learning a new defense and a new offense.

This was a team, he noted quite often, that wouldn’t jell until February or March.

Well … it’s May. And guess what? The turnovers and the poor free-throw shooting continue.

Now, barring a quick fix of those maladies, the Spurs may not be able to have the season continue beyond this weekend in the Alamodome.

Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Utah Jazz is this afternoon. Game 4 is tomorrow night in a cruel twist of fate for S.A., thanks to the TV moguls.

Back-to-back games partially negate the home-court advantage. That’s especially true for the Spurs, considering the fragile health of several of them.

As Spurs fans are painfully aware, their team trails the best- of-seven series 2-0 after two heartbreakers - 83-82 and 109-106 in overtime - in Salt Lake City.

Understand, the Spurs could be leading this series 2-0 heading into this afternoon’s fray. S.A. had the last shot in both games. Both shots went awry.

Ah … but that’s where their season-long foibles - turnovers and poor free-throw shooting - come in.

Had the Spurs not committed 33 turnovers which the Jazz turned into 37 points in Games 1 and 2, it wouldn’t have come down to needing to make a last-second shot.

Had the Spurs not missed eight free-throw tries in each of the first two games, the issue likely would have been resolved before Duncan in Game 1 and Jaren Jackson in Game 2 missed at the buzzer.

Certainly, the Spurs have not enjoyed the benefit of the doubt from the arbiters.

Hey, when Mr. Nice Guy, Avery Johnson, utters a word that would make his pastor blush, as he did Thursday night to get a technical foul in the fourth quarter from official Billy Oakes, you know the calls are bad.

Thus, Spurs fans may choose to live in a state of denial, blaming the refs for their team’s plight.

But, as I mentioned during the opening-round series with Phoenix when the Spurs were getting the preponderance of the calls, it always evens out.

And it has … kind of.

While there have been a few blatant errant whistles against the Spurs, would you believe Utah’s Karl Malone has taken only 11 free- throw attempts in two games?

Lest we forget, this is a man who normally is at the free-throw line enough in a game to take root.

To me, the inexcusable stat is the Spurs’ free-throw shooting.

And even more inexcusable was Popovich’s comment after Game 2, when he said, “We shot poorly from the line tonight. That’s us.”

Why is it “us?”

Popovich added: “It’s not like we don’t practice free throws.”

Obviously they don’t practice them enough.

Besides, are the Spurs really poor free-throw shooters?

Let’s go back to the '94-95 team that went to the Western Conference finals. Of the four players on that team who are active on this year’s team - Robinson, AJ, Vinny Del Negro and Chuck Person - only Robinson’s free-throw shooting is worse now than in '94-95.

AJ has gone from shooting 68.5 percent at the stripe to 72.6. Del Negro, who always has been great at the line, moved from 79.0 to 79.6. Person improved from 64.4 to 75.7.

Robinson has dropped to 73.5 from 77.4. Might he not be practicing free throws enough?

But turnovers and free-throw shooting shouldn’t be a concern in mid-May.

Yet because they are, the Spurs are in big trouble.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By Johnny Ludden

带着伤痛奏响爵士乐曲：邓肯的脚踝和马刺的双重打击

别再管那个手肘了。如果西部半决赛要沦为一场夸大其词的解剖学讲座，那么就为右髋、双膝、背部、右小腿，以及最重要的，左脚踝上的严重扭伤，留着那些祈祷、诅咒、巫术和龙舌兰酒。

卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)自一个月前在三角洲中心肘击大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)后，首次出现在阿拉莫穹顶，这可能对当地T恤和海报经济有利，但对于马刺来说，今天下午意义不大。（真实故事：来自盐湖城的报道称，预计马龙会像过去十年那样，带着弯腰鞠躬和伸直的双腿出现。）

对于圣安东尼奥来说，更令人担忧的是，在连续两场让人胃酸的失利后，他们在七场四胜制系列赛中落后于对手2-0。新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在周四晚上109-106的加时赛中，在落地时踩到了杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek)的脚上，扭伤了左脚踝。

伤势被诊断为一级扭伤，但邓肯周五的肿胀程度比平时更严重。为了在家冰敷脚踝，他缺席了周五下午的球队录像观摩和投篮训练。

由于马刺现在面临一场必胜的比赛，邓肯很可能告诉主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)，他身体状况良好，可以出战。然而，波波维奇和球队的训练人员将在比赛开始的几分钟内密切观察他的恢复情况，以确保他能够有效地帮助球队。

没有这位新秀赛季的最佳球员，他在季后赛中场均贡献全队最高的23.3分，是马刺不愿意考虑的选择。

“蒂姆会出战，”前锋查克·珀森(Chuck Person)说。“如果他不打，我也会选择不打。”

