马刺1998-99赛季实录（780+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-09

邓肯荣获周最佳球员称号

马刺队大前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 被评为本周 NBA 最佳球员。

邓肯率领球队取得了四连胜，场均贡献 27.5 分、11.5 个篮板和 3.25 个盖帽。他也是球队的铁人，场均上场 38.8 分钟，其中在周日晚上对阵掘金的比赛中上场了 46 分钟。

“蒂姆显然已经找到了自己的节奏，”主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 说。“他在内线和外线都感觉很舒服。同时，他正在证明自己是一名联盟中最优秀的篮板球手。”

邓肯，出于某种原因，进入联盟时就被贴上了“被动”的标签。他正在展示被动和沉着冷静的区别，并且毫不留情地出现在行动的中心。

“蒂姆对比赛有着浓厚的兴趣。他知道比赛的走向，并会去到那里，”波波维奇说。“这是一种天生的技能。”

点击查看原文：Duncan earns player-of-the-week honor

Duncan earns player-of-the-week honor

Spurs power forward Tim Duncan has been named the NBA Player of the Week.

Duncan spearheaded a four-game winning streak, averaging 27.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.25 blocked shots. He also was a workhorse, averaging 38.8 minutes, including 46 in the game at Denver on Sunday night.

“Tim has obviously gotten into his groove,” Coach Gregg Popovich said. “He feels comfortable both inside and outside. At the same time, he’s proving to be one of the league’s best rebounders.”

Duncan, for whatever reason, entered the league with the word “passive” attached to his name. He is showing the difference between passive and unflappable and relentlessly seems to be in the thick of the action.

“Tim has an affinity for the game. He understands where the action is going to be and he goes there,” Popovich said. “It’s a natural skill.”

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-10, By Johnny Ludden

马刺意识到他们在连胜中表现平平

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 真的不想承认这一点。但事实是，尽管最近取得了成功，马刺仍然相信自己还有东西要证明。

“显然，我们的篮球打得好了很多，”埃利奥特谈到球队四连胜时说道。“但当魔术队来的时候，看看会发生什么将会很有趣。我们想看看我们的打法能否帮助我们战胜更强的球队。”

今晚在阿拉莫穹顶对阵魔术队的比赛将是一场有价值的考验。奥兰多（14胜5负）是本赛季NBA的一个惊喜，他们已经爬到了东部联盟的榜首。

“他们是一个强劲的对手，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说道。“他们是一支非常无私的球队，非常投入。我们必须拿出所有力量才能赢得这场比赛。”

奥兰多在周一以114-112输给了亚特兰大，他们10场主场连胜被终结。然而，前杰伊高中球星博·奥特劳(Bo Outlaw)在周六战胜底特律的比赛中被踢伤左小腿，首次缺席比赛，连续199场出赛的记录也被终结。奥特劳表示，自己从高中、大学到职业联赛，从未因伤缺席过比赛，目前他被列为每日观察。

马刺队（10胜8负）也不能指望从魔术队后场双塔那里获得多少喘息的机会。首发球员佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)（6英尺7英寸）和尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)（6英尺6英寸）与达雷尔·阿姆斯特朗(Darrell Armstrong)（6英尺1英寸）组成了三后卫轮换阵容。

安德森在周一输球的比赛中得到全场最高的34分，场均得到18.7分，并且三分球命中率为55投130中（42.3%）。

“那些家伙为他们做了很多事情，”杰罗姆·科西(Jerome Kersey)说道。“我们必须拿出好的防守。他们会得分。”

埃利奥特说：“我们可能会整晚都在拼命防守，但我们会看看会发生什么。”

马里奥·伊利(Mario Elie) 的回归应该会有所帮助。伊利在3月2日对阵休斯顿的比赛中半场结束前几秒钟拉伤左腿筋，此后一直没有上场。波波维奇表示，他还没有决定今晚由伊利还是贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 首发，杰克逊周二与首发阵容一起训练。

杰克逊在2月21日被伊利取代后，在伊利缺席期间回归首发阵容，并且表现出色。在马刺队最近的三场比赛中，他28投15中（53.6%），三分球9投17中，场均得到15分。

“我感觉好多了，身体方面，”杰克逊说道。“在停摆期间，我休息了很长时间。然后你必须重新适应每天打球的节奏。这很难。

“我只是想能够上场一段时间。我想为这支球队贡献力量。无论是替补还是首发，我都愿意。我只是想确保我在场上感到舒适。”

杰克逊并不是唯一一个找回状态的球员。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在最近的五场比赛中场均得到26.2分，投篮命中率为55.1%，场均篮板为11.8个。他在这五场比赛中只出现了9次失误，而此前13场比赛中场均失误为4.1次。

马刺队在对阵洛杉矶快船队和丹佛掘金队的比赛中加强了进攻，这两支球队是联盟中防守最差的三支球队之一。在他们连胜的四场比赛中，只有休斯顿队的战绩勉强高于50%。而马刺队输掉的大部分比赛都是对阵西部联盟的季后赛球队。

马刺队知道，他们的大部分球迷仍然对最近的成功持怀疑态度，他们认为今晚的比赛是恢复一些失去信誉的重要一步。

“我们正在下滑，我们正在挣扎，我们表现很糟糕——你想怎么称呼都可以，”杰克逊说道。“我们肯定有更高的期望。我们希望确保自己在赛季结束时表现出色。”

马刺队观赛指南

今晚：魔术队 @ 马刺队

时间、地点：晚上7:30，阿拉莫穹顶

战绩：马刺队10胜8负（中西部赛区第四名）；奥兰多队14胜5负（大西洋赛区第一名）

连胜：赢了4场

电视、广播：FOXSW，WOAI-AM 1200（西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350）

点击查看原文：Spurs realize mostly meek in streak

Spurs realize mostly meek in streak

Sean Elliott really didn’t want to admit it. But, yes, for all their recent success, the Spurs believe they still have something to prove.

“We’ve played a lot better basketball, obviously,” Elliott said of the team’s four-game winning streak. “But it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when Orlando comes in. We want to see if our style of play will help us against the better teams.”

Tonight’s game against the Magic at the Alamodome qualifies as a worthy test. One of the NBA’s early surprises, Orlando (14-5) has climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference.

“They’re a tall order,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They’re a very unselfish team, very committed. It will take all we can muster to get this thing done.”

Orlando had its 10-game home winning streak snapped with Monday’s 114-112 loss to Atlanta. Former Jay High School star Bo Outlaw, however, sat out for the first time in 199 games after being kicked in the left calf during Saturday’s win over Detroit. Outlaw, who said he had never missed a game because of injury in high school, college or the pros, is listed as day-to- day.

The Spurs (10-8) also can’t expect much relief from the Magic’s big backcourt. Starters Penny Hardaway (6-foot-7) and Nick Anderson (6-6) have been joined by Darrell Armstrong (6-1) in a three-guard rotation.

Anderson, who scored a season-high 34 points in Monday’s loss, is averaging 18.7 points and has made 55 of 130 three-pointers (42.3 percent).

“Those guys do much of the work on the box for them,” Jerome Kersey said. “We’re going to have to come up with a good defensive game. They will put points on the board.”

Said Elliott: “We’re probably going to be scrambling most of the night, but we’ll see what happens.”

The return of Mario Elie should help. Elie has not played since straining his left hamstring seconds before halftime in the March 2 victory over Houston. Popovich said he has not decided whether Elie or Jaren Jackson, who practiced with the starters Tuesday, will start tonight.

Benched in favor of Elie on Feb. 21, Jackson returned to the starting lineup in Elie’s absence and has played well. In the Spurs’ last three games, he made 15 of 28 shots (53.6 percent) - 9 of 17 from three-point range - and averaged 15 points.

“I feel better, physically,” Jackson said. "It was a long time sitting out during the lockout. Then you have to get back into the mode of playing ball every day. It was tough.

“I just want to be able to stay out there for a little bit. I want to play a role for this team. Whether it’s off the bench or starting, so be it. I just want to make sure I’m comfortable out there.”

Jackson isn’t alone in finding his rhythm. Tim Duncan has averaged 26.2 points on 55.1- percent shooting and 11.8 rebounds in his last five games. He also totaled only nine turnovers after averaging 4.1 a game in the Spurs’ first 13 outings.

The Spurs fattened their offense against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver, two of the league’s three worst defensive teams. Of the four teams they have beaten during their winning streak, only Houston is barely above the .500 mark. And all but one of the Spurs’ losses has come against Western Conference playoff teams.

Knowing the majority of their fans are still skeptical of the recent success, the Spurs see tonight’s game as a big step toward restoring some lost credibility.

“We were slipping, we were struggling, we were bad - whatever you want to call it,” Jackson said. “We definitely have higher expectations. And we want to make sure we do well through season’s end.”

Spurs watch

Tonight: Magic @Spurs

When, where: 7:30, Alamodome

Records: Spurs 10-8 (fourth in Midwest Division); Orlando 14-5 (first in Atlantic)

Streak: Won 4

TV, radio: FOXSW, WOAI-AM 1200 (Spanish on KCOR-AM 1350)

Online: expressnews.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-10, By Glenn Rogers

黄蜂队的巴斯对失去教练的刺痛并不陌生

鲍勃·巴斯和教练们之间怎么了？

他似乎对于自己的首席教练在任职期间出现失误、被解雇或辞职有一种感触。

还记得他在圣安东尼奥的时候吗？1979-80 赛季最后的几个月，当道格·莫与当时的老板安吉洛·德罗索斯发生冲突并被解雇时，他最终成为了教练。

巴斯退回到前厅，但在解雇莫·麦洪后，他在 1984-85 赛季初期又回到了场边。

他安全地担任了总经理几年， 但在拉里·布朗被解雇/辞职后，他在 1991-92 赛季中期再次回到场边训斥裁判。

巴斯在犹他州季后赛惨败后（众多惨败中的一场）被砍掉了脑袋，但很快就被夏洛特老板乔治·辛恩聘用，巴斯寻找着能够管理钱财的人。

现在，巴斯又回来了，本赛季大约三分之一的时间，球队教练在试图让自己被解雇后辞职。

“对于任何涉及这件事的，我都不予置评，”戴夫·科温斯走出门后，巴斯听起来明显沮丧。至少这是巴斯在赛季中失去教练后第二次避免离开球场。

当约翰·卢卡斯被聘用取代杰里·塔卡尼安时，巴斯幸免于痛苦，而现在当他设法说服保罗·西拉斯接任时，他也幸免于痛苦。

希望好运降临在西拉斯身上，他可能会失去进攻型球员格兰·赖斯，并且不得不将艾迪·琼斯和埃尔登·坎贝尔融合到一支本赛季无处可去的球队，而且可能在未来几个赛季中注定无法进入季后赛。

夏洛特的麻烦在于资金，也就是说，辛恩不想花钱。也许他认为，他需要尽可能多地满足性骚扰指控的和解金。

巴斯经常会注意到，他是如何为他的老板节省资金的，无论是圣安东尼奥的老板还是夏洛特的老板。他坚持反对弗拉德·迪瓦茨的要求，解雇了拉里·约翰逊和阿隆佐·莫宁，现在看来他更准备对赖斯动手。

这可能是良好的资金管理，并且最终是球队为阻止经纪人和球员对顶级资金的永无止境的索求而采取的良好立场，无论是否应得。

但是，它也经常导致人才水平不可避免地下降。

在圣安东尼奥曾发生过这种情况，一次是当巴斯让罗德·斯特里克兰离开并带进文尼·德尔内格罗时。当夏洛特失去莫宁时，这种情况也发生了，现在已经只剩下德里克·科尔曼。与有钱人作斗争可能会付出代价。

现在看来，球队因为同样的原因失去了科温斯。

但这种判断可能是错误的。科温斯显然很恼火，因为辛恩数百万美元的报价不够。

但也许更重要的是，科温斯在这个赛季变得沮丧，并且没有看到未来的重大升级变化。

如果赖斯和安东尼·梅森没有受伤，如果黄蜂队仍在为季后赛种子席位而努力，那么科温斯就不会意外离队。

科温斯无法承受惨不忍睹的失利。

现在圣安东尼奥人会认为，科温斯也许是那个能够进入圣安东尼奥、击败格雷格·波波维奇并将马刺队变成联盟强势存在的骑手。

那要看道克·里弗斯是否先赶来。

科温斯或里弗斯可能对圣安东尼奥不错，而老板彼得·霍尔特可能将钱投在里弗斯身上，认为科温斯已经表现出他对接近教练员薪资底线非常厌恶。

但是他们中的任何一个能比波波维奇取得更多成就吗？不，除非他们引进几个新球员。

波波维奇的命运应该在季后赛来临时决定。第一轮或第二轮的溃败几乎迫使他退回前厅，甚至更远。

但是，即使是晋级西部决赛，甚至再次进行激烈的第二轮比赛，也应该让人相信教练的不断更换并不是解决之道。

假设波波维奇没有向他的球员大喊大叫，让他们对他充耳不闻，那么他可能最有希望通过防御和进攻方案来实现夺冠。

但如果没有一两名球员名单的改变，他可能无法做到这一点。

罗杰斯的 NBA 排名

排名、球队、评论

1、波特兰，为什么没有季前赛“专家”看到开拓者来了？

2、洛杉矶湖人队，科比·布莱恩特帮助湖人队在丹尼斯·罗德曼的首次奇怪游戏中幸存下来。

3、奥兰多，查克·戴利的魔术队在 O 球场星期一失利。漫漫长路等待着他们。

4、犹他爵士队，在三角洲中心首次播放蓝调，而洛杉矶人很喜欢。

5、印第安纳队，必须战胜热火队，但是主场惨败给金州勇士队让人产生了怀疑。

6、迈阿密，铁杆球队继续表现出他们得分困难。

7、明尼苏达，森林狼在西雅图的主场遭遇他们的首次重大失利，这可能会让西部联盟感到恐惧。

8、马刺队，通过季后赛的竞争者在积分榜上攀升。

9、密尔沃基雄鹿队，可能已经准备好在这两端进行行动。

10、纽约，球迷担心糟糕的客场比赛可能会在斯派克·李面前爆发。

11、底特律，格兰特·希尔等人仍然处于起伏状态。

12、休斯顿，每个人都在谈论大卫·罗宾逊看起来有些不堪重负——只要看看哈基姆·奥拉朱旺。

13、萨克拉门托，这群充满活力的人需要加强防守。

14、费城，艾弗森可能会梦想与更具天赋的支持团队共度一生。

15、西雅图超音速队，知道为什么骑士队更喜欢肖恩·坎普，而钥匙球场的人群想知道那些开门器陷阱去了哪里。

16、菲尼克斯，太阳队可能深陷灰烬中无法再次崛起。

17、亚特兰大，老鹰队能否飞翔取决于史蒂夫·史密斯的投篮，但是提升不会比 0.500 高很多。

18、克利夫兰，坎普每天都从不同的队友那里获得动力。把这些力量汇集起来，可能会意味着季后赛的角逐。

19、波士顿，里克·皮蒂诺曾经用贪婪的跨海岸防守吓到了联盟。现在是跨海岸进攻的时候了。

20、华盛顿，伯尼·比克斯塔夫会被解雇，但球员们会继续折磨球迷。

21、金州勇士队，奥克兰人不必担心 P.J. 卡莱西莫会被勒死。相反，球队在场上窒息而死。

22、多伦多，文斯·卡特一年的经验，猛龙队球迷辛耐力减弱的又一年。

23、达拉斯，唐·尼尔森说他仍然相信肖恩·布拉德利和罗伯特·帕克；联盟对手希望他坚持这个想法。

24、丹佛，如果主场的胜利变得和客场的胜利一样稀少，那么寒冷的风将重新吹回麦克尼科尔斯。

25、夏洛特黄蜂队拒绝对科温斯下手，于是戴夫下手了。

26、温哥华，谢里夫·阿卜杜勒-拉希姆签了一份长期合同，现在想知道季后赛期间何时能听到加拿大国歌。

27、新泽西，甚至没有传言称海军上将可以提升篮网队的财富。

28、芝加哥，这些公牛队甚至不需要斗牛士就可以削弱。

29、洛杉矶快船队，克里斯·福特真的相信，如果交易能让这只熟睡的小猫醒来，那会重要吗？

点击查看原文：Hornets' Bass no stranger to sting of losing a coach

Hornets’ Bass no stranger to sting of losing a coach

What is it with Bob Bass and coaches?