除了邓肯之外，珀森（背部）、罗宾逊（膝盖）、控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)（髋部）和后卫贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)（小腿）也在周五缺席了训练。杰克逊表示，他的小腿自常规赛结束以来一直让他感到不舒服，但在周四晚上感觉好了一些。

然而，珀森、罗宾逊和约翰逊的伤势已经困扰了他们整个赛季。随着系列赛今天和周日晚上移师阿拉莫穹顶进行背靠背的比赛，这些伤病对这支球队来说，是一个集体性的困扰。

约翰逊说，他的髋部“要到赛季结束后才能完全恢复”。“最重要的是继续接受治疗。现在还不是休息的时候。

“每个人都有不同的磕磕碰碰、瘀伤、拉伤和扭伤，你必须去面对。对我们来说，最重要的是专注于眼前的任务，而不是我们个人的伤病。”

作为马刺队中唯一一个首发全勤的球员，邓肯相对健康地度过了他的第一个赛季。不幸的是，约翰逊说，邓肯选择了错误的时间去测试自己的疼痛阈值。

“今年他还没有真正带着‘伤病’打过比赛，”约翰逊说。“现在它在季后赛中出现了——这是他的第（88）场比赛。他的身体比今年全年都要糟糕。

“但我认为他做好了应对挑战的准备。”

马龙对他在周四晚上的表现做出了回应。在周三对他的右腕疼痛进行了X光检查后，马龙在第二场比赛中只命中了26投10中，但在常规赛中打进了爵士队最后的四分，并在加时赛中完成了一个底线灌篮，在比赛结束前大约一分钟时，让爵士队取得了领先。

马龙在胜利后说：“我没事。我准备好了出战。当我穿上球衣的时候，就没有借口。”

尽管在三角洲中心的前两场比赛中，马刺队都差点偷走胜利，但他们也没有给出任何借口。除了在罚球线上的几次失误和防守轮转中偶尔的失败之外，圣安东尼奥队对阵联盟中公认纪律性最强的球队，打得非常出色。只是不够出色到能赢得比赛。

“在两场比赛中，我们绝对有自己的机会，”波波维奇说。“这非常令人失望，但现在已经无关紧要了。我们所能做的就是为（今天）做好准备。”

珀森说：“我们输了。这就是底线。”

尽管如此，马刺队已经对今天的比赛采取了一种基本的方法。面对马龙和他松散的四肢，也许没有邓肯，而且肯定有三位老将需要休息，圣安东尼奥队将在主场开球，只有一个明确的选择。

“我们必须赢下比赛——无论需要付出什么代价，”罗宾逊说。“我一直专注于防守和抢篮板。但如果我必须这样做，同时还要拿到30分，那么这就是我需要做的事情。”

马刺对爵士

西部半决赛

（爵士队在七场四胜制系列赛中以2-0领先）

今天：第三场 - 爵士队@马刺队，下午2:30，阿拉莫穹顶

电视：NBC

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语，KCOR-AM 1350

周日：第四场，晚上8:00，阿拉莫穹顶

系列赛剩余比赛（如有必要）：第五场 - 待定，周二@爵士队；

第六场 - 待定，周四@阿拉莫穹顶；

第七场 - 待定，5月16日@爵士队

在线

www.expressnews.com/spurs

第二轮

周五比赛

东部：芝加哥103，@夏洛特89（公牛队以2-1领先）

公牛队卷土重来：迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)，罕见地被吹罚技术犯规，得到27分，丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)得到10分和17个篮板，芝加哥在东部半决赛中战胜夏洛特，重新夺回主场优势。见1C版

西部：@洛杉矶湖人队119，西雅图103（湖人队以2-1领先）

这是奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)的表演：湖人中锋沙奎尔·奥尼尔得到30分，抢下10个篮板，并封盖了3次。湖人队以57%的命中率超过了西雅图队。见7C版

今天比赛

东部：印第安纳@纽约，中午（电视：NBC）（步行者队以2-0领先）

伤痕累累的尼克斯队：帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)已经经历了考验。现在是时候让他真正成为英雄了，如果纽约想要有任何机会延续他们不可思议的赛季的话。见7C版

点击查看原文：Limping to a Jazzy tune Duncan's ankle, 2-0 deficit a Spurs double-whammy

Limping to a Jazzy tune Duncan’s ankle, 2-0 deficit a Spurs double-whammy

Forget about the elbow. If the Western Conference semifinals are going to be reduced to nothing more than an overhyped anatomy lecture, then save the prayers, curses, witchcraft and tequila shots for the right hip, both knees, back, right calf and most importantly, a very tender left ankle.

Utah forward Karl Malone’s first Alamodome appearance since clocking David Robinson a month ago at the Delta Center may be good for the local T-shirt and poster economy but holds little relevance for the Spurs this afternoon. (True story: Reports out of Salt Lake City say to expect Malone to arrive - like he has for the past decade or so - 'bows bared and legs extended.)

Of more concern for San Antonio - now down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after a pair of made-for- Mylanta losses - is the health of rookie forward Tim Duncan, who sprained his left ankle when he landed on Jeff Hornacek’s foot early in overtime of Thursday night’s 109-106 defeat.

The injury has been diagnosed as a grade-one sprain, but Duncan experienced more swelling than normally expected Friday. He skipped the team’s film session and shootaround Friday afternoon to stay at home and ice the ankle.

With the Spurs now facing a must win, Duncan most likely will tell Coach Gregg Popovich he is healthy enough to play today and suit up. Popovich and the team’s training staff, however, will monitor his progress in the game’s opening minutes to make sure he is effective enough to help the team.

Life without the Rookie of the Year, who is averaging a team- high 23.3 points in the playoffs, is an option the Spurs rather would not consider.

“Tim’s going to play,” forward Chuck Person said. “If he’s not, then I’m not going out there, either.”

Person (back), Robinson (knees), point guard Avery Johnson (hip) and guard Jaren Jackson (calf) joined Duncan on the sidelines Friday. Jackson said his calf, which has bothered him since the end of the regular season, felt better Thursday night.

Person’s, Robinson’s and Johnson’s injuries, however, have been season-long problems. They now loom as one collective pain in the rear for the franchise with the series shifting to the Alamodome for back-to-back games today and Sunday night.

The hip “won’t fully heal until after the season is over,” Johnson said. "The main thing is to continue to get treatment. It’s not time to rest right now.

“Everybody has different bumps and bruises and strains and sprains that you have to deal with. The main thing for us is to concentrate on the task at hand and not our own personal injuries.”

As the only Spur to start every game, Duncan escaped his inaugural season relatively healthy. Unfortunately for San Antonio, Johnson said, Duncan picked an ill-advised time to test his threshold of pain.

“He hasn’t really had to play with a ‘injury’ this year,” Johnson said. "And now it’s happen in the playoffs - in … his (88th) game now. His body is more broken than it’s been all year.

“But I think he’s up for the challenge.”

Malone responded to his Thursday night. After having his sore right wrist X-rayed Wednesday, Malone hit only 10 of 26 shots in Game 2, but scored Utah’s final four points in regulation and added a baseline dunk in overtime that gave the Jazz the lead for good with about a minute left.

“I’m fine,” Malone said after the victory. “I’m ready to play. When I suit up, there are no excuses.”

The Spurs also didn’t offer any, despite coming within a shot of stealing each of the first two games at the Delta Center. With the exception of some lapses at the free-throw line and the occasional failed rotation on defense, San Antonio has executed well against arguably the NBA’s most disciplined team. Just not well enough to win.

“In both games we definitely had our chances,” Popovich said. “It’s very disappointing, but it’s also irrelevant now. All we can do is get ready for (today.)”

Said Person: “We lost. That’s the bottom line.”

That said, the Spurs have taken a fundamental approach to today’s game. Against Malone and his loose limbs, possibly without Duncan and definitely with three veterans needing rest, San Antonio will tip off at home with one clear- cut option.

“We’ve got to get a win - whatever it takes,” Robinson said. “I’ve been concentrating on defense and getting the rebounds. But if I’ve got to do that and get 30 points then that’s what I’m going to need to do.”

Spurs vs. Jazz

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(Jazz lead best-of-seven series 2-0)

Today: Game 3 - Utah @Spurs, 2:30 p.m., Alamodome

TV: NBC

Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; in Spanish, KCOR-AM 1350

Sunday: Game 4, 8 p.m., Alamodome

Remainder of series (if necessary): Game 5 - TBA, Tuesday @Utah;

Game 6 - TBA, Thursday @Alamodome;

Game 7 - TBA, May 16 @Utah

ONLINE

www.expressnews.com/spurs

Second round

FRIDAY’S GAMES

East: Chicago 103, @Charlotte 89 (Bulls lead 2-1)

The Bulls are back: Michael Jordan, whistled for a rare technical foul, scored 27 points and Dennis Rodman added 10 points plus 17 rebounds as Chicago regained home-court advantage in its Eastern Conference semifinal series by cruising past Charlotte. See Page 1C

West: @L.A. Lakers 119, Seattle 103 (Lakers lead 2-1)

It’s the Shaq show: Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. The Lakers outshot Seattle 57 to 46 percent from the field. See Page 7C

TODAY’S GAME

East: Indiana @New York, noon (TV: NBC) (Pacers lead 2-0)

Nicked-up Knicks: Patrick Ewing has experienced his trial run. Now it’s time for him to truly play the hero if New York wants to have any chance of extending its improbable season. See Page 7C

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By Jerry Briggs

马龙的肘击不该损害球迷的常识

马刺球迷应该停下来问问自己几个关于犹他爵士前锋卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)的问题。