He seems to have this thing where his head man falters during the run, is fired or quits.

Remember when he was in San Antonio? He wound up coaching the last couple of months of the 1979-80 season, when Doug Moe got sideways with then-owner Angelo Drossos and was canned.

Bass retreated back to the front office but was back on the sidelines early in the 1984-85 season after he fired Mo McHone.

He remained safely in the office of general manager for a few years but then was back hectoring refs midway through the 1991-92 campaign after Larry Brown was fired/quit.

Bass found his own neck on the big chopping block after a playoff fiasco in Utah (one of so many) but was soon hired by Charlotte owner George Shinn, looking for somebody to mind his pocketbook.

Now, here’s Bass again, about a third of the way through a season, watching a coach resign after trying to get himself fired.

“I’m not commenting on anything involving that,” says Bass, sounding decidedly glum after Dave Cowens walked out the door. This at least is the second time Bass has avoided the sidelines after an in-season coach loss.

He was spared the agony when John Lucas was hired to replace Jerry Tarkanian and spared now when he managed to persuade Paul Silas to take up the reins.

Good luck to Silas, who may wind up losing offensive power Glen Rice and have to blend Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell into a team going nowhere this season and probably destined to fall short of the playoffs for a few seasons to come.

The problem in Charlotte is dough, as in, Shinn doesn’t want to spend it. Maybe he figures he’ll need all he can get in settlements for sexual harassment charges.

Bass often will note how he has saved money for his owners, be they the ones in San Antonio or in Charlotte. He stood up to Vlade Divac’s demands, shipped out Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning and now looks more than ready to pull the plug on Rice.

This may be good money management and finally a nice stand by teams trying to halt the never-ending demands by agents and players for top money, deserved or not.

But, too often it also leads to an inexorable lowering of the talent level.

It happened in San Antonio, once when Bass let Rod Strickland go and brought in Vinny Del Negro. It happened in Charlotte when it lost Mourning and now is down to Derrick Coleman. Fighting the money guys can be costly.

Now it seems the team has lost Cowens for the same reason.

But that judgment may be off. Cowens apparently was miffed that Shinn’s multi-million offer wasn’t multi enough.

But more important perhaps is that Cowens simply became depressed over this season and didn’t see major upgrading changes down the line.

There would have been no unexpected Cowens departure if Rice and Anthony Mason hadn’t been injured, if the Hornets were still challenging for a strong playoff seed.

Cowens couldn’t handle the abysmal losing.

Now San Antonians will be thinking that maybe Cowens will be the man to ride into San Antonio, unhorse Gregg Popovich and whip the Spurs into a forceful league presence.

That is if Doc Rivers doesn’t gallop in first.

Cowens or Rivers may be good for the Alamo City and owner Peter Holt may put his money on Rivers, figuring Cowens already has shown his severe distaste for being anyway near the bottom of coaching salaries.

But would either accomplish more than Popovich? Nope, not unless they bring in a couple of new players.

Popovich’s fate should be determined come playoff time. A blast in the first or second round will all but force his retreat back to the front office - if not further.

But a climb to the Western Conference Finals, even another well-fought second-round match, should convince that the incessant changing of coaches isn’t the answer.

Assuming Popovich doesn’t scream his players into turning a deaf ear to him, he probably has the best chance of spit-shining the defensive and offensive schemes into a title run.

But he probably won’t be able to do it without a roster change or two.

ROGERS’ NBA RANKINGS

RANK, TEAM COMMENT

1. Portland How come no preseason “experts” saw Blazers coming?

2. L.A. Lakers Kobe Bryant helped Lakers survive first weirdgame by Dennis Rodman.

3. Orlando Chuck Daly’s Magic at O-Arena failed Monday. The road awaits.

4. Utah Jazz played blues for first time at Delta Center and L.A. liked it.

5. Indiana Imperative win over Heat, but grotesque home loss to Golden State plants doubts.

6. Miami Hard-nosed group continues to show it has hard time scoring.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves’ first major howl on the road in Seattlemay send shivers through Western Conference.

8. SPURS Climbing through standings on backs of playoff wannabes.

9. Milwaukee Bucks may be ready to put their act together at both ends.

10. New York Fans worry poor road play may break out in front of Spike Lee.

11. Detroit Grant Hill & Co. still in up-down mode.

12. Houston Everyone talks about David Robinson looking a little creaky - just take a peek at Hakeem Olajuwon.

13. Sacramento This feisty, interesting bunch needs a touch more defense.

14. Philadelphia Iverson may dream of life with a more talented supporting crew.

15. Seattle Sonics know why Cavs preferred Shawn Kemp, and Key Arena crowd wonders where those snapping traps went.

16. Phoenix The Suns may get too deep into the ashes to rise again.

17. Atlanta The Hawks’ flight depends on winged shots of Steve Smith, but rise won’t be much higher than .500

18. Cleveland Kemp gets boost from different teammate each night. Put it together and it may mean a run for the playoffs.

19. Boston Rick Pitino once scared league with voracious coast-to-coast defense. Now it’s coast-to-coast offense.

20. Washington Bernie Bickerstaff will be axed, but playerswill continue to torment fans.

21. Golden State Oaklanders won’t have to worry about P.J. Carlesimo being strangled. Instead, team chokes on court.

22. Toronto A year of experience for Vince Carter, another year of strained patience for diminishing Raptors fans.

23. Dallas Don Nelson says he still believes in Shawn Bradley and Robert Pack; conference foes hope he holds that thought.

24. Denver If wins at home become as scarce as those on road,chilly breezes will return to McNichols.

25. Charlotte Hornets refused to pull the trigger on Cowens, so Dave did it.

26. Vancouver Shareef Abdur-Rahim signed on for long term, now wonders when Canadian anthem will be heard during playoffs.

27. New Jersey Not even rumored deal for Admiral could boost Nets’ fortunes.

28. Chicago Teams don’t even need picadors to weaken these Bulls.

29. L.A. Clippers Does Chris Ford really believe it matters if trades awaken this sleeping tabby?

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-11, By Johnny Ludden

魔术山被移走 - 罗宾逊帮助马刺队战胜魔术队取得五连胜

对于马刺队来说，这是一个美好的景象，虽然有些令人吃惊：大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)站在罚球线上。

在半场拿下17分后，罗宾逊神秘地消失了，他的球队浪费了16分的领先优势。

马刺队发出紧急呼叫。罗宾逊回应了。在最后18.5秒，他两罚全中，并抢下关键篮板，帮助马刺队以81-79战胜奥兰多魔术队，取得五连胜。比赛在周三晚上在阿拉莫穹顶球馆举行，共有17,954名球迷到场观赛。

“看到大卫挺身而出真是太好了，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)在马刺队取得五连胜后说，“他不再投那么多跳投了，而是低着头冲向篮筐。我和肖恩(艾利奥特)都在场，我们是射手，大个子需要冲锋陷阵。”

“这就是比赛的转折点：我们的内线球员低着头冲向篮筐。但这正是大卫的风格。他总能在关键时刻站出来。”

比赛的胜利是靠罚球决定的，因为两队在其他地方都无法得分。在蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在比赛还剩4分47秒时完成一次打3分将比分追至79平后，两队都没有再投进球。

“我们投不进，他们也投不进，”威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)说，“这就像一场二流的拳击比赛，双方都无法打出重拳。”

“两罚全中只是一记轻微的拳击，但足以赢得比赛。”

罗宾逊在半场结束之后就没有再得分，他突破到篮下，在比赛还剩18.5秒时造成魔术队中锋艾萨克·奥斯汀(Isaac Austin)的第六次也是最后一次犯规。他罚进了第一个球，但当尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)在另一端投丢了一个20英尺的投篮后，他抢下了篮板球。

在比赛还剩6.9秒时，罗宾逊再次被犯规，他再次罚进了第一个球。安德森在终场哨声响起前投丢了一个可能绝杀的3分球。

“我们在下半场偏离了上半场的打法，他们追上了比分，”罗宾逊说，“我们有点粗心，出现了几个失误。幸运的是，我们最终还是顶住了他们的进攻。”

“这场比赛对我们来说意义重大。我们战胜了一支状态火热且充满信心的球队，赢得了比赛，这非常重要。”

与此同时，奥兰多魔术队表示，奥斯汀的犯规对他们来说意义重大。

“他们在最后时刻得到了一次判罚，我们没有，”安德森说，“我想当你是主场球队，一切都会如你所愿。我们投丢了一些球，我不想说他们是一支伟大的球队，我们只是今晚投丢了一些球。”

“一些”这个词对于安德森来说是一个慷慨的选择，他自己就投丢了21投15中。魔术队（13-6）在比赛中没有首发前锋博·奥特洛(Bo Outlaw)，他们最后七投全失，并在比赛最后5分24秒内没有得分。

“防守端，两队都拼尽全力，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说，“两队都打出了自己的节奏，两队也都很糟糕。”

马刺队在魔术队将16分的领先优势抹平后，也打出了自己的节奏。奥兰多魔术队在半场结束前36秒内连得5分，并在第三节开始时连得9分。

马刺队直到第三节开始后将近4分半钟，艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)才投进了一个19英尺的投篮，这是他们本节的第一個进球，约翰逊最终贡献了16分和8次助攻。佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)的3+1让魔术队在第三节还剩59.2秒时获得了自第一节以来的首次领先。

“我仿佛又回到了对阵菲尼克斯太阳队的比赛，”罗宾逊说，指的是马刺队在2月17日对阵太阳队的比赛中，他们浪费了第四节11分的领先优势。

然而，周三的比赛结果并不相同。邓肯一直在与轻微感冒作斗争，最终得到15分，其中他在第四节得到7分，帮助马刺队维持了生命。

点击查看原文：Magic mountain moved - Robinson helps Spurs escape Orlando for fifth straight win

Magic mountain moved - Robinson helps Spurs escape Orlando for fifth straight win

For the Spurs, it was a beautiful - if not somewhat astounding - sight: David Robinson standing at the free-throw line.

After scoring 17 points in the first half, Robinson mysteriously vanished as his team wasted a 16- point lead.

The Spurs put out an emergency page. And Robinson answered. He made two free throws and grabbing a critical rebound in the final 18.5 seconds to lift the Spurs to an 81-79 victory over Orlando on Wednesday night in front of 17,954 fans at the Alamodome.

“It was good that Dave stepped up,” Mario Elie said after the Spurs improved to 11-8 with their fifth straight win. "Instead of shooting all them jumpers, put your head down and go to the bucket. Me and Sean (Elliott) are out there. We’re the shooters. The big guys need to plow.

“That was the difference in the game: Our big guys put their heads down and went to the line. But that’s why Dave is who he is. He comes up with the big plays.”

The game was won at the line simply because it couldn’t be won anywhere else. Neither team made a basket after Tim Duncan tied it at 79 with a three-point play with 4:47 left.

“We couldn’t make shots. They couldn’t make shots,” Will Perdue said. "It was like a grade-B fight. Nobody could land a punch.

“The two free throws were only a glancing blow, but it was enough to win the fight.”

Robinson, who had not scored since the first half, drove inside and drew Magic center Isaac Austin’s sixth and final foul with 18.5 seconds left. He made the first of two free throws, but grabbed the rebound when Nick Anderson missed a 20-footer at the other end.

Fouled with 6.9 seconds left, Robinson again made the first of two free throws. Anderson missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

“We got a little bit away from what we had done in the first half, and they made a little run at us,” Robinson said. "We got careless and made some turnovers. Fortunately, we were able to hold them off.

“This was the kind of game we really needed. You win a close game against a team that is playing well with a lot of confidence, that means a lot.”

Orlando, meanwhile, said Austin’s foul meant all the world.

“They got a big call at the end and we didn’t,” Anderson said. “I guess when you’re the home team, things have got to go your way. We missed some shots. I’m not gonna say they’re a great team. We just missed some shots tonight.”

“Some” was a generous choice of words for Anderson, who missed 15 of 21 shots himself. The Magic - who played without starting forward Bo Outlaw - shanked their last seven shots of the game and did not score for the final 5:24.

“Defensively, both teams got after it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Each team made their runs, and each team looked poor.”

The Spurs took their turn when the Magic made a 16-point deficit disappear. Orlando (13-6) scored five straight points in 36 seconds just before halftime then added the first nine points of the third quarter.

The Spurs didn’t make their first basket until Avery Johnson - who finished with 16 points and eight assists - knocked down a 19-footer almost 41/2 minutes into the second half. Penny Hardaway’s three- point play gave Orlando its first lead since the first quarter with 59.2 seconds left in the third.

“I was having flashbacks to the Phoenix game,” Robinson said of the Spurs’ Feb. 17 loss to the Suns when they wasted an 11-point lead in the final quarter.

Wednesday’s outcome, however, wasn’t the same. Duncan, who was battling a minor cold, finished with 15 points, but scored seven of them in the fourth quarter to keep the Spurs on life support.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-11, By Glenn Rogers

末节判罚争议，魔术队怒火中烧

魔术队的更衣室里并没有弥漫着对马刺队的敬畏之情。

如果比赛的下半场能够延续上半场的节奏，魔术队的球员们或许已经准备好向圣安东尼奥队献上鲜花。

然而事实却截然相反，奥兰多队虽然奋力拼搏，控制住了比赛的节奏，抹平了16分的劣势，并在比赛还剩不到6分钟时领先3分，但最终还是以79比81输掉了比赛。

比赛还剩4分47秒时，比分战成79平。

随后，仿佛事先约好了一般，马刺队和魔术队展开了激烈的防守对抗，双方都没有得分，直到比赛还剩18秒。

而魔术队对那1分，即大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的罚球得分，感到非常不满。

“对艾克(奥斯汀)(Ike Austin)的判罚显然对他们有利，但我们仍然有机会，”安芬尼·哈达威(Anfernee Hardaway)说。

这个判罚发生在奥斯汀在禁区内防守罗宾逊时被吹犯规。

“现实地说，他没有犯规，”哈达威说。“就连马刺队的电视解说员也说没有犯规。场上的所有球员，包括大卫，都知道这不是犯规。”

然而，这个判罚让马刺队以80比79领先。但魔术队仍然无法得分。尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)被马刺队的防守球员限制住了，他投出的19英尺跳投偏出。安德森全场仅得17分，21投6中。

他对罗宾逊的判罚感到很不满。

“我想，当你主场作战的时候，事情总要往你这边倾斜，”安德森说，他没有提到魔术队在奥兰多也打了25场比赛。“我不会说他们是一支伟大的球队，我们只是今晚投丢了一些球。”

魔术队确实投丢了很多球——75投32中。

安德森没有对马刺队球员给予任何赞扬。谈到马刺队的内线球员，他只是说，“他们占据了空间。”

奥斯汀实际上是在帮助魔术队走向胜利，他在下半场只打了11分钟，却因为犯规麻烦得到10分。

“不，我没有犯规，但对此你无能为力，裁判做出判决，”奥斯汀说。“双方都打得很努力，我们被卡在了79分。我知道第一个进球的球队将赢得比赛，而这正是发生了的事情。”

当对奥斯汀吹响哨声时，主教练查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)在球场边勃然大怒，但在客队更衣室外则显得平静。

“如果判罚了，犯规就是犯规，”戴利说。“但你必须在正确的时间投篮。”

戴利说，魔术队在下半场开始自掘坟墓，因为他们在上半场没有跟上马刺队的节奏。

“他们打出了非常棒的篮球，”戴利说。“我认为我们在上半场节奏太快了，我们在下半场放慢了速度，把球传给了合适的人。”

点击查看原文：Fourth-quarter foul call leaves Magic miffed

Fourth-quarter foul call leaves Magic miffed

The Magic’s locker room wasn’t exactly filled with awe over the Spurs on Wednesday night.