他们应该在早餐时想想他，然后在他们通过阿拉莫穹顶的检票口进入西部半决赛第三场比赛之前再次想想他。

马龙在4月8日盐湖城的一场比赛中，挥肘击中马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)时，难道只是鲁莽地具有攻击性吗？

马龙在当晚晚些时候前往盐湖城的摩门教医院，亲自向因脑震荡而受伤的罗宾逊道歉，难道这毫无意义吗？

如果你思考了这些问题，你仍然对邮差感到愤怒，那么再考虑一些其他事情。

如果你带着不友好的心情去看季后赛，你能玩得开心吗？如果你主要的关注点是向对方球员说多少垃圾话，那有什么意义呢？

我的朋友们，现在是时候让每个人都摆脱这一切了。

NBA联盟办公室调查了此事，并发现马龙无意伤害罗宾逊。

联盟篮球运营副总裁罗德·索恩(Rod Thorn)对马龙处以了5000美元的罚款，并将其禁赛一场。

索恩说，他对马龙实施了处罚，因为他挥肘过高时鲁莽行事。

只有最愤世嫉俗的马刺球迷才会认为马龙有意让罗宾逊退出比赛。

“我最大的愿望是打篮球，”马龙最近说，“我不那样打球（有意伤害对手）。我打球很强硬。我不会出去试图伤害任何人。我非常尊重大卫。”

马刺球迷还应该考虑到，马龙在1985年差点成为他们中的一员。

马刺队和爵士队在1984-85赛季都以41胜41负的战绩结束赛季。一个硬币决定了他们在当年夏天选秀的顺序。

爵士队赢得了抛硬币，获得了第13顺位。马刺队最终获得了第14顺位。结果，爵士队从路易斯安那理工大学选中了马龙，马刺队则从伊利诺伊州洛约拉大学选中了阿尔弗里德·休斯(Alfredrick Hughes)。

如果你诚实，你会承认，如果马刺队赢得了那次抛硬币，如果马龙成为你的主队的一员，他不会成为自乔治·格文(George Gervin)之后阿拉莫城最伟大的篮球巨星吗？

回顾过去，这可能改变了球队的历史。有了马龙，马刺队不可能取得糟糕的战绩，从而获得1987年的选秀状元签，最终选出了罗宾逊。

马龙会成为圣安东尼奥的邮差。他会成为阿拉莫城的卡车司机偶像。马刺球迷会对他每一次背身单打动作顶礼膜拜。

“我只会出去打我的比赛，”马龙在本周早些时候对阵马刺队之前说，“这是最重要的。卡尔·马龙会努力拼搏。我会付出，我也会索取。我不会出去对任何人做任何恶意的事情。”

马龙是NBA最顶尖的球员之一，他今天不会成为圣安东尼奥的英雄。在介绍时，他可能会遭到无情的嘘声。

但如果你热爱篮球运动，不要对邮差说出任何恶毒的话。不要诅咒。不要破坏那些前来为马刺队加油的球迷，尤其是年轻球迷的氛围。记住，如果命运在13年前没有干预，卡尔·马龙今天可能会为马刺队效力。

点击查看原文：Elbow shouldn't damage fans' common sense

Elbow shouldn’t damage fans’ common sense

Spurs fans should stop and ask themselves a few questions about Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone.

They should think about him this morning over breakfast and then again immediately before they pass through the turnstiles at the Alamodome for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Wasn’t Malone merely guilty of being recklessly aggressive when he swung around and hit Spurs center David Robinson with an elbow during an April 8 game in Salt Lake City?

Didn’t it mean anything that Malone went to Salt Lake City’s LDS Hospital later in the evening and apologized in person to Robinson, who was suffering from a concussion?

If you deal with those questions and you’re still mad at the Mailman, then consider a few other things.

How much fun can you have at a playoff game if you show up in a surly mood? What’s the point if your major focus centers around how much trash you can talk to an opposing player?

It is time, my friends, for everyone to get over this.

The NBA league office investigated the incident, and found that Malone did not intend to injure Robinson.

Rod Thorn, the league’s vice president for basketball operations, fined Malone $5,000 and suspended him for one game.

Thorn said he leveled the punishment because Malone was reckless when he swung his elbow high.

Only the most cynical Spurs fan would suggest that Malone intended to take Robinson out of the game.

“My main concern is to play basketball,” Malone said recently. “I don’t play like that (with intent to injure an opponent). I play physical. I don’t go out and try to hurt anybody. And I have a lot of respect for David.”

Spurs fans should also consider that Malone very nearly became one of their own in 1985.

The Spurs and the Jazz each finished the 1984-85 season with a 41-41 record. A coin flip decided the order of their selections in the draft later that summer.