The players might have been ready to hurl bouquets of praise at San Antonio if the second half of their 81-79 loss had gone the way of the first.

But it went the opposite as Orlando dug in, controlled the rhythm, rubbed out a 16-point deficit and led by three with almost six minutes left to play. The game was tied at 79 with 4:47 remaining.

Then, as if by mutual agreement, the Spurs and Magic engaged in a ferocious defensive struggle, and neither team scored again until there were only 18 seconds left.

And the Magic didn’t appreciate how that one point, a free throw by David Robinson, came about.

“The call on Ike (Austin) was obviously a break for them, but we still had another opportunity,” said Anfernee Hardaway.

The break came when Austin was whistled while defending Robinson deep in the paint.

“Realistically, he didn’t foul him,” Hardaway said. “Even the Spurs’ TV people came in here and said there was no foul. Everybody on both teams, even David, knew it wasn’t a foul.”

Nevertheless, the infraction gave the Spurs an 80-79 advantage. But again, the Magic couldn’t score. Nick Anderson, taken out of his game by the Spurs’ defenders, was off-target with a 19-footer. Anderson mustered only 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting.

He wasn’t pleased with the call on Robinson.

“I guess when you’re the home team, things have got to go your way,” said Anderson, without noting the Magic also play 25 games in Orlando. “I’m not gonna say they are a great team. We just missed some shots tonight.”

The Magic missed a lot of shots - 43 of 75.

Anderson was handing out no praise. On the Spurs’ big men, he noted, “They take up the space.”

Austin actually was helping to carry the Magic toward victory when he scored 10 points in the second half despite playing only 11 minutes because of foul trouble.

“No, I didn’t foul him, but there is nothing you can do about that. The refs make the calls,” Austin said. “Both teams were playing hard defense, and we got stuck on 79. I knew that the first team to get a bucket would win the game, and that’s what happened.”

Coach Chuck Daly was furious on the sidelines when the whistle blew on Austin but calm enough outside the visitors’ locker.

“A foul is a foul if it’s called,” Daly said. “But you have to make your shots at the right time.”

Daly said the Magic began to dig their own grave in the first half, when his team didn’t match the Spurs’ emotion.

“They played some outstanding basketball,” Daly said. “I think our tempo was too high in the first half. We slowed it down in the second half and got the ball to the right people.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-11, By Buck Harvey

戴利报告：胜利无可替代

如果今天是星期四，那一定又是时候解雇教练了。

但我今天愿意宽容一些。查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)从未打过球，所以也许他不知道大多数教练认为在最后五分钟至少得分一次是明智之举。

戴利的魔术队做不到，即使马刺队用小佩妮(Lil’ Penny)防守佩妮(Penny)。因此，奥兰多球迷的抗议也就不足为奇了。戴利，这个东部战绩最好的教练，怎么会输给所有球迷眼中最烂的球队？

尽管如此，我还是说，别激动。戴利很久以前在底特律拿过几个冠军，所以也许他有些东西是知道的。

格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)，这场比赛的赢家，会稳稳地把双脚搭在桌子上，表示同意。他会站在戴利一边，因为波波维奇就是不喜欢看到其他教练承受太多压力——并且，因为他知道周三晚上另一面的情况。

我猜想：如果他输了，他会怀疑自己是否搞砸了轮换，是为球迷而战而不是遵循逻辑。

现在，这件事都不会成为广播电台的谈资了。正如道格·里弗斯(Doc Rivers)曾经说过的那样，胜利是最好的除臭剂，这两位教练都需要一支能持续24小时的滚珠式除臭剂。戴利无法从他的射手那里撬出任何分数，而波波维奇也无法做得更好。直到大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)终于想起自己可以突破制造一些身体对抗，马刺队才结束了这场似乎注定要进行点球大战的比赛。

马刺队足够出色，能保持连胜，而且他们是在与一支好球队比赛中做到的。但最后五分钟表明，他们在五月份想要达到的目标还远得很。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)对着空旷的球场投出了一记空气球，马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)无人防守。埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的传球从罗宾逊手中滑落。AJ和罗宾逊都错失了本不应该错失的投篮。

相反，当霍勒斯·格兰特(Horace Grant)在比赛还剩一分钟的时候站在距离篮筐17英尺的位置，无人防守，他的投篮至少是战术性的。

马刺队混合了大量的防守，即使是AJ防守佩妮·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)。想象一下克里斯·洛克(Chris Rock)的声音，AJ看起来像是要像商业广告中的木偶一样跟着佩妮。但在比赛还剩两分钟的时候，哈达威背靠着AJ，小佩妮抢断，然后为了救球，一头扎出界外。

那是约翰逊的那种夜晚。也许波波维奇也看到了这一点。因为波波维奇通常会让AJ休息一下，但他什么也没做。AJ在第三节结束的时候要么得分，要么在最后10分中有所贡献，然后在第四节开始的时候将球传给了威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)。几分钟后，当其他人都无法得分时，AJ投进了一记艰难的突破。

让AJ打完比赛是有道理的，因为他已经找到了比赛节奏，而其他马刺球员却没有。但上半场发生了一些事情，没有人能忽视。然后，安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)抢断两次，完成两次快攻扣篮，投进几个跳投，总体表现得像他在温哥华时那样具有天赋。

当他离开球场时，球迷们给了他热烈的掌声。也许这是一个丹尼尔斯未来可能达到的高度的预兆。

然而，随着下半场比赛的进行，丹尼尔斯变得无关紧要了。这些不是可以用来玩乐的分钟。但如果波波维奇在下半场没有给丹尼尔斯一些时间，而马刺队输掉了比赛，球迷们是否会认为这更多的是对波波维奇的证据？

也许波波维奇从未听到过嘘声，也许他认为AJ需要休息。发生的事情是这样的：当比赛还剩大约8分钟的时候，丹尼尔斯将永远不会取代AJ，但丹尼尔斯还是取代了AJ。

丹尼尔斯第一次触球是在中场，他带球冲刺。

AJ在几分钟后重新回到场上。当罗宾逊罚进几个罚球，马刺队在离开球场时互相拥抱时，就好像那些丑陋的细节从未发生过一样。除臭剂和广告宣传的一样好。

这就是为什么我说：戴利犯了一些错误，但他还有时间证明自己，直到四月。

点击查看原文：Daly report: No substitute like winning

Daly report: No substitute like winning

If it’s Thursday, it must be time to fire a coach.

But I’m willing to go easy today. Chuck Daly never played the game, so maybe he didn’t know most coaches think it’s smart to score at least one point in the last five minutes.

Daly’s Magic couldn’t, even when the Spurs guarded Penny with Lil’ Penny. So no wonder there’s an outcry in Orlando. How could Daly, with the best record in the East, lose to everybody’s choice as the biggest cows this side of Jersey?

Still, I say back off. Daly won a few titles a long time ago in Detroit, so maybe he knows something.

Gregg Popovich, the winner, would securely kick his legs up on the table and agree. He’d come to Daly’s defense because Popovich just hates to see other coaches take too much heat - and because Popovich knows the other side of Wednesday night.

A guess: Had he lost, he would have wondered if he’d botched the rotation, playing to the crowd instead of to logic.

Now it won’t even make talk radio. As Doc Rivers said once, winning is a great deodorant, and both coaches needed a 24-hour protective roll-on for this one. Daly couldn’t pry a point out of his shooters, and Popovich couldn’t do much better. Only when David Robinson finally remembered he can drive to create some contact did the Spurs end a game that seemed destined to include penalty kicks.

The Spurs were good enough to keep a winning streak alive, and they did it against a good team. But the last five minutes showed they are far from where they want to be in May. Tim Duncan sailed an air ball with Mario Elie spotted up and open. An Avery Johnson pass went off Robinson’s hands. AJ and then Robinson missed shots that couldn’t have been planned.

Conversely, when Horace Grant stood at 17 feet with a minute left, dead in his range and no Spur around him, the miss was at least a strategic one.

The Spurs mixed in a lot of defense, even with AJ on Penny Hardaway. Substitute Chris Rock’s voice, and AJ appears ready to hang with Penny like a commercial puppet. But with just over two minutes left, with Hardaway backing down AJ, Lil’ Penny stripped the big one and dove out of bounds for the save.

That was the kind of night Johnson had. And maybe that’s what Popovich saw, too. Because when Popovich normally would have given AJ a rest, Popovich did nothing. AJ ended the third quarter by either scoring or having a hand in the last 10 points, then began the fourth quarter by finding Will Perdue inside. Minutes later, when no one else could score, AJ tossed in a tough drive.

It would have made sense to let AJ finish out the game, since he was in the flow while few other Spurs were. But something had happened in the first half that no one could ignore. Then Antonio Daniels took a couple of steals for breakaway dunks, tossed in a couple of jumpers and generally looked like the lottery talent he once was in Vancouver.

Fans gave him an ovation when he left the floor. And maybe it’s a glimpse of what Daniels can be someday.

Still, as the second half developed, Daniels became obsolete. These weren’t minutes to play around with. But had Popovich not given Daniels some time in the second half and had the Spurs gone on to lose, wouldn’t fans see it as more evidence against Popovich?

Maybe Popovich never heard the catcalls, maybe he thought AJ needed a rest. Here’s what happened: With about eight minutes left in the game, when Daniels would never replace AJ, Daniels replaced AJ.

The first time Daniels touched the ball, at midcourt, he charged.

AJ would return a few minutes later. And when Robinson tossed in a few free throws and the Spurs hugged as they left the court, it was if the ugly details had never happened. The deodorant was as good as advertised.

That’s why I say: Daly made a few mistakes, but give him until April to prove himself.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-12, By Johnny Ludden

AJ从慢热到状态火热

艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)有一个梦想，一个持续一整年的梦想。三百六十五个夜晚，他都梦想着球队取得成功。

马刺队以14胜2负的战绩开局，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)荣膺月最佳球员，格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)则获得了月最佳教练。约翰逊露出微笑，他知道自己在其中发挥了重要作用。

“但是，我的孩子，”约翰逊说，“事情永远不会那么顺利。”

对于一个为五支不同球队效力过，并在圣诞夜被裁过的球员来说，事情很少会如此轻松。作为联盟中最勤奋的球员之一，约翰逊也明白他是一个慢热型的球员。

在去年的季后赛中，约翰逊打出了职业生涯中最出色的比赛，他本以为可以无缝衔接到新赛季，并以最佳状态迎接冠军的挑战。在停摆期间，他依然坚持着严格的举重和体能训练计划，并在休斯顿的西区网球俱乐部组织了联盟顶级球员的训练赛。

然而，当NBA终于拉开了这个被压缩的赛季的序幕时，约翰逊发现自己依然原地踏步。他难以带领球队进入进攻状态，而当其他方面也无法顺利进行时，被认为是夺冠热门的马刺队战绩跌至6胜8负。

“我一直都是这样，”约翰逊说，他现在已经是NBA征战了11个赛季，并且连续第五个赛季担任马刺队的首发控球后卫。“我总是无法很快进入状态。我的身体状况很好，但我认为这种良好的状态只是让我免受伤病的困扰。

“它并不能帮助我在11月或——今年的11月——2月场均拿到20分和10次助攻。事情永远不会那么顺利。”

相反，约翰逊通常需要一个月左右的时间才能找到状态。就像上个赛季一样，约翰逊的复苏与马刺队的复苏同步。马刺队今晚将在美国西部球馆对阵菲尼克斯太阳队，他们将力争取得六连胜。

在马刺队的连胜期间，约翰逊场均贡献10.8分和11次助攻。在本赛季的前14场比赛中，他的场均数据是8.9分和5.7次助攻。

在过去的五场比赛中，他的助攻失误比是6.1:1。相比之下，上赛季约翰逊的3.58:1的助攻失误比排名联盟第四。

“当艾弗里展现出自己的领导力，并像现在这样积极参与比赛，通过传球找到队友时，我们将会变得更加出色，”波波维奇说。“他在这一方面做得越来越好。”

马刺队连胜期间所面对的对手实力也发挥了一定的作用。但在周三晚上与奥兰多的比赛中，身高5英尺11英寸的约翰逊在面对魔术队的高个后场时依然表现出色。

尽管身高相差8英寸，约翰逊依然对位了6英尺7英寸的佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)。马刺队认为哈达威会试图在约翰逊面前背打，这样他们就可以更容易地在内线对他进行包夹。

哈达威全场得到全队最高的22分，但他在末节没有得分。比赛还剩2分35秒，双方战成平手时，约翰逊在底线附近抢断哈达威，迫使对方出现24秒违规。

约翰逊最终得到16分和8次助攻。安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)在替补出场后也表现出色，他在首节92秒内得到8分。达雷尔·阿姆斯特朗(Darrell Armstrong)，哈达威的替补，也是让马刺队最为忌惮的球员，他在这场比赛中只得到6分和3次助攻，出场时间为20分钟。

在进攻端，马刺队更多地采用了挡拆战术，这类似于他们在季后赛中使用的战术。魔术队在周三的下半场有效地限制了这种战术，联盟中其他实力强大的球队也可能会这样做。但约翰逊表示，关键在于让马刺队迅速进入进攻状态。

马刺队赛程

今日比赛：马刺队 @ 菲尼克斯队，晚上8点

战绩：马刺队11胜8负，中西部赛区第三名；太阳队10胜9负，太平洋赛区第三名

连胜：五连胜

电视：KRRT

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350

在线：expressnews.com/spurs

点击查看原文：After slow start, AJ back on point

After slow start, AJ back on point

Avery Johnson has a dream. One dream. Three hundred sixty-five nights a year.

The Spurs get off to a 14-2 start. Tim Duncan wins Player of the Month. Gregg Popovich wins Coach of the Month. And Johnson smiles, knowing he had a hand in it all.

“But, boy,” Johnson said, “it never happens that way.”

For a guy who has played for five different teams and was once cut on Christmas Eve, it’s rarely that easy. And hailed as one of the NBA’s hardest workers, Johnson also knows he is one of its slowest starters.