The Jazz won the flip and earned the 13th pick. The Spurs wound up with the 14th pick. As it turned out, the Jazz drafted Malone out of Louisiana Tech and the Spurs picked Alfredrick Hughes out of Loyola, Ill.

If you are honest, you will admit that if the Spurs had won that coin flip, and if Malone had become a member of your home team, wouldn’t he have turned into the biggest basketball star in the Alamo City since George Gervin?

Looking back, it probably would have altered franchise history. With Malone, there probably would be no way that the Spurs would have finished with a poor enough record to qualify for the 1987 lottery, which ultimately yielded Robinson.

Malone would have become San Antonio’s Mailman. He would have been the Alamo City’s truck-drivin’ icon. Spurs fans would have bowed down at his every post- up move.

“I’m just going to go out and play my game,” Malone said before he faced off with the Spurs earlier this week. “And that’s the most important thing. Karl Malone will play hard. I give and I take. I don’t go out and try to do anything malicious to anybody.'”

Malone, one of the premier players in the NBA, won’t be San Antonio’s hero today. He will likely be booed unmercifully during introductions.

But if you love the game of basketball, don’t yell out anything malicious at the Mailman. Don’t curse. Don’t spoil the atmosphere for fans - particularly young fans - who have showed up to cheer for the Spurs. Remember, if fate hadn’t intervened 13 years ago, Karl Malone could have been playing for the Spurs today.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By Johnny Ludden

在家看还是去球馆，第四场比赛付费观看

马刺队的管理层不会否认，他们在季后赛付费观看比赛背后有一个险恶的动机。

他们实际上希望你亲自到现场观看比赛。

“我们在三月份做出了一个有意识的决定，我们的首要目标是让球迷进入球馆，”马刺队广播副总裁劳伦斯·佩恩(Lawrence Payne)说。“底线是，我们希望人们在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆欢呼，我们希望每个座位上都有一个人的肺和一张嘴。”

佩恩声称，考虑到阿拉莫圆顶体育馆巨大的座位容量以及与菲斯塔节的竞争，这说起来容易做起来难。马刺队在1996年上一次季后赛之旅中就经历了糟糕的本土观众出席率，而今年常规赛结束时，他们只卖出了7000张季后赛门票。24.95美元的付费观看广播价格旨在激励球迷购买门票，而不是呆在家里。

周日的比赛将是马刺队本赛季季后赛的第三场付费观看广播。NBC没有选择在他们的三场连播中播放马刺队对阵爵士队的第四场比赛，可能是因为犹他州和圣安东尼奥是联盟中最小的电视市场。

这使得TNT转播了马刺队的比赛。根据NBA的规定，所有季后赛比赛都必须在TNT或TBS上被屏蔽，屏蔽区域包括以主队球馆为中心，半径35英里内的所有邮政编码。

马刺队本可以将比赛转交给KSAT，佩恩说，这样做会让球队获得比与Paragon有线电视公司分享的付费观看收入更多的收益。

Paragon发言人T.J.康诺利(T.J. Connolly)表示，大约5000名用户购买了马刺队第一轮对阵菲尼克斯太阳队的第三场比赛，而第四场比赛的观看人数超过了6000人。康诺利表示，如果今天能取得胜利，周日的付费观看销量可能会达到9000人左右。（常规赛马刺队的付费观看比赛平均约为1000人）。

一场9000名观众的比赛将为马刺队和Paragon带来大约225,000美元的收入，远远低于休斯顿火箭队上赛季四场付费观看比赛的预计100万美元以上。

马刺队、火箭队和波特兰开拓者队是唯一提供付费观看比赛的NBA季后赛球队。然而，休斯顿和波特兰并不难将他们较小的球馆售罄。

西雅图队本赛季取消了付费观看广播，因为他们与福克斯体育西北公司签署了一份利润丰厚的广播合同。

点击查看原文：At home or in the dome, Game 4 is pay-per-view

At home or in the dome, Game 4 is pay-per-view

The Spurs’ front office won’t deny it. There is a sinister motive behind playoff pay-per-view.

They actually want you to see the game in person.

“We made a conscious decision in March our primary goal was to get fans in the building,” said Spurs vice president of broadcasting Lawrence Payne. “The bottom line is we want people in the Alamodome cheering. We want a set of lungs and a mouth in every seat.”

With the Alamodome’s cavernous seating and competition from Fiesta, Payne claims that’s easier said than done. The Spurs endured lackluster home attendance during their last playoff trip in 1996 and had sold only 7,000 tickets for the playoffs this year when the regular season ended. The $24.95 price tag for the pay-per-view broadcasts is designed to motivate fans to buy a ticket instead of staying at home.

Sunday’s game will be the Spurs’ third PPV broadcast of the postseason. NBC neglected to pick up Game 4 of the Spurs-Jazz series for its tripleheader presumably because Utah and San Antonio are among the smallest television markets in the league.