After last May’s playoff run in which he played some of the best basketball of his career, Johnson figured he would finally be able to roll right into the season error-free and championship-ready. He continued his relentless weightlifting and conditioning programs during the lockout and helped organize games among several of the league’s top players at Houston’s Westside Tennis Club.

But when the NBA finally dropped the green flag on this shrink-wrapped season, Johnson again found himself running in place. He struggled to get the team into its offense. And when little else went right, the Spurs, thought to be legitimate championship contenders, fell to 6-8.

“I’ve always been that way my whole career,” Johnson said, now in his 11th NBA season and fifth straight as the Spurs’ starting point guard. "I never can really get going. I come in in fabulous shape. But I think when I come in in fabulous shape that keeps me away from injuries.

“It doesn’t help me average 20 (points) and 10 (assists) in the month of November or - our November this year - February. It just doesn’t happen that way.”

Instead, Johnson usually needs a month of so to find his footing. Johnson’s own turnaround, like last season, has coincided with that of the Spurs, who are seeking their sixth consecutive victory tonight against the Phoenix Suns at AmericaWest Arena.

During the Spurs’ winning streak, Johnson has averaged 10.8 points and 11 assists. In the first 14 games of the season, he averaged 8.9 points and 5.7 assists.

His assist-to-turnover ratio during the last five games is 6.1 to 1. To compare, Johnson’s 3.58-to-1 ratio last season ranked fourth-best in the league.

“When Avery exerts his leadership and gets involved the way he’s been involved by distributing the basketball and finding people, we’re a much better basketball team,” Popovich said. “He’s been doing a much better job of that.”

The quality of opponent during the Spurs’ streak has also played a factor. But in Wednesday night’s 81-79 win over Orlando, Johnson (5- foot-11) held his own against the Magic’s big backcourt.

Despite giving up eight inches, Johnson was matched against 6-7 Penny Hardaway. The Spurs believed Hardaway would try to post up Johnson and they could double-team him easier on the block.

Hardaway scored a game-high 22 points, but none in the final quarter. With 2:35 left and the game tied, Johnson stripped Hardaway along the baseline and forced a shot-clock violation.

Johnson finished with 16 points and eight assists. Antonio Daniels also played well in relief, scoring eight points in 92 seconds in the first quarter. Darrell Armstrong, Hardaway’s backup and the player who may have concerned the Spurs the most, was held to six points and three assists in 20 minutes.

Offensively, the Spurs have played more pick-and-roll, similar to the offense they used in the playoffs. The Magic did a good job of taking it away in the second half Wednesday and the league’s other good teams may do the same. But Johnson said the key has been getting the Spurs into their offense quickly.

Spurs watch

Today’s game: Spurs @Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Records: Spurs 11-8, third in Midwest Division; Suns 10-9, third in Pacific.

Streak: Won 5

TV: KRRT

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

Online: expressnews.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-13, By Johnny Ludden

埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)的英雄事迹帮助马刺战胜太阳

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)认为这是他至少能做的事情。在周五下午目睹亚利桑那州被俄克拉荷马州在NCAA锦标赛第一轮中爆冷击败后，埃利奥特想要为他的母校保留某种尊严。

“也许，”埃利奥特说道，“这将有助于弥补我们在全国电视直播中的失利。”

野猫热。赶快加入。

埃利奥特在比赛结束的哨声响起时投进了一记19英尺的跳投，帮助马刺在周五晚上在美洲西线球馆的19023名观众面前以99-97的比分击败了菲尼克斯太阳队。

除了让亚利桑那州感到自豪外，埃利奥特还帮助他的现任雇主避免了又一次对太阳队的尴尬失利。在浪费了17分的领先优势后，马刺队（12-8）凭借着他们的第六场连胜坚持到了最后。

“那绝对是一个漂亮的投篮，”大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道。“它救了我们。我们试图将比赛拱手相让。”

然而，埃利奥特不会让他们这样做。在太阳队（10-10）在5.7秒内得到5分将比分追平后，马刺队在还剩2.1秒时叫了暂停。当史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)无法将球发出去时，他们再次叫了暂停。

埃利奥特为蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)设置了一个掩护，然后跑到了球场右侧的关键位置。马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)用界外球传球给他。埃利奥特投篮命中，球稳稳地落入网中。他的队友们几乎没有触碰到地板，就从球场飞奔而去。

“在那个战术中，我真的只是最后的保障，”埃利奥特说，他全场12投7中得到16分。

可以说，他也是唯一的保障。在安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)投进一记20英尺的跳投，帮助马刺队在还剩11分25秒时取得16分的领先优势后，除了埃利奥特之外，没有其他马刺球员在最后一节得分。

在比赛结束的哨声响起前，他投进了两记长距离跳投。然后，他投进了一记三分球，帮助马刺队在还剩44.3秒时以94-90领先。在埃利投进四罚三中后，马刺队在还剩7.8秒时以97-92领先，让太阳队的球迷们纷纷离场。

他们错过了本赛季NBA最精彩的收官之战。

基德(Jason Kidd)投进了一记三分球，然后从埃利手中抢断了一个界外球——埃利没有看到马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)空位跑向球场——当时艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)试图叫暂停。“我想说点什么，”约翰逊说，“但我不想被罚款5000美元。而且我们还是赢了。”

勉强赢了。在抢断球后，基德投出了一记三分球，球击中篮筐弹了出来。当大卫·罗宾逊坐在板凳上观看时，克利福德·罗宾逊(Clifford Robinson)将球补进，在还剩2.1秒时将比分追平。

“杰森·基德(Jason Kidd)真是个讨厌鬼，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在基德得到14分、15次助攻和距离生涯第24次三双只差一个篮板后说道。“杰森·基德(Jason Kidd)真是个讨厌鬼。

“但（太阳队）可能也会对肖恩说同样的话。”

没有那么简短。

“肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)投进了一个很棒的球，”菲尼克斯队主教练丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge)说道。“这是一个精彩的投篮。防守做得很好。

“这是一次很难被击败的投篮。”

埃利奥特认为他的三分球足以赢得比赛，他说这是他在NBA生涯中第一次在比赛结束的哨声响起时投进球。

“我从未经历过如此迅速地经历如此多情绪的状况，”埃利奥特说。“在三分球之后，我们来到板凳席上，我们欣喜若狂。然后，他们在一眨眼之间将比分追平。

“我们很沮丧。我们真的沮丧。”

他们有理由沮丧。马刺队周五与穆罕默德·阿里(Muhammad Ali)住在同一酒店。显然，阿里——他在场边观看了比赛——并没有教授致命一击的技巧。

2月17日，马刺队在第三节结束时领先15分，在第四节结束时领先11分，然后以79-76输给了太阳队。周五，他们在邓肯在第三节得到26分中的15分后取得了17分的领先优势。他们在第四节初期仍然领先16分，在还剩3分57秒时领先11分。

然而，失误再次让马刺队崩溃。他们在第四节的9次失误中有两次是在界外球发球时发生的。在另一次失误中，丹尼·曼宁(Danny Manning)在界外球发球后立即抢断埃利奥特。

“我们对压迫防守的执行力很差，”波波维奇说。“这是本赛季一直困扰我们的问题。我们必须继续努力练习。”

罗宾逊说，他在下半场得到全场最高的15个篮板中的12个：“我们需要练习我们的控球。”

另一名前野猫球员——史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)——帮助马刺队在该节初期从落后5分的情况下反超，在不到3分钟的时间里投进了3记三分球。他全场8分钟得到10分，但在最后2.1秒前没有再上场。

“对于一个野猫来说，今天真是糟糕的一天，”科尔说。“但也许我和肖恩让事情变得好一点。”

马刺队的新闻：史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)和肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)没有等多久就看到了对俄克拉荷马州在NCAA锦标赛第一轮中爆冷战胜亚利桑那州的分析。

“我一上巴士就从一些人那里听到了，”科尔说。

科尔和埃利奥特，他们在上世纪80年代末在亚利桑那州一起打球，上周为野猫队录制了一段告别视频。科尔在酒店房间里观看了周五的比赛，并没有和埃利奥特谈论失利。

“无需多言，”科尔说。“真是太难看了。”

科尔在1月份的亚利桑那州退役了他的球衣。

“在今天的比赛之后，”科尔说，“我正试图忘记大学的经历。”

——来自“澳大利亚60分钟”的电视摄制组周四和周五在菲尼克斯拍摄了关于马刺队后卫安德鲁·盖兹(Andrew Gaze)和太阳队中锋卢克·朗利(Luc Longley)的片段。

点击查看原文：Elliott's heroics lift Spurs past Suns

Elliott’s heroics lift Spurs past Suns

Sean Elliott figured it was the least he could do. After watching Arizona get upset by Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, Elliott wanted to preserve some sort of dignity for his alma mater.

“Maybe,” Elliott said, “this will help atone for our loss on national television.”

Wildcats Fever. Catch it.

Elliott swished a 19-footer at the buzzer to give the Spurs a crazy 99- 97 victory over Phoenix on Friday night in front of 19,023 at America West Arena.

In addition to doing Arizona proud, Elliott bailed out his current employers from another embarrassing loss to the Suns. After squandering a 17-point lead, the Spurs (12-8) hung on for their sixth straight win.

“That sure was a nice shot,” David Robinson said. “It saved us. We tried to give this one away.”

Elliott, however, wouldn’t let them. After the Suns (10-10) tied the game with five points in 5.7 seconds, the Spurs called timeout with 2.1 seconds left. When Steve Kerr couldn’t inbound the ball, they called another timeout.

Elliott set a back screen for Tim Duncan and flared to the top right of the key. Mario Elie hit him with the inbounds pass. Elliott hit nothing but net. His teammates barely hit the floor as they sprinted off the court.

“I was really the last resort on that play,” said Elliott, who finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Make that the only resort. After Antonio Daniels hit a 20-footer to give the Spurs a 16-point lead with 11:25 left, no other Spur besides Elliott made a basket in the final quarter.

He knocked down two long jumpers with the shot clock expiring. Then he added a three-pointer to give the Spurs a 94-90 advantage with 44.3 seconds lead. After Elie made three of four free throws, the Spurs owned a 97-92 lead with 7.8 seconds left, sending the Suns fans to the exits.

What they missed was arguably the best finish in the NBA this season.

Kidd hit a three-pointer then stole the inbounds pass from Elie - who didn’t see Malik Rose open downcourt - while Avery Johnson was trying timeout. “I would say something,” Johnson said, “but I don’t need a $5,000 fine. And we won, anyway.”

Barely. After stealing the ball, Kidd threw up a three-pointer that glanced off the rim. With David Robinson watching from the bench, Clifford Robinson tipped it in to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left.

“Jason Kidd is a royal pain in the ass,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after Kidd finished with 14 points, 15 assists and one rebound shy of his 24th career triple double. "Jason Kidd is a royal pain in the ass.

“But (the Suns) may be saying the same thing about Sean.”

Not in as few words.

“Sean Elliott hit a great shot,” Phoenix coach Danny Ainge said. "It was a spectacular shot. It was well defended.

“It was a pretty tough shot to lose on.”

Elliott, who thought his three- pointer was enough to win the game, said it was the first buzzer- beater of his NBA career.

“I’ve never been in a situation where you go through so many emotions so quickly,” Elliott said. "After the three we came to the bench and we were ecstatic. Then they tied the game in a blink of an eye.

“We were down. We were really down.”

They had reason to be. The Spurs stayed at the same hotel as Muhammad Ali Friday. Apparently, Ali - who watched the game courtside - was not giving knockout punch lessons.

On Feb. 17, the Spurs led by 15 late in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth before losing to the Suns 79-76 at the Alamodome. Friday, they built a 17-point lead after Duncan hung up 15 of his 26 points in the third quarter. They still led by 16 early in the fourth and by 11 with 3:57 left.

Turnovers, however, again crumbled the Spurs. Two of their nine fourth-quarter turnovers came off inbounds plays. On another, Danny Manning stripped Elliott immediately after the inbounds pass.

“We executed poorly against the pressure defense,” Popovich said. “That’s something that’s bothered us all season. We just have to continue to work on it.”

Said Robinson, who had 12 of his game-high 15 rebounds in the second half: “We need to work on our ball-handling.”

Another former Wildcat - Steve Kerr - helped bring the Spurs back from a five-point deficit early in the period, making three three-pointers in less than three minutes. He finished with 10 points in eight minutes, but did not play again until the final 2.1 seconds.

“It was a tough day to be a Wildcat,” Kerr said. “But maybe Sean and I made it a little better.”

Spurs notes: Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott didn’t have to wait long for an analysis of Oklahoma’s surprising first-round victory over Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.

“As soon as I got on the bus I heard it from some of the guys,” Kerr said.

Kerr and Elliott, who played together at Arizona in the late 1980s, filmed a sendoff video for the Wildcats last week. Kerr watched Friday’s game in his hotel room and didn’t talk to Elliott about the loss.

“No words were necessary,” Kerr said. “Boy, was it ugly.”

Kerr had his uniform retired by Arizona in January.

“After today’s game,” Kerr said, “I’m trying to forget the college experience.”

-A television crew from “60 Minutes Australia” was in Phoenix on Thursday and Friday to film a segment about Spurs guard Andrew Gaze and Suns center Luc Longley.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-14, By Johnny Ludden

马刺轻松战胜掘金

别再关注最后一秒的投篮了，把戏剧留给“急诊室的故事”。想知道马刺是如何赢得比赛的吗？

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)封盖了5次，并在第四节坐在板凳上。

埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)送出了8次助攻，并在第四节坐在板凳上。

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)得到27分，并在第四节坐在板凳上。

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)得到18分，并在第四节坐在板凳上。

威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)完美地完成了他的背后传球。

是的，是威尔·珀杜完成了背后传球。这个周六晚上对马刺来说就是这样。他们以92-61战胜了掘金，取得了七连胜，甚至没有让阿拉莫穹顶的32982名观众在最后一节感到紧张。

在对魔术和太阳队的比赛中，马刺（13胜8负）在领先两位数的情况下艰难取胜，他们很享受这场相对轻松的胜利。邓肯是唯一一个在第四节上场的首发球员，他在比赛还剩7分24秒时下场。

“我们不应该在对阵魔术的比赛中陷入那种情况，”珀杜说。“我们不应该在对阵太阳的比赛中陷入那种情况。但不幸的是，我们还是陷入了。”

“我们需要更多像这样的比赛，让球员们休息。”

安德鲁·盖兹(Andrew Gaze)甚至为来拍摄关于这位澳大利亚传奇球员的“60分钟澳大利亚”电视节目组展示了自己的实力。比赛结束后，他向一位访客提出一个请求。“请告诉他们我是真的，”盖兹说。

“我们尽了我们所能让他出名，”约翰逊说。“我们让他今晚上了7-8分钟。而且他甚至投进了一个球，这很令人兴奋。”

唯一的遗憾是马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)的左腿后腱拉伤。作为预防措施，他下半场没有上场。

然而，他的缺席并没有减少马刺的舒适度。掘金遭遇七连败，本赛季12场比赛客场全败，他们的投篮命中率仅为28.8%，出现了22次失误，并创造了球队最低得分纪录。

掘金在上一周日以106-96输给马刺的比赛中，投篮命中率高达51.7%，创下本赛季新高，但周六他们却远远没有达到这个数字。掘金（5胜16负）前11次出手命中了6次，之后62次出手却只命中了15次。掘金全场比赛只有21次投篮命中，比他们的最低纪录少1次，只有9次助攻，比他们的最低纪录少1次。