That left TNT broadcasting the Spurs. Under NBA guidelines, all playoff games must be blacked out on TNT or TBS in ZIP codes whose center is within 35 miles of the home team’s arena.

The Spurs could have turned the game over to KSAT, a move - according to Payne - that would have netted the franchise more money than the PPV revenue it shares with Paragon Cable.

Paragon spokesman T.J. Connolly said about 5,000 subscribers purchased Game 3 of the Spurs’ first- round series against Phoenix, with that figure jumping to more than 6,000 for Game 4. Connolly said a win today could propel Sunday’s PPV sales to closer to 9,000. (A regular-season Spurs’ PPV game generally averages about 1,000).

A 9,000-subscriber game would gross the Spurs and Paragon about $225,000, well below the estimated $1 million-plus the Houston Rockets totaled for each of their four PPV broadcasts last season.

The Spurs, Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers are the only NBA playoff teams to offer PPV. Houston and Portland, however, do not struggle to sell out their smaller arenas.

Seattle dropped its PPV broadcasts this season because of a lucrative broadcasting contract it signed with Fox Sports Northwest.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By From Staff Reports

笔记

停车公告：圣安东尼奥市宣布，百威街的 HemisFair 停车场入口将于今天上午 10 点向参加马刺队与爵士队篮球比赛的球迷开放。该入口已于周一向公众关闭，以便进行施工。

谁需要休息？犹他教练杰里·斯隆 (Jerry Sloan) 在其球队以 2-0 领先马刺队进入七场四胜制的西部半决赛时表示，NBA 季后赛提供了人们工作的有趣视角。

斯隆在阿拉莫穹顶举行的第三场比赛前夕的周五说：“连续赢得三场胜利非常困难，尤其是在你进入季后赛，球员们都非常坚决的时候。”“这就是你尊重进入季后赛的球员的原因——他们不想回家。这是一个奇怪的情况——球员们玩命地打球是为远离开假期。”

犹他在盐湖城的两场主场比赛中合计赢了四分。斯隆承认，爵士队在完成保护主场的任务时表现得并不总是好看。

“你知道，我们对抗这支球队时得分并不容易，因为正如我们所说，他们很难在内线得分——天哪——一切都必须完美才能在内线得分。

“所以你的球队看起来并没有那么好……我们仍然能在场外投出还不错的球，而这就是你为了有机会击败他们而必须做的事情。”

不够接近：后卫贾伦·杰克逊 (Jaren Jackson) 认为，马刺队在第四节结束时投出三分球的那一刻起，就稳操胜券了。

在犹他后卫杰夫·霍纳塞克 (Jeff Hornacek) 离开他来帮助包夹前锋蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 之后，杰克逊获得了投篮的空当。

杰克逊说：“这很夸张。”“我以为球会进。我在正确的节奏中。”

不幸的是，对于马刺队来说，杰克逊的投篮没有做好跳动准备，从篮筐前沿滑落，迫使比赛进入加时赛。

缺失的因素：马刺队很高兴球迷们在周五阿拉莫大厦前参加了由 Express- News 赞助的加油集会。即使球员们在下午结束训练后才从记者那里得知这次活动。

查克·佩尔森说：“我不知道这件事。”

大卫·罗宾逊说：“真的吗？太好了。我对此一无所知。”

文尼·德尔·内格罗说：“我没想到。（但我认为）每次小集会、每次加油、每件小事都有帮助。不管需要什么，我都乐意参加。”

艾弗里·约翰逊是唯一知道这次集会的人。“我妻子告诉我，”约翰逊说。

主场优势：马刺队希望今天阿拉莫穹顶的观众能够与 Delta Center 那些打破分贝的人相匹配，但大卫·罗宾逊并不指望当地民众能够对比赛裁判产生多大的影响。

罗宾逊在上周二第一场比赛的最后阶段因被判违例掩护而导致艾弗里·约翰逊的上篮无效后，对裁判的执法进行了抱怨。

罗宾逊说：“我不会赌任何拉斯维加斯赔率。”“我不认为事情一定会好转。

“在主场比赛中应该会有一些有利的判罚。我认为上场比赛的大部分裁判都很棒。也许有一些判罚我不同意，但如果我们能在这里得到那种（裁判）执法，那么我们就处在有利位置。”- 来自工作人员报告

点击查看原文：Notes

Notes

Parking notice: The City of San Antonio announced that the entrance to the HemisFair parking garage on Bowie Street will be opened at 10 a.m. today for fans attending the Spurs-Jazz basketball game. This entrance was closed Monday for construction work.

Who needs a break? Utah coach Jerry Sloan, with his team leading the Spurs 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals, said the NBA playoffs offer an interesting view of men at work.