安东尼奥·麦克戴斯(Antonio McDyess)本周前三场比赛场均得到30.3分，但在本场比赛中只得到23分，21次出手仅命中9次，最后7分钟没有上场。

“看起来我可以绕过蒂姆，”麦克戴斯说，“然后另一个7尺高的家伙就在等着我。”

那是罗宾逊。

麦克戴斯准备扣篮……

被封盖了。

麦克戴斯准备扣篮……

被封盖了。

麦克戴斯准备扣篮……

被封盖了。

基昂·克拉克(Keon Clark)打3打1快攻……

被封盖了。

“安东尼奥通常都会扣篮得分，”约翰逊说。“但大卫不行。”

罗宾逊和邓肯互相补充。邓肯在上半场得到27分中的18分。罗宾逊负责防守端，贡献了全队10次封盖中的5次。

“这是我现在最重要的任务。我是防守球员，”罗宾逊说。“我和蒂姆沟通得很好。如果我们能做到这一点，我们在防守上就是一对好搭档。”

“蒂姆贴防他。安东尼奥的跳投很少不进，所以我们试图让他突破到篮下。我的任务是封堵他。”

与此同时，埃利奥特延续了他在周五的出色表现。在以一记压哨绝杀战胜太阳之后，他在前两节对掘金得到15分。他前两次出手都是三分命中，并在比赛开始后的7分钟内得到11分。

“肖恩总是让人惊讶，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“没有人会想到他会带着如此快的第一步和弹跳能力回来。

“他已经成为了我们进攻中另一个不可或缺的部分，我们之前并不确定他会回来。”

珀杜也是如此，他显然是在周五在菲尼克斯从杰森·基德(Jason Kidd)那里学到了一些东西。第二节比赛快结束时，珀杜沿着球道飞奔，在篮下用一个背后传球传给了邓肯。邓肯被吓了一跳，无法完成这个动作，错失了一次助攻，并被犯规。

“我需要找到一个能完成终结的人，”珀杜说。“我想他是被吓到了。”

他不是唯一一个。球场上所有马刺球员都忍不住笑了。

“如果有人要做出一些新奇的东西，”波波维奇说，“那就是威尔。”

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)说：“我们叫他悲剧约翰逊。”

马刺观察

周六：马刺 92，掘金 61

战绩：马刺 13-8，西部联盟中区第二；掘金 5-16，西部联盟中区第六

连胜：7连胜

得分王：马刺 - 蒂姆·邓肯，27分……掘金 - 安东尼奥·麦克戴斯，23分

亮点：掘金的61分在NBA单场最低得分榜上排名第十。马刺的对手在该榜单前十名中占了三个席位。

下一场比赛：马刺客场对阵国王，周二晚上9:30。

点击查看原文：Spurs hardly break sweat vs. Nuggets

Spurs hardly break sweat vs. Nuggets

Forget the last-second shots. Leave the drama to “ER.” Want to know how the Spurs really like to win?

David Robinson blocks five shots and sits on the bench in the fourth quarter.

Avery Johnson hands out eight assists and sits on the bench in the fourth quarter.

Tim Duncan scores 27 points and sits on the bench in the fourth quarter.

Sean Elliott scores 18 points and sits on the bench in the fourth quarter.

Will Perdue perfects his wrap- around pass.

Yep. Will Perdue with the wrap- around pass. It was that kind of Saturday night for the Spurs. They beat Denver 92-61 for their seventh straight victory and didn’t even make the Alamodome crowd of 32,982 sweat in the final quarter.

After blowing double-digit leads before hanging on for nail-biting wins against Orlando and Phoenix, the Spurs (13-8) appreciated a relatively relaxing victory. Duncan was the only starter to play in the fourth quarter, leaving for good with 7:24 left.

“We never should have been in that situation against Orlando,” Perdue said. "We never should have been in that situation against Phoenix. But unfortunately, we were.

“We need more games like this to get guys rested.”

Andrew Gaze even got to show off for the “60 Minutes Australia” television crew in town to film a segment on the Aussie legend. After the game he asked a favor of a visitor. “Please tell them I’m the real deal,” Gaze said.

“We did everything we could to get him some pub,” Johnson said. “We got him a good seven to eight minutes tonight. And it was exciting that he even made a shot.”

The only downer came when Mario Elie’s left hamstring tightened. He did not play in the second half as a precautionary move.

His absence, however, did little to lessen the Spurs’ comfort level. Denver, which lost for the seventh straight time and remained winless on the road in 12 games this season, shot 28.8 percent, committed 22 turnovers and set a franchise record for fewest points.

The Nuggets, who shot a season- high 51.7 percent in its 106-96 loss to the Spurs last Sunday, fell far short of that figure Saturday. Denver (5-16) made 6 of its first 11 shots, then missed 47 of its final 62 attempts. The Nuggets finished with 21 field goals, one shy of their record low, and nine assists, one shy of their record low.

Antonio McDyess, who had averaged 30.3 points in three games this week, finished with 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting and did not play the final seven minutes.

“It seemed like I would get by Tim,” McDyess said, “and there would be another 7-footer waiting for me.”

That would be Robinson.

McDyess for the dunk …

Stuffed.

McDyess for the dunk …

Stuffed.

McDyess for the dunk …

Stuffed.

Keon Clark on a 3-on-1 break …

Stuffed.

“Antonio usually dunks on people,” Johnson said. “But not David.”

Robinson and Duncan complemented each other. Duncan scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half. Robinson took care of the other end of the court and half of the team’s 10 blocks.

“That’s my big role now. I’m The Defense Man,” Robinson said. "Tim and I really communicated well. If we do that, we’re a good tandem defensively.

“Tim got up on him. And Antonio doesn’t miss many jump shots so we tried to make him drive to the rim. It was my job to cut him off.”

Elliott, meanwhile, picked up where he left off Friday. After hitting the game-winner at the buzzer to beat the Suns, he hung up 15 points on the Nuggets in the opening two quarters. He knocked down his first two three-pointers and scored 11 points in the first seven minutes of the game.

“Sean just continues to amaze,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "No one thought he would come back with that quick first step and jumping ability that he has.

“He’s become another facet of our offense we were not sure we would have.”

So has Perdue, who apparently picked up a few moves from Jason Kidd Friday in Phoenix. Late in the second quarter, Perdue bounded down the lane and whipped a behind-the-back pass to Duncan underneath the basket. Duncan was so startled he couldn’t complete the play - costing Perdue an assist - and was fouled.

“I need to find someone that can finish,” Perdue said. “I think he was surprised.”

He wasn’t the only one. Every Spur on the court couldn’t keep from laughing.

“If there’s someone that’s going to come up with something that’s new and unique,” Popovich said, “it’s Will.”

Said Malik Rose: “We call him Tragic Johnson.”

Spurs watch

Saturday: Spurs 92, Nuggets 61

Records: Spurs 13-8, second in the Midwest Division; Nuggets 5- 16, sixth in the Midwest

Streak: Won 7

High scorers: Spurs - Tim Duncan, 27 … Nuggets - Antonio McDyess 23

Highlight: Denver’s 61 points rank tenth on the NBA’s list of fewest points scored in a game. Spurs opponents make up three of the top 10 on that list.

Next game: Spurs @Sacramento, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-14, By Glenn Rogers

工会会费上涨

今年，球员协会将工会会费从5000美元提高到10000美元，这一举动让一些马刺球员感到意外。

“我之前并不知道这件事，”马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)说。“但如果这能让工会更强大，那也挺好。(工会执行董事)比利·亨特(Billy Hunter)和谈判委员会做得很好。”

“现在，如果我们能把口袋掏得更深，让工会的钱包更丰满，也许下次我们能做得更好，也许下次我们能赢。”

芝加哥公牛队的工会代表史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)表示，他一直让球员们了解会费上涨的情况。

“他们并不高兴，但他们理解，”科尔说。“我们积压了大量的法律费用。”

• 合同保障：马刺队的杰拉德·金(Gerard King)和布兰登·威廉姆斯(Brandon Williams)在周六收到了好消息。

周六，所有联盟合同在今年剩余时间都将得到保障。威廉姆斯和金是本赛季马刺队中唯一两位没有保障合同的球员。

点击查看原文：Nots

Nots

Union dues up: The Players Association jumped its union dues from $5,000 to $10,0000 this year, an unexpected surprise to some Spurs.

“It was news to me,” said Malik Rose. "But it’s OK if it makes the union stronger. (Union executive director) Billy Hunter and the negotiating committee did a great job.

“Now, if we can get our pockets deeper, fatten the union’s wallet, maybe next time we can do even better, maybe next time we can win.”

Steve Kerr, the union rep for the Chicago Bulls, said he kept his players informed about the coming hike.

“They weren’t thrilled but they understood,” Kerr said. “There were a lot of legal bills piled up.”

- Pacts guaranteed: The Spurs’ Gerard King and Brandon Williams received good news Saturday.

On Saturday, all league contracts became guaranteed for the rest of the year. Williams and King were the only Spurs operating under non- guaranteed contracts this season. - Glenn Rogers

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-14, By Glenn Rogers

饥饿的马刺大快朵颐 - 掘金毫无抵抗之力

丹佛掘金队在周六晚上阿拉莫穹顶球馆的比赛结束后，只点了几根热狗作为赛后小吃。

早些时候，他们的表现就像一根毫无佐料的热狗。没有芥末，没有洋葱丁，没有泡菜，甚至面包都缺失了。

只有安东尼奥·麦克戴斯(Antonio McDyess)表现出了几分实力。

但他贡献的 23 分仅仅是回味，因为马刺队以 92 分的得分吞噬了战绩为 5 胜 16 负的掘金队，并将丹佛队的得分限制在队史最低的 61 分。

“我们打得不好，”主教练迈克·德安东尼(Mike D’Antoni)在赛后分析时摇了摇头说道，“我们开局充满活力，前 11 投命中 6 球，然后就熄火了。”

掘金队只希望球馆的灯光能熄灭，掩盖他们糟糕的表现。

这是他们连续第 12 场客场失利，也是他们在过去 69 场客场比赛中取得的第 66 场失利。

投篮命中率如同气压计一样直线下跌，最低降至 27%，最终定格在 28.8%。在开场 6 投 11 中后，掘金队接下来的 62 投仅命中 15 球，并在垃圾时间连续投丢 7 球。

“不知从什么时候开始，我们决定低着头硬拼，”德安东尼说。

这是一个致命的错误。

身材矮小的掘金队无法与马刺队 7 英尺高的球员抗衡。中锋丹尼·福特森(Danny Fortson)需要再高个 4 英寸，才能与大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)正面交锋。

“这有点像实力悬殊，”福特森轻描淡写地说，“很难打。我们仍然可以尝试，但他们控制了所有球权。那是邓肯和罗宾逊，而不是沙奎尔·奥尼尔。”

“麦克(麦克戴斯)几次绕过邓肯，但大卫已经在那儿等着封盖他的投篮。他就像扎根在那里，”德安东尼说，“然后我们对自己的外线投篮失去了信心。”

罗宾逊吞噬了“巨无霸”，封盖了麦克戴斯的 3 次投篮。全场比赛他贡献了 5 次封盖，马刺队总共封盖了 10 次。

掘金队在上半场以 36 比 53 落后 17 分，他们出现了 11 次失误，投篮命中率为 31.6%。

不过，最近的历史告诉我们，比赛还没有结束。但丹佛队没有把握住圣安东尼奥队在第二节容易崩盘的弱点。

马刺队象征性地给掘金队提供了一些机会，第三节只得到 15 分。但丹佛队并不领情，只得到 13 分。

“很难对付那些 7 英尺高的球员，”麦克戴斯说，“我们将球传到内线，然后传出来，但球员们犹豫不决，不敢出手。我们需要一些外线投篮，因为我们面对这支球队太矮了。”

比赛变成了丹佛队失误的噩梦。

一次三打一的快攻被破坏，因为罗宾逊追上并封盖了基昂·克拉克(Keon Clark)的灌篮。

掘金队差点再得 4 分，但两次被判进攻犯规。

掘金队的得分机器在 6 英尺 11 英寸的新秀拉夫伦茨(Raef LaFrentz)本赛季早些时候膝盖受伤后，开始出现故障。拉夫伦茨能够命中中远距离投篮，并对像罗宾逊这样的内线球员构成了足够的威胁，迫使他们离开禁区。

但周六晚上，没有任何东西能将罗宾逊拉出禁区。

“今晚的表现并不代表我们本赛季的真实水平，”布莱恩特·史蒂斯(Bryant Stith)说，“有些夜晚你就是找不到状态。我们错失了很多近在咫尺的投篮。”

换句话说，当事情变得糟糕时，它们往往会变得越来越糟糕。

掘金队不仅投篮失误，而且手感冰凉，失误不断，传球失误，将球传出界或传到马刺队球员手中。他们出现了 22 次失误，创下了马刺队对手的赛季新高。这些失误转化为 17 分。

点击查看原文：Hungry Spurs feast on Nuggets - Denver puts up little resistance

Hungry Spurs feast on Nuggets - Denver puts up little resistance

The Denver Nuggets ordered up a few hot dogs for their post-game snack Saturday night at the Alamodome.

Earlier, they kind of played like a hot dog, one with nothing on it. No mustard. No chopped onions. No relish. Even the roll was missing.

There was a little meat - Antonio McDyess.

But his 23 points were just an aftertaste as the Spurs gobbled up the 5-16 Nuggets, scoring 92 points and limiting Denver to a franchise-low 61.

“We just played bad,” said Coach Mike D’Antoni, shaking his head as he walked out of the locker room for the post-game postmortem. “We started with energy, hit six of our first 11 shots, and then the lights went out.”

The Nuggets only wished that the dome lights went out to put their performance in the dark.

The loss was the 12th straight on the road and the 66th in Denver’s last 69 away games.

The shooting percentage dropped like barometric pressure, hitting a low of 27 percent, settling at 28.8 percent. After their 6-11 start, the Nuggets hit 15 of the next 62, missing seven straight in garbage time.

“Somewhere along the line, we decided to put our heads down and bang it in there,” D’Antoni said.

A crucial error.

The undersized Nuggets were no match for the Spurs’ 7-footers. Center Danny Fortson needs another 4 inches or so on his 6-7 frame before he can seriously tangle with David Robinson.

“It was kind of a mismatch in there,” said an understated Fortson. “It’s tough. We can still go in there, but they had their hands on everything. That’s Duncan and Robinson down there, not just Shaquille O’Neal.”

“Mac (McDyess) got around Duncan a few times and David was waiting there to block his shot. He was just camped out there,” D’Antoni said. “Then we just lost confidence in our outside shooting.”

Robinson swallowed Big Mac, stuffing three of his shots. He had five in the game. The Spurs totalled 10 swats.

The Nuggets trailed by 17, 53-36, at the half, after committing 11 turnovers and shooting 31.6 percent.

Still, recent history warned that the game might not be over. But Denver was no threat to take advantage of San Antonio’s vaunted second-half collapses.

The Spurs made a token offer to Denver, scoring only 15 points in the third period. Denver said no thanks and scored 13.

“It’s tough to get over those 7- footers,” McDyess said. “We put the ball into the post and then pitched it out, but the guys were hesitant to shoot. We needed to get some outside shooting because we are so undersized against this team.”

The game became a nightmare of Denver mishaps.

A three-on-one break was destroyed when Robinson caught up and blocked a Keon Clark stuff attempt.

The Nuggets almost had four more points but twice were called for offensive goaltending.

The Nuggets’ scoring machine threw a rod or two when 6-11 rookie Raef LaFrentz blew out his knee earlier this season. LaFrentz hit the medium-and long-distance jumpers, and was enough of an outside threat to lure big men like Robinson out of the paint.

Nothing lured Robinson out Saturday.

“Tonight was not indicative of how we’ve been playing this season,” said Bryant Stith. “Some nights you just don’t have it. We missed a lot of point-blank shots.”

In other words, when things go bad, they tend to get steadily worse.

The Nuggets botched not only their shooting, they became slippery fingered, dropped passes, tossed balls out of bounds or into the hands of Spurs. They had 22 turnovers, a season-high for a Spurs foe. The bobbles turned into 17 points.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-14

西部联盟动态

卡尔谈现实

卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 对于讨论公牛王朝的崩塌时，对政治正确的说法嗤之以鼻。

“去你的，”他说。“相信我，那些真正想要夺冠的球员，不会为公牛队的解散而哭泣。内心深处，他们都在说，‘太好了，现在我更有机会了’，因为这是一场充满机遇的游戏，你得尽力抓住每一个机会。”

马龙说他很敬佩迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan) 和斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)，以及他们所取得的辉煌成就，但他坚持说，如果要在夺冠和和乔丹做朋友之间做出选择，他会说，“再见了，迈克尔。”

“如果公牛队管理层决定重建，赶走他们的教练，联盟最佳球员，然后解散球队，那么他们活该。那不是我的错。”

基德的遗产

杰森·基德(Jason Kidd) 在成为达拉斯历史上第一位全明星首发球员后，被交易到了菲尼克斯太阳队。虽然基德在联盟的星光大道上不断攀升，但教练吉姆·克莱蒙斯(Jim Cleamons) 和总经理弗兰克·扎卡内利(Frank Zaccanelli) 已经离开达拉斯。

新的独行侠管理层不禁思考，如果当初发生在菲尼克斯的事，是否也会发生在达拉斯。

基德试图淡化自己的复仇动机，但他承认自己痴迷于确保自己不会被遗忘。

“当我第一次回到那里的时候，我想以 100 分的优势击败他们，”基德说。“这不是针对内利(教练唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)) 或者他们的球员，因为他们当时都不在。只是每次看到那件球衣，都会是一个不眠之夜。”

到目前为止，基德已经获得了多次“最后的欢笑”。自从交易之后，太阳队对独行侠战绩为 8-1，太阳队获得了季后赛席位，而独行侠则继续在底部挣扎。

基德的离开也让独行侠队为寻找一名控球后卫而苦苦挣扎。他们尝试过休伯特·戴维斯(Hubert Davis)、埃里克·斯特里克兰(Erick Strickland)、罗伯特·帕克(Robert Pack)、萨姆·卡塞尔(Sam Cassell)、史蒂夫·纳什(Steve Nash)、德里克·哈珀(Derek Harper)、哈立德·里夫斯(Khalid Reeves)、肖恩·雷斯珀特(Shawn Respert)、丹尼斯·斯科特(Dennis Scott) 和巴伯·韦尔斯(Bubba Wells)。

掘金队对尼克的失望

丹佛队正在迅速了解为什么湖人队会抛弃尼克·范·埃克塞尔(Nick Van Exel)。

曾经的潜力新星范·埃克塞尔，如今已经陷入了一种近乎永久的低迷状态。他的投篮命中率只有 36%，经常受到对方后卫的欺负，甚至无法准时参加训练。

在马刺队痛击他之后的一天，范·埃克塞尔迟到了训练，他说他以为训练时间是上午 10:30，而不是 10 点。掘金队今年还没有一次在 10:30 进行过训练。

丹佛队似乎曾经向范·埃克塞尔的经纪人托尼·达特(Tony Dutt) 保证，如果球员能在本赛季结束后取得好成绩，就会获得一份丰厚的合同。现在看来，掘金队的老板们不相信球队能在范·埃克塞尔带领下取得胜利。

问题是什么？

金州勇士队刚刚经历了他们第一次连续三天三场比赛的考验。但这在球队副总裁阿尔·阿特尔斯(Al Attles) 眼中算不上什么。

“我们曾在费城打过 21 天 18 场比赛。我们根本没有考虑过这个问题。我当时只是很高兴能进入联盟，”阿特尔斯说，也许他忘记了当时联盟的球员没有乘坐私人飞机，也没有住在豪华酒店，更不用说工资水平大幅降低了。

特里·卡明斯(Terry Cummings) 模糊地记得自己职业生涯早期也经历过连续三天三场比赛的考验：“当时最大的区别是没有人包机。所以你必须早上 5 点起床去赶飞机。如果你在那些小城市，你还要转机才能到达目的地。”

特里是在回忆他在密尔沃基和圣安东尼奥的时光吗？

兰比斯的洛杉矶选择

库特·兰比斯(Kurt Rambis) 骑着一匹冠军级别的良驹，却看着同城同事克里斯·福特(Chris Ford) 骑着一头驴。

兰比斯是湖人队老板杰里·巴斯(Jerry Buss) 的女婿，去年夏天被快船队招募，但他选择继续担任湖人队的助理教练。

“我认真考虑了加入那支球队的可能性，”兰比斯说。“最终的决定是，这不是我作为主教练的首选工作。如果我是克里斯(有之前的主教练经验)，我会接受这份工作。”

“但对于一个菜鸟主教练来说，开局 0-17 会很艰难。这会让人们如何评价我，认为我是一个什么样的教练，你知道吗？”

这对克里斯来说也不好看。

点击查看原文：Western Conference Notes

Western Conference Notes

Karl on reality Karl Malone pooh-poohs politically correct statements when it comes to discussing the demise of the Bulls.

“To heck with that,” he said. “Believe me, the players who really want to win a ring are not crying about the breakup of the Bulls. Deep down within, they’re all saying, ‘Great. Now I have a better shot,’ because this is a game of breaks and you try to take advantage of every break that comes your way.”

Malone said he admired Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and all the wonder they accomplished, but insisted that if he had to choose between winning a title and being Jordan’s friend, he’d say, "See you later, Michael.

“And if the Bulls management decides they want to rebuild and chase away their coach, the game’s best player and then break up the team, then good riddance. That’s their fault. Not mine.”

The Kidd legacy

After becoming the first All- Star starter in Dallas history, Jason Kidd was traded to the Phoenix Suns. While Kidd has climbed the league’s star-studded ladder, Coach Jim Cleamons and General Manager Frank Zaccanelli are long gone from Dallas.

New Mavericks management is left wondering if what has happened in Phoenix might have happened in Dallas.

Kidd attempts to downplay his revenge motive, but admits to being obsessed with making sure he isn’t forgotten.

“When I first went back there I wanted to beat them by 100 points,” Kidd said. “It’s not a vendetta against Nellie (Coach Don Nelson) or their players because they weren’t even around. It’s just that anytime I see that uniform, it’s going to be a big night.”

So far, Kidd’s had several last laughs. Since the trade, the Suns are 8-1 against the Mavericks, the Suns enjoy playoff status and the Mavs continue to crawl around the bottom.

Kidd’s departure has also left the Mavericks scrambling for a point guard. They’ve gone through Hubert Davis, Erick Strickland, Robert Pack, Sam Cassell, Steve Nash, Derek Harper, Khalid Reeves, Shawn Respert, Dennis Scott and Bubba Wells.

Nuggets down on Nick

Denver is fast learning why the Lakers unloaded Nick Van Exel.

Once a promising star, Van Exel has slumped into almost perpetual moodiness. He’s shooting 36 percent, suffers abuse from opponents’ guards and can’t even arrive on time at practice.

Van Exel was late the day after the Spurs torched him and said he thought practice was at 10:30 a.m., not 10. The Nuggets haven’t practiced at 10:30 once all year.

Denver at one point apparently assured Van Exel’s agent, Tony Dutt, that the player would be rewarded with a big pact after this season. Now it appears that Nuggets honchos don’t believe the team can win with Van Exel.

What’s the problem?

Golden State just went through its first spurt of three games in three nights. That’s not much of a feat in the eyes of team vice president Al Attles.

“We played 18 games in 21 days once when we were in Philly. We just didn’t think about it. I was just happy to be in the league,” Attles said, perhaps forgetting back then the league’s players also didn’t fly in private jets and sleep in luxury hotels, not to mention the dramatically lower salaries.

Terry Cummings vaguely remembers doing three straight early in his career: “Back then the difference, too, was that nobody had a charter. So you had to get up at 5 in the morning and go catch a plane. If you were in one of those smaller markets, you’re connecting to get there.”

Was Terry recalling his days in Milwaukee and San Antonio?

Rambis’ L.A. choice

Kurt Rambis is riding a championship-caliber thoroughbred while watching crosstown colleague Chris Ford ride a mule.

Rambis, the son-in-law of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, was courted by the Clippers last summer but opted to remain a Lakers assistant.

“I went pretty far with my consideration for that ballclub,” Rambis said. "The ultimate decision came down to the fact that it wasn’t the right job for me to take as my first head coaching experience. If I was Chris (with previous NBA head coaching experience), I would’ve taken the job.

“But it would be real tough for first-year head coach to be 0-17. How would that look on me, as what kind of coach I was, you know?”

It doesn’t look too good for Chris either.

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-15, By Johnny Ludden

注视依然令人惊叹 - 来自板凳席

三分钟。安德鲁·盖兹(Andrew Gaze) 在周六晚上对阵丹佛的比赛中，仅仅在垃圾时间得到3分。他得到了什么？

一辆漆成纯黑色的豪华轿车，停在他公寓门口等候。

作为一名保险射手，盖兹被签下从马刺板凳席末端登场。他很少上场，也很少得分，在13场比赛中总共只得到17分。当在电视上观看比赛时，他4岁的女儿科特尼(Courtney) 不断喊着：“让安德鲁上场！” 除了盖兹的妻子梅琳达(Melinda) 和2岁的女儿菲比(Phoebe) 外，他们租了一间不错但朴素的公寓，它可以容纳在戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 的书房里。

而回到盖兹的故乡澳大利亚，今天是堪培拉日，他们以埃尔维斯·普雷斯利(Elvis Presley) 的致敬活动来庆祝这一天。这件事很大，是“60分钟”节目报道的大事。

周日下午，来自“60分钟澳大利亚”的电视摄制组完成了关于盖兹和他的同胞，菲尼克斯太阳队中锋卢克·朗利(Luc Longley) 的报道。他们的任务是找出为什么33岁的盖兹会远赴美国，尝试加入NBA。

“我可以在欧洲赚更多钱，”盖兹说道，“但我这样做是为了体验。”

周日下午就是这样。查尔斯·库拉特(Charles Kuralt) 可能被困在了一辆温尼贝戈房车里，但“60分钟”节目雇了一辆司机驾驶的豪华轿车，带着盖兹和他的家人在圣安东尼奥市中心兜了6个半小时。

电视摄制组甚至找到了盖兹的公寓，这本身就是一个成就，因为盖兹提供了路线指引。在本赛季早些时候，马刺队中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue) 写下了前往当地电影院的详细路线。盖兹却迷路了。

“他告诉我从‘胡布纳’路口出去，然后在辅路上右转，”盖兹说道，“但那里没有标着‘辅路’的标志。”

几乎在澳大利亚版戴安·索耶(Diane Sawyer) 的记者丽兹·海耶斯(Liz Hayes) 到达后，她就开始寻找丑闻。她的目标是一小群球迷，他们在周六的比赛中举着拼写出G-A-Z-E 的海报大小的字母。

“有指控称他们是安排好的，”海耶斯说道，“可能是家人安排的。”

当他在比赛结束前不到两分钟的时间内投进一个三分球时，盖兹转身，模仿迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan) 的经典动作，指着他的崇拜者。

“我简直不敢相信，”盖兹说道，“我不想嘲笑这种状况，也不想惹恼(马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich))。但他没有看到。”

虽然盖兹在圣约翰大学打了一年球，帮助海盗队在1989年的NCAA锦标赛中杀入决赛，并在1994年通过与华盛顿子弹队的两份为期10天的合同短暂体验了NBA，但他主要是在澳大利亚引起了轰动。他获得了澳大利亚国家篮球联赛七个最有价值球员奖。明年盖兹几乎肯定会参加在悉尼举行的第五届奥运会。

“他完全没有自我，”海耶斯说道，“他就像一个沉睡者。他参加过奥运会，在希腊和意大利打过球，现在又来到NBA。然而，当你看到他在板凳席上时，他就像从来没把自己当回事。”

当得知朗利签下了价值3600万美元的合同后，盖兹，他赚取的是联盟最低工资，说道：“这能让你吃一顿不错的饭。每两周领到工资，就像中了彩票一样。”

周日午餐时，盖兹同样惊讶于大多数美国餐厅都有免费的饮料续杯。虽然他本来可以不尝试当地的一种习俗：玉米粽。

正确的NBA俚语也让盖兹感到困惑。尤其是当他的导师之一是来自路易斯安那州的埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 时。当马刺队表现不佳时，盖兹开始告诉所有人：“伙计，我们不行。”

“埃弗里总是这么说，”盖兹说道，“我以为这意味着你死了。就像躺在棺材里，脚朝上。

“有一天，有人终于告诉我埃弗里说的是‘Tore up’，意思是‘我们完蛋了’。”

周日，盖兹在河边漫步时接受“60分钟”节目的采访，一名女子要求和他以及她穿着一件马刺队T恤的婴儿儿子合影。“我丈夫昨晚去看了比赛，”她说，“我们非常喜欢你。”

当她走开时，她转向她丈夫说道：“那家伙是谁？”

半个小时后，在El Mercado餐厅，一名日本游客找到了答案。

“啊，”他说，“威尔·珀杜！”

马刺队比赛看点

下一场比赛：周二晚上9:30，客场对阵萨克拉门托国王队。

战绩：马刺队13胜8负，西部联盟中区第二名；国王队10胜12负，西部联盟太平洋分区第五名。

连胜：7连胜。

电视转播：KRRT。

广播：WOAI-AM 1200（西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350）。

网络：expressnews.com/spurs

点击查看原文：Gaze can still amaze - from the bench

Gaze can still amaze - from the bench

Three points. Andrew Gaze scored three measly garbage-time points Saturday night against Denver. And what does he get?

A solid-black stretch limo waiting curbside at his apartment.

Signed as an insurance shooter to come off the end of the Spurs’ bench, Gaze rarely plays and rarely scores, piling up 17 points in 13 games. When watching games on TV, his 4-year-old daughter, Courtney, repeatedly yells, “Put Andrew in.” Along with Gaze’s wife, Melinda, and 2-year-old Phoebe, they rent a nice, yet modest apartment that could fit in David Robinson’s study.

And back home in Gaze’s native Australia, which celebrates Canberra Day today with an Elvis Presley tribute, this is big. “60 Minutes” big.

A television crew from “60 Minutes Australia” put the wraps on a story about Gaze and a fellow Aussie compatriot, Phoenix Suns center Luc Longley, Sunday afternoon. Their mission was to find out why, at 33 years old, Gaze would head stateside to give the NBA a try.

“I could make more money in Europe,” Gaze said. “But I’m doing this for the experience.”

Sunday afternoon was just that. Charles Kuralt may have gotten stuck with a Winnebago, but “60 Minutes” hired a chauffeur-driven limousine to whisk Gaze and his family around downtown San Antonio for 61/2 hours.