“It’s very difficult to win three in a row, especially at this level when you get in the playoffs and guys are determined,” Sloan said Friday, on the eve of Game 3 at the Alamodome. “That’s what you respect about the players that get to the playoffs - they don’t want to go home. It’s kind of a strange situation - guys playing so hard to stay out of vacation.”

Utah won a pair of games at home in Salt Lake City by a combined total of four points. Sloan admitted that the Jazz didn’t always look pretty as they completed their task of protecting home-court.

"You know we don’t get easy baskets against this team because as we said, they are very difficult to score against inside and - boy - everything has to work perfectly for you to get inside shots.

“So your team doesn’t look quite as good … We’ve still been able to shoot the ball fairly decent out on floor, and that’s what you have to do in order to have a chance to beat them.”

Not close enough: Guard Jaren Jackson thought the Spurs had Game 2 in the bag the moment he released his three-pointer at the end of regulation.

Jackson had a wide-open look at the basket after Utah guard Jeff Hornacek left him to help double- team forward Tim Duncan.

“It was hype,” Jackson said. “I thought it was going to drop. I was in rhythm.”

Unfortunately for the Spurs, Jackson’s shot skipped a beat, skidding off the front of the rim to force overtime.

Missing ingredient: The Spurs were glad fans turned out for the Express- News sponsored pep rally in front of the Alamo on Friday. Even if the players didn’t learn of the event until reporters told them after their late- afternoon workout.

Said Chuck Person: “I didn’t know about it.”

Said David Robinson: “Really? That’s great. I didn’t know about it.”

Said Vinny Del Negro: “I didn’t know that. But every little rally, every little pep, every little thing helps. Whatever it takes, I’m all for it.”

Avery Johnson was the lone player who knew about the rally. “My wife told me,” Johnson said.

Home cooking: The Spurs hope today’s Alamodome crowd can match the decibel-breaking ones at the Delta Center, but David Robinson doesn’t expect the local folks to sway the officiating much.

Robinson complained about the officiating after getting called for an illegal screen that negated Avery Johnson’s layup late in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss.

“I don’t play any Las Vegas odds,” Robinson said. "I don’t think things are going to even out necessarily.

“It should be a little more friendly at home. I think the refs in the last game were pretty good for the most part. There were maybe a couple of calls I didn’t agree with, but if we get that kind of (officiating) in here then we’ll be in good shape.” - From Staff Reports

By From Staff Reports, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-05-09, By Buck Harvey

从坏到好？奥斯特塔格和正义

你已经知道那些坏事。蒂姆·邓肯的脚踝受伤。0-2的记录。将艾弗里·约翰逊逼到脱口而出粗话的裁判。

所以，我在这里告诉你那些好事，一如既往。我在这里告诉你关于希望、勇气和电视需要推出长篇系列来补充他的节目播放时间。我在这里告诉你关于圣安东尼奥的一个周末，这将改变马刺队，原因是：

格雷格·奥斯特塔格依然健康。在比赛之后，当他戴着一顶红色的游骑兵棒球帽提醒全世界他根在哪里的时候，德克萨斯人会感到畏缩。但话又说回来，看到一个孤星硬汉给犹他人一个教训也是好的。爵士队和他签下了3900万美元的合同？查尔斯·史密斯看起来从未如此实惠。

迈克尔·乔丹可以输掉一场季后赛。格雷格·福斯特也可以。

大卫·罗宾逊最近被《Flex》杂志评为拥有NBA最好身材，而查克·帕森被《肉汁画报》评为最好的身材。帕森今天在阿拉莫圆顶中表现出色，既浑厚又流畅。

1990年，马刺队在下两个回合比赛中反弹回击波特兰，在先输掉前两回合比赛之后扳平了比赛。他们仅在罗德·斯特里克兰认为将球绕过头顶传出一个不看球的传球是个聪明的主意时输掉了比赛，而斯特里克兰不再住在这里了。

里克·马杰鲁斯的犹他队今年在阿拉莫圆顶输了。杰里·斯隆的犹他也可以输。

奥斯特塔格仍然可以上场。他在季后赛的第一回合因最佳个人回击而受到罗盖因公司优秀员工的表彰。这足以让卡尔·马龙的新头发掉下来，因为马龙不仅是奥斯特塔格最大的批评者，而且还是罗盖因公司的成员。残酷的现实是：自奥斯特塔格在对阵火箭队的比赛中获奖表现之后，这位护发英雄在这一系列比赛中的场均得分只有2分，篮板1个。

梨状肌综合征本周末休息，因为——这是一些复杂的医学知识——AJ的臀部和他的其他部位一样重要。

香顿·安德森来到他兄弟曾经效力过的城镇，感觉有必要像威利一样表演。

如果帕特里克·尤因可以回来，那么安东尼·卡尔也可以回来。回到地球。

彼得·霍尔特拥有两家卡特彼勒经销店。马龙代言卡特彼勒产品。他们做成了一笔交易。

斯隆永远不会快乐。他经常戴着“求我戴帽”的帽子。他使用了太多农场类比。爵士队今天早上醒来，想知道他们为什么要听这个男人的话。

问题：如果威尔·普度继续防守马龙，如果马龙继续追逐罗宾逊和邓肯，而且如果马龙有一点点人性，难道马龙最终不会精疲力尽吗？

轮到文尼·德尔·内格罗成为杰夫·霍纳塞克了。

科比·布莱恩特在全明星赛上告诉马龙让路，这样他才能运球突破。克里斯·莫里斯今天会试一试。

马刺队在1995年主场输掉前两场比赛后以反弹的方式扳平了对阵休斯顿的系列赛——。他们仅在丹尼斯·罗德曼迟到参加第五场比赛训练时输掉了比赛，而罗德曼不再住在这里。

奥斯特塔格仍然是他自己。他来自德克萨斯州的邓肯维尔。现在他在德克萨斯州的邓肯维尔打球。

约翰·斯托克顿的背部最终会僵硬。查尔斯·巴克利答应了。

圣安东尼奥的乡村迷影迷演员汤米·李·琼斯会痛击犹他州的乡村迷影迷演员威尔福德·布里姆利。

亚当·基夫。据几个消息来源说，他已经开始了前两场比赛。

最后，在过去一周里，马刺队在犹他表现出的镇定和决心与过去十年中的任何时候一样——马刺队今年的三场季后赛失利都是最后一秒跳投命中后篮的结果——他们难道不值得得到什么吗？

点击查看原文：Bad to good? Of Ostertag and justice

Bad to good? Of Ostertag and justice

You know the bad things. Tim Duncan’s ankle. The 0-2 record. Refs who drive Avery Johnson to naughty words.

So I’m here to tell you the good things, as always. I’m here to tell you about hope and courage and TV’s need to program a long series to supplement His On-Airness. I’m here to tell you about a weekend in San Antonio that will turn around the Spurs, all because:

Greg Ostertag remains healthy. Texans cringe when he pulls on a red Rangers cap after games and reminds the world of his roots. Then again, it’s good to see a Lone Star stiff stick it to Utah. The Jazz signed him to a $39 million deal? Charles Smith never looked like such a bargain.

Michael Jordan can lose a playoff game. Greg Foster can, too.

David Robinson was recently recognized by Flex Magazine for having the NBA’s best body, Chuck Person by Gravy Illustrated. Person flows today, thick yet smooth, in the Alamodome.

The Spurs rebounded against Portland in 1990 to tie the series after losing the first two games. They lost the series only when Rod Strickland thought it smart to throw a no-look pass over his head, and Strickland doesn’t live here anymore.

Rick Majerus’ Utah lost this year in the Alamodome. Jerry Sloan’s Utah can, too.

Ostertag remains available. He was honored for the Best Individual Comeback in the first round of the playoffs by the fine folks at Rogaine. That’s enough to make Karl Malone’s new hair fall out, since Malone is not only Ostertag’s biggest critic, but also a member. The bald truth: Since Ostertag’s award-winning performance against the Rockets, the Hero of Hair averages two points and one rebound in this series.

Piriformis Syndrome takes the weekend off because - and this is complicated medical stuff - AJ’s hip is as deserving as the rest of him.

Shandon Anderson arrives in the town where his brother once played and feels the need to act like Willie.

If Patrick Ewing can come back, then Antoine Carr can come back. To earth.

Peter Holt owns two Caterpillar dealerships. Malone endorses Caterpillar products. They work something out.

Sloan is never happy. He wears gimme caps too often. He uses too many farm analogies. The Jazz wake up this morning and wonder why they listen to this man.

Question: If Will Perdue keeps defending Malone, and if Malone keeps chasing Robinson and Duncan, and if Malone is remotely human, doesn’t Malone eventually wear down?

It’s Vinny Del Negro’s turn to be Jeff Hornacek.

Kobe Bryant told Malone at the All-Star Game to get out of the way so he could drive. Chris Morris tries it today.

The Spurs rebounded to tie the series against Houston in 1995 after losing the first two games - at home. They lost the series only when Dennis Rodman showed up late for Game 5 practice, and Rodman doesn’t live here anymore.

Ostertag remains himself. He’s from Duncanville, Texas. Now he plays in Duncanville, Texas.

John Stockton’s spine will stiffen eventually. Charles Barkley promised.

San Antonio’s country-talking fan-actor, Tommy Lee Jones, would pummel Utah’s country- talking fan-actor, Wilford Brimley.

Adam Keefe. According to several sources, he started the first two games.

And, finally, after the Spurs showed as much poise and resolve in Utah the past week as they did anytime the past decade - with all three of the Spurs’ playoff losses this year the result of a last-second jumper hitting back-rim - don’t they deserve something?

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News