That the television crew even found Gaze’s apartment was an accomplishment considering he provided the directions. Earlier in the season, Spurs center Will Perdue wrote down explicit instructions on how to reach a local movie theater. Gaze never made it.

“He told me to exit ‘Hoob-ner’ and then make a right off the access road,” Gaze said. “But there was no sign saying ‘Access Road.’”

Almost immediately after reporter Liz Hayes - the Australian equivalent of Diane Sawyer - arrived, she began digging up dirt. Her focus: a small group of fans who carried poster-sized letters that spelled out G-A-Z-E at Saturday’s game.

“There were allegations they were planted,” Hayes said. “Family probably.”

When he knocked down a three- pointer with less than two minutes left, Gaze turned and, in a move that was pure Michael Jordan, pointed to his worshippers.

“I couldn’t believe it meself,” Gaze said. “I didn’t want to make a mockery of the situation and make (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) mad. But he wasn’t looking.”

Though Gaze played one season at Seton Hall, where he helped lead the Pirates to the 1989 NCAA Tournament championship game, and got a sip of the NBA in 1994 during a pair of 10-day contracts with the Washington Bullets, he has primarily turned heads in Australia. He has won seven MVP awards in the country’s National Basketball League. Next year Gaze will almost certainly play in his fifth Olympics at the Sydney Games.

“He is completely without ego,” Hayes said. “He is like a sleeper. He has played in the Olympics, in Greece and Italy, and now in the NBA. Yet when you watch him on the bench, it’s like he never takes himself seriously.”

Upon hearing that Longley had signed a $36 million contract, Gaze, who earns the league minimum, said: “That will get you a nice meal. It’s like winning the lottery every two weeks when you get paid.”

At lunch Sunday, Gaze was equally amazed that most U.S. restaurants have free drink refills. Though he could have done without one local custom: tamales.

Proper NBA slang also has troubled Gaze. Especially when Cajun- bred Avery Johnson is one of his tutors. When the Spurs struggled, Gaze started telling everyone, “Man, we’re toe up.”

“Avery was always saying it,” Gaze said. "I thought it meant you were dead. Like in a coffin. With your toes up.

"The other day someone finally told me Avery was saying, ‘Tore up. We’re tore up.’ "

While Gaze was doing part of his “60 Minutes” interview on the River Walk on Sunday, a woman asked him to pose for a picture with her infant son, who happened to be wearing a Spurs T-shirt. “My husband went to game last night,” she said. “We just love you.”

As she was walking away, the woman turned to her husband and said, “Now who was that?”

Half an hour later at El Mercado, a Japanese tourist had the answer.

“Aaah,” he said. “Will Perdue!”

Spurs watch

Next game: Tuesday @Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Records: Spurs 13-8, second in the Midwest Division; Kings 10-12, fifth in the Pacific

Streak: Won 7

TV: KRRT

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

Online: expressnews.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-16, By Buck Harvey

马刺的另一面：赢家中的输家？

令人震惊的马刺连胜消息并非他们超越火箭和森林狼，而是他们超越了公牛。

如今，在所有现役的NBA球队中，马刺队在常规赛中的历史总胜率仅次于联盟历史上另外两支球队。

湖人和凯尔特人。

然后是马刺。

对于一支幸运地挤进大联盟的南德克萨斯球队来说，这真是非凡的成就，然而，这一成就也有其另一面。在仅次于NBA传奇球队中排名历史第三，也可以被视为对季后赛失利的谴责。马刺如何能够拥有如此高的常规赛战绩，却从未打过一次NBA总决赛——而其他15支现役球队都打过呢？

但这就是这支令人困惑的球队永远持续的传奇故事。你对马刺的任何喜爱，都可以被反过来解读。拥有“冰人”的历史和火热的彩票运气，可以根据不同的视角，被解读为苦涩的失败和关于出售球队/球馆的传闻。

萨克拉门托国王队会想知道你在说什么。国王队今晚将对阵马刺队，坦率地说，他们的球迷从来没有像现在这样兴奋过。那么，即使国王队再次跌至五成胜率以下，克里斯·韦伯(Chris Webber)也像租客一样，又有什么关系呢？观看一名新秀控球后卫贾森·威廉姆斯(Jason Williams)和联盟得分最高的球队，比萨克拉门托在过去十年中所见过的任何东西都要好。国王队在北加州的14年历史中，只两次进入季后赛——那是在球队平均38胜的情况下。

接下来的旅程也呈现出类似的视角。勇士队赢得了一座冠军，没错，他们为湾区带来了像威尔特·张伯伦(Wilt Chamberlain)和里克·巴里(Rick Barry)这样的名人堂球员。但在过去的四年中，他们场均约27胜，没有任何走出困境的迹象。

波特兰开拓者队呢？开拓者队在比尔·沃顿(Bill Walton)的带领下赢得了一座冠军，克莱德·德雷克斯勒(Clyde Drexler)将他们带回了总决赛。马刺队没有可比拟的成就；此外，今天的开拓者队已经组建了一支令人惊讶地稳固的阵容。但如果你想要一些季后赛的挫折感呢？这支球队在过去的六个赛季中，从未打进过第一轮。

然后是温哥华灰熊队，这支现役球队拥有最差的胜率。灰熊队梦想着有一天，他们的球队可以输掉一场季后赛比赛。灰熊队已经选了四次状元签——其中一个现在在马刺队——并且似乎离季后赛越来越远。

所以，事情确实有两面性。你可以将大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)看作是一个软弱的、季后赛的失败者，应该被交易——或者，他是球队历史上唯一一位MVP，一个每次挥动左手就能改变比赛的人，一个精神上的人，为圣安东尼奥做出了贡献。

你可以将这支球队视为贪婪的，想要你为它建造一座球馆，而它应该像任何其他企业一样被对待——或者，它愿意为圣安东尼奥迫切需要的一座设施的建设做出贡献，如果它像其他任何企业一样对待自己的账簿，它将放弃任何谈判，从新奥尔良获得巨额利润，并毫不犹豫地搬迁。

你也可以将目前的连胜视为他们只是战胜弱旅的证明——或者，作为马刺队一贯风格的另一个信号。始终有趣，始终令人怀疑，始终位居第三。

今天排在湖人队和爵士队之后，在历史排名中排在湖人队和凯尔特人队之后。

这有多好——又有多糟糕？

点击查看原文：The flip side of the Spurs: Winning losers?

The flip side of the Spurs: Winning losers?

The shocking news of the Spurs’ winning streak isn’t that they pulled ahead of the Rockets and Timberwolves. It’s that they pulled ahead of the Bulls.

Now, among active NBA franchises, the Spurs’ all-time winning percentage during the regular season ranks behind only two others in league history.

Lakers and Celtics.

Then Spurs.

That’s remarkable for a South Texas franchise fortunate to elbow its way into a major league, and yet the achievement has a flip side. Sitting third all-time behind only the NBA’s legendary teams also can be taken as a damning gauge of playoff failures. How can the Spurs own such a regular- season record and yet have never played in even one NBA Finals - when 15 other active franchises have?

But that’s the ever-continuing saga of the ever-confusing franchise. Everything you can like about the Spurs can be turned on them. A history with an Iceman and red-hot lottery luck can be altered, depending upon the view, to a slant about bitter losses and sales/arena talk.

Sacramento would wonder what you’re talking about. The Kings play the Spurs tonight and, frankly, their fans have never had more reason to be giddy. So what if the Kings are below .500 again, and Chris Webber lives as a rental? Watching a rookie point guard, Jason Williams, and the highest- scoring team in the league is better than anything Sacramento has seen in a decade. The Kings have made the playoffs only twice in their 14 years in Northern California - then with teams that averaged 38 wins.

The rest of the road trip shows similar perspective. The Warriors won a title, all right, and they’ve treated the Bay Area to Hall of Famers such as Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry. But over the last four years they’ve averaged about 27 wins, and show no sign of coming out of it.

Portland? The Blazers won a title with Bill Walton, and Clyde Drexler took them back to the Finals. The Spurs have nothing to compare with this; furthermore, today’s Blazers have built a surprisingly sturdy roster. But you want some playoff frustration? This franchise hasn’t gotten out of the first round for the past six seasons.

Then there’s Vancouver, the active franchise with the worst winning percentage. The Grizzlies dream of the day their franchise can lose a playoff game. The Grizzlies have had four lottery picks - one is with the Spurs - and seem as far away from the playoffs as ever.

So there is a flip side. You can see David Robinson as a soft, post- season failure who should be traded - or as the only MVP in franchise history, a guy who changes games every time he waves his left hand at the other team, a spiritual man who has contributed to San Antonio.

You can see the franchise as greedy, wanting you to build it an arena, when it should be treated as any other business would - or as willing to contribute something to the construction of a facility that San Antonio needs regardless and, if it were to treat its own books as any other business would, it would dispense of any negotiations, take the windfall profit from New Orleans and move without discussion.

And you can see this current winning streak as merely confirmation they are only good enough to beat up on patsies - or as another sign the Spurs are what they’ve always been. Always interesting, always suspect, always about third best.

Behind Lakers and Jazz today, behind Lakers and Celtics all- time.

How good is that - and how bad is that?

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-16, By Glenn Rogers

马刺力求专注 - 他们知道波特兰在等着，但国王和勇士是首要任务

圣安东尼奥即将迎来一场重要的比赛。

马刺已经摩拳擦掌，期待着与令人惊讶且实力强大的波特兰开拓者队进行比赛。

等等，等等。先慢下来。马刺队于周一下午开始了他们的西海岸之旅，但他们直到周五晚上才会与开拓者队交手。

在前往俄勒冈州的路上，还有两个障碍 - 今天晚上 9:30 在萨克拉门托和周三晚上 9:30 在金州。

“这是我们不能做的事情，不能提前展望波特兰，”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)周一上午在圣母无染原罪大学的训练结束后说。“我们在更衣室里谈到了这件事。

“国王队赢了一些大比赛，勇士队在主场很难对付。我们知道波特兰将是对我们目前状况的重大考验，但在此之前我们还有比赛要打。”

马刺队希望能够在周五带着七连胜的势头走进玫瑰花园，这七连胜中将包括国王队和勇士队的战利品。由于国王队在周日战胜了没有丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)的湖人队，圣安东尼奥队现在拥有联盟最长的连胜纪录。

马刺队已经改善了他们的进攻，并且进一步加强了防守，但他们的比赛中仍然有一些漏洞和问题。

他们在周六在阿拉莫圆顶体育场大比分战胜了实力下降的掘金队，但即使在那场比赛中，他们也暴露了一个危险的缺陷——下半场实力下降。马刺队在第三节只得到 15 分，直到最后一节才恢复速度。

圣安东尼奥队在下半场对阵菲尼克斯队和奥兰多队时，都曾浪费了领先两位数的分差，将原本可以轻松取胜的比赛变成了惊险的悬念。

“在赛季开始的时候，我们在比赛开始阶段没有执行好我们的进攻。现在我们在比赛的后期没有执行好，”大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说。

罗宾逊说，所有球队都知道自己和其他人都会遇到艰难的赛程。

“当然，我们会研究我们的赛程表，也会研究其他球队的赛程表，”罗宾逊说。“我们知道什么时候我们会遇到强敌，也知道其他球队什么时候会遇到困难。

“这次客场之旅对我们来说非常不错。我们有一些好比赛可以衡量我们的表现。它来得正是时候。”

国王队迄今为止表现起伏不定。马刺队在赛季揭幕战中在圆顶体育场轻松战胜了他们，比分是 101-83。但控球后卫杰森·威廉姆斯(Jason Williams)在一段时间内发挥出色，在中间两节制造了一些混乱，并以 21 分的得分领跑国王队球员。

“他们很有天赋，有克里斯·韦伯(Chris Webber)、（弗拉德）迪瓦茨(Vlade Divac)和威廉姆斯，”波波维奇(Popovich)说。“我们面对的这些球队都有赢球的能力，尤其是在主场。”

波波维奇说，他的球队经历了早期的低迷，现在正在找到自己的节奏。

“他们渡过了艰难时期，因为他们有目标，有性格，”他说。“他们变得更加强硬，更加坚韧。”

马刺队曾经跌至胜率低于五成，有人呼吁波波维奇下课，球队陷入普遍的困境。但球队似乎已经重整旗鼓，现在应该能够在赛季剩余时间里克服缺点，确立一支能够挑战联盟顶级球队的轮换阵容。

肖恩·埃利奥特正在成为一名更具威胁的前场射手，但史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)现在正在努力重返常规轮换阵容。

“我的投篮手感一直不错，”埃利奥特说。“但它总是打框，没有得到任何帮助。有时，感觉篮筐上有盖子。

“现在它进去了。投篮吗？在这个联盟里，没有人能得到足够的投篮机会，”埃利奥特笑着说。“没有人会说他得到了足够的投篮机会。”

科尔说，他仍在寻找自己的位置。

“很明显，我更希望能够上场更多，”他谈到自己减少的出场时间时说。“但我理解现在的情况。我们在控球后卫位置上有艾弗里(Avery)和安东尼奥(Antonio Daniels)，在得分后卫位置上有贾伦(Jaren Jackson)和马里奥(Mario Elie)。很难让五名后卫同时上场。

“我的投篮越来越自信了。难点在于我还没有找到一个稳定的位置。你只能让九个人轮换上场，而我现在不在轮换阵容中。”

马刺队观战指南

今晚：马刺队 @ 国王队

时间地点：晚上 9:30，萨克拉门托的阿科球馆

战绩：马刺队 13胜8负（中西部赛区第二名）；国王队 10胜12负（太平洋赛区第五名）

连胜：7连胜

电视：KABB

广播：WOAI-AM 1200（西班牙语广播为 KCOR-AM 1350）

网络：www.expressnews.com/spurs

点击查看原文：Spurs trying to narrow focus - S.A. knows Portland awaits, but Kings and Warriors come first

Spurs trying to narrow focus - S.A. knows Portland awaits, but Kings and Warriors come first

There’s a mighty big game coming up for San Antonio.

Spurs already are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of their match against the surprising and powerful Portland Trail Blazers.

Oh, oh. Slow down. The Spurs set off on their West Coast road trip Monday afternoon, but they won’t tangle with the Blazers until Friday night.

There are a couple other bumps in the road to Oregon - stops at Sacramento at 9:30 tonight and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Golden State.

“That’s the one thing we can’t do, look ahead to Portland,” Sean Elliott said after his team’s practice at Incarnate Word on Monday morning. "We were talking about that (in the locker room).

“The Kings have been winning some big games, the Warriors are difficult at home. We know that Portland will be a major test for where we are, but we’ve got games to play before then.”

The Spurs want to sail into the Rose Garden on Friday on the cusp of a nine-game winning streak that would include the bodies of the Kings and Warriors. Thanks to the Kings’ victory over the Dennis Rodman-less Lakers on Sunday, San Antonio now has the league’s longest winning streak.

The Spurs have oiled their offense some and stiffened their defense even more but still have a few creaks and cranks in their game.

They routed the sinking Nuggets on Saturday at the Alamodome but even then showed a dangerous defect - a sinking in the second half. The Spurs scored only 15 points in the third period before resuming speed in the final period.

San Antonio blew double-digit leads in the second half against Phoenix and Orlando and turned would-be breathers into breath-holders

“At the beginning of the year, we weren’t executing our offense at the start of games. Now we’re not executing later in the games,” said David Robinson.

Robinson said all teams were aware of tough stretches coming for themselves and others.

“Sure, we study our schedule and we study the schedules of other teams,” Robinson said. "We know when we have a tough one coming and when the other guys have a tough set coming.

“This road trip is a real nice one for us. We have some good games to measure how we’re doing. It’s coming at the right time.”

The Kings have been up and down thus far. The Spurs whipped them handily enough in the season-opener at the dome, 101-83. But point guard Jason Williams got loose for awhile, created some havoc in the middle quarters, and led King scorers with 21 points.

“They are pretty talented, with Chris Webber, (Vlade) Divac and Williams,” Popovich said. “These teams we’re facing can all win, especially at home.”

Popovich said his troops weathered the early storm of bad play and now are finding their grooves.

“They came through the tough period because they have purpose, character,” he said. “They just get tougher and more resilient.”

The Spurs had dipped below .500 play, there were cries for Popovich’s head, and there was general distress. But the team seems to have righted itself and now should be able to spend the rest of the short season smoothing over the rough edges, nailing down a rotation that will be able to go up against the league’s top teams.

Sean Elliott is becoming a more dangerous shooter on the front line, but Steve Kerr now is trying to work his way back into the regular rotation.

“The jumper has been feeling good all season,” Elliott said. "But it was finding the rim, not getting any breaks. At times, it was like there was a lid on the basket.

“Now it’s going in. Shots? Nobody ever gets enough shots in this league,” Elliott said with a smile. “Nobody ever says he gets enough shots.”

Kerr says he’s still looking for his niche.

“Obviously, I’d rather play more,” he said of his dwindling time. "But I understand what’s going on. We’ve got Avery and Antonio (Daniels) at the point and Jaren (Jackson) and Mario (Elie) at the two. It’s tough to play five guards.

“I’m starting to feel more confident with my shot. The tough thing is I haven’t been able to find a consistent niche. You can only play a nine-man rotation and now I’m just not in it.”

Spurs watch

Tonight: Spurs @Kings

When, where: 9:30, Arco Arena, Sacramento

Records: Spurs 13-8 (second in Midwest Division); Kings 10- 12 (fifth in Pacific Division)

Streak: Won 7

TV: KABB

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

Online: www.expressnews.com/spurs

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-17, By Johnny Ludden

马刺太强劲，国王无力招架 - 邓肯带领圣安东尼奥取得八连胜

他们找来了三名维修工人。一个梯子。一把扳手。一个棘轮。一个水平仪。还有其他一些工具，如果使用不当，看起来会非常危险。

资深裁判迈克·马西斯(Mike Mathis) 俯瞰了球场，给出了官方诊断：蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 弄弯了篮筐。

大约 10 分钟后，马西斯最终宣布下半场可以继续进行。家得宝被重新改造回 ARCO 球馆。马刺在第一个回合进攻中做了什么？

邓肯在对方的篮筐上灌篮。

天哪，这些 X 世代的孩子什么时候才能学会尊重他人的财产？

邓肯把篮筐弄坏了。两只球队都让裁判的哨声响个不停。最终，马刺耗尽了萨克拉门托国王队的体力。

圣安东尼奥在本周二晚上在 14,570 名球迷面前以 121-109 击败萨克拉门托，开始了他们为期四场的西海岸客场之旅，取得了八连胜。

下半场的开始时间因损坏的篮筐而被推迟。整场比赛因为 60 次犯规而被延迟。马刺的胜利因为国王队的疯狂反扑而被推迟。

比赛结束时，邓肯为马刺（14-8）贡献了 29 分，其中最后的 3 分来自他在 NBA 的首个三分球。圣安东尼奥队创造了赛季最高的 61.3% 的投篮命中率。马里奥·伊莱(Mario Elie) 贡献了 23 分，肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 贡献了 19 分。

邓肯前 11 次投篮全部命中，最终 16 投 13 中，并在比赛结束前 31.6 秒时因犯规离场。他全队最高的贡献了 12 个篮板和 4 次封盖。在第二节还剩 2 分 40 秒时，他在杰罗姆·克西(Jerome Kersey) 的空中接力传球后，用一次猛烈的灌篮将篮筐弄弯了。他唯一没有做到的事情就是罚球（9 投 2 中）。

“谢天谢地，蒂姆，”大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 说，“他弄弯了篮筐，耽误了比赛，让我们错过了去奥克兰的航班。干得好。”

如果马刺输了，他们的旅程就会变得更长。

他们在第三节还剩 5 分钟时领先 21 分，看起来状态非常出色。马刺在 5 分钟内送出 5 次封盖。罗宾逊贡献了其中的 3 次。

当邓肯没有得分时，埃利奥特、伊莱、艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson，17 分，15 次助攻) 或克西在外线投篮命中。

然后发生了崩盘。马刺在第三节最后 5 分钟内出现了 5 次失误。萨克拉门托在进攻篮板方面以 22-6 的优势领先。

当维尔纳·麦克斯韦尔(Vernon Maxwell) 在第四节开始时投进一个三分球时，马刺的领先优势缩小到 92-87。领先优势一度缩小到只有 4 分。

“那真是乱七八糟，”伊莱说。

然后，罗宾逊换下了威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)，约翰逊换下了安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)。罗宾逊凭借连续三个进球帮助马刺稳住了阵脚。然而，萨克拉门托一直保持着追赶的态势，直到比赛结束前的最后两分钟。

国王队（11-13）90 投 36 中（40%）。克里斯·韦伯(Chris Webber) 24 投 7 中。杰森·威廉姆斯(Jason Williams) 13 投 4 中。萨克拉门托未能成为本赛季第五支连续三场比赛获胜的球队。

威尔·珀杜在第二节被膝盖撞到肋骨后不得不下场。X 光检查结果呈阴性，他在第三节回到了球场。

马刺观察

周二：马刺 121，国王 109

得分王：马刺 - 邓肯 29 分；国王 - 迪瓦茨(Divac) 18 分

战绩：马刺 14-8（中西部赛区第二）；萨克拉门托 11-13（太平洋赛区第五）

连胜：8 连胜

今晚：马刺 @勇士队（9-13）

时间、地点：9:30，新球馆，奥克兰，加利福尼亚州

电视：KRRT

广播：WOAI-AM 1200（西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350）

网络：expressnews.com/spurs

点击查看原文：Spurs too powerful for Kings - Duncan leads S.A. to eighth straight win

Spurs too powerful for Kings - Duncan leads S.A. to eighth straight win

They brought out three maintenance workers. A stepladder. A wrench. A ratchet. A level. And some other device that, if used improperly, looked like it could be extremely painful.

Veteran official Mike Mathis then took a bird’s-eye view to deliver the official diagnosis: Tim Duncan had bent the rim.

After about 10 minutes, Mathis finally ruled the second half fit to play. Home Depot was transformed back into ARCO Arena. And what happened on the Spurs’ first trip down the court?

Duncan dunked on the other basket.

Sheesh. Will these Generation-X kids ever learn to respect others’ property?

Duncan wore out the rims. Both team’s wore out the referees’ whistles. And the Spurs finally wore out the Sacramento Kings.

San Antonio opened its four- game West Coast road trip with its eighth straight victory, beating Sacramento 121-109 in front of 14,570 fans Tuesday night.

The second half was delayed by the damaged rim. The entire game was delayed by 60 fouls. And the Spurs’ victory was delayed by a furious comeback by the Kings.

When it was all done, Duncan had 29 points - the last three coming on his first NBA three-pointer - for the Spurs (14-8). San Antonio shot a season-high 61.3 percent. Mario Elie scored 23 points, and Sean Elliott added 19.

Duncan made his first 11 shots and finished 13 of 16 before fouling out with 31.6 seconds left. He added a team-high 12 boards and four blocks. With 2:40 left in the second quarter, he bent the rim on a vicious dunk courtesy of a lob pass from Jerome Kersey. About the only thing he didn’t do was make his free throws (2 of 9).

“Thanks Tim,” said David Robinson, who finished with 18 points and three blocks. “He bends the rim, delays the game and makes us late to Oakland. Way to go.”

The Spurs’ trip would have been a lot longer had they lost.

They held a 21-point lead with five minutes left in the third quarter and looked in near-perfect form. The Spurs blocked five shots in five minutes. Robinson had three of them.

And when Duncan wasn’t scoring, Elliott, Elie, Avery Johnson (17 points, 15 assists) or Kersey were knocking down shots from the outside.

Then came the collapse. The Spurs turned over the ball five times in the final five minutes of the third quarter. Sacramento owned a 22-6 edge on the offensive glass.

And when Vernon Maxwell hit a three-pointer to open the fourth, the Spurs’ lead had shrunk to 92-87. The lead dwindled to as few as four.

“It was helter-skelter out there,” Elie said.

Robinson then replaced Will Perdue, and Johnson took over for Antonio Daniels. Robinson kept the Spurs afloat with three straight baskets. Sacramento, however, stayed within striking distance until the final two minutes.

The Kings (11-13) made only 36 of 90 shots (40 percent). Chris Webber missed 17 of 24 from the field. Jason Williams missed 9 of 13. Sacramento failed in its quest to become the fifth team this season to win three games in as many nights.

Will Perdue had to leave the game in the second quarter after taking a knee to the ribs. X-rays were negative and he returned in the third quarter.

Spurs watch

Tuesday: Spurs 121, @Kings 109

High scorers: Spurs - Duncan 29; Kings - Divac 18

Records: Spurs 14-8 (second in Midwest Division); Sacramento 11- 13 (fifth in Pacific)

Streak: Won 8

Tonight: Spurs @Warriors (9-13)

When, where: 9:30, New Arena, Oakland, Calif.

TV: KRRT

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

Online: expressnews.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-17, By Glenn Rogers

防守锁住了比赛固有的美丽

请把音量调高一点。

不，不是球场上每次暂停时传来的震耳欲聋的噪音。

给进攻注入活力，阻止NBA试图误导球迷的企图。

举个例子：一些住在佛罗里达州狭长地带的居民声称，他们在周一晚上魔术队在最后三秒钟从76人队手中偷走比赛的时候，听到了奥兰多体育场的观众欢呼声。

媒体也被骗了。他们包围着英雄达雷尔·阿姆斯特朗(Darrell Armstrong)，并围攻着替罪羊乔治·林奇(George Lynch)。林奇失误了界外球传球，阿姆斯特朗抢断并得分。

真正的故事在最后的喧嚣声中丢失了，却在计分板上找到了。

林奇的失误是76人队22次传球失误和传球失误中的最后一次。费城队的投篮命中率只有35%。

奥兰多队在更衣室里庆祝。球员们又赢了一场，想到了季后赛。他们避开了他们自己只有28%的投篮命中率的事实。

教练查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)和拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)又耍了一次花招。他们给体育场聚集的观众上演了一堂慢节奏篮球的教科书式的例子。

戴利快要输了，快要不得不带着那张悲伤的、长长的脸去参加赛后新闻发布会了。

布朗已经准备好露出一点点微笑，谈论他的费城球员们仍然需要学习他们在球场上的位置。

角色在最后时刻的激动人心的突袭中反转了。但最终比分让人难以置信——74-73。

那是高中级别的进攻。现在，我们每天晚上都在被职业球员们这样对待。

迈阿密教练帕特·莱利(Pat Riley)之流的人告诉我们喜欢这种风格。

想象一下。帕特·莱利，曾经的洛杉矶“秀球”大师，现在成为了“砰砰球”的鉴赏家。

谁喜欢这种东西？

很多教练喜欢。迈克·弗拉泰洛(Mike Fratello)喜欢。戴利喜欢。格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)是他的信徒。布朗看到了它的优点。唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)曾经为其他教练举办关于旋转防守技巧的讲习班。

有些球队没有进攻或防守。当他们遇到偶尔出现的进攻机器时，他们会被彻底击败，而当防守大师们来到城里时，他们看起来还算不错。

谁想看这种比赛？

没有人。

球迷们坐在沉默中，不安地动来动去，观察人群，等待着看到比赛结束时是否会有哪怕一丝紧张感。通常情况下，确实会有一些紧张感，因为两支球队都没有能力得分足够多，以摆脱对方。

篮球，或者至少曾经是，应该是一场激动人心的、令人热血沸腾的游戏。球员们在球场上飞奔，填补空档，跳跃和灌篮。

NBA曾经提供源源不断的冷血射手，他们会停下来，把球投进篮筐。而且球员们确实能够命中将近一半的投篮。

现在，联盟已经因为扩张而变得如此臃肿，即使一支球队拥有一个真正的射手，防守也会把他带出比赛，把球留给砌砖工和钢铁工人。

我们曾经看到过那些被称为“冰人”、“J博士”、"滑翔机"或仅仅是“迈克”的球员们精彩绝伦的表演。

我们曾经有一个完整的联盟，ABA，让观众们惊叹和愉悦，并迫使老化的NBA合并并采用激动人心的战术。

现在我们有什么？

只是一点点希望。我们看到，观众们开始涌现，观看国王队的杰森·威廉姆斯(Jason Williams)。76人队的艾伦·艾弗森(Allen Iverson)仍然可以表演一场精彩的比赛。

但我们有教练认为自己是打仗的将军。不是像巴顿将军那样带着坦克和空中掩护，而是回到城堡守卫准备挖战壕进行围攻的时代。

他们扼杀了比赛的生命力。他们设计出无数种双人包夹和复杂的防守轮转。他们选择了平淡无奇的进攻。他们之所以认为进攻重要，仅仅是因为他们认为篮筐在那里是为了其他目的，而不是为了被防守。

他们每年都会承诺打快节奏比赛，然后跑到黑板上，画出拖延时间的、控球的、传球的战术，扼杀了任何节奏的痕迹。

乔治·格文(George Gervin)永远不可能为这些家伙效力。

你会听到那些支持新篮球风格的人说，芝加哥队依靠防守赢得冠军，公牛队是比赛关键时刻最凶猛的防守球队。

好吧。但当你指出公牛队在过去三个常规赛中场均得分分别为105分、103分和97分时，他们会把目光移开。乔丹和他的团队让主场和客场球迷们为之欢呼。

如果娱乐停止，联盟将无法填满一个当地的体育馆，更不用说一个穹顶体育馆了。

罗杰斯(Rogers) 的 NBA 排名

排名，球队，评论

1. 犹他爵士：在逆转比赛中总是很强势
2. 迈阿密热火：热火吞噬了篮网和卡利帕里
3. 波特兰开拓者：开拓者在爵士之后找到了替罪羊
4. 洛杉矶湖人：湖人队输球，罗德曼仍然在筹码中
5. 印第安纳步行者：步行者队回应了伯德的挑战
6. 奥兰多魔术：魔术队在奥兰多体育场回归
7. 圣安东尼奥马刺：马刺队拥有艾略特导弹
8. 亚特兰大老鹰：史蒂夫·史密斯的得分让老鹰队不可阻挡
9. 费城76人：失误让林奇很头疼
10. 底特律活塞：活塞队正在努力爬回山顶
11. 明尼苏达森林狼：马布里终于找到了自己的时间
12. 休斯顿火箭：皮蓬正在学习德雷克斯勒的经验
13. 西雅图超音速：超音速队在贝克的带领下变得软弱
14. 纽约尼克斯：尤因真的会和范甘迪一起走吗？
15. 密尔沃基雄鹿：为什么没有人想在这里打球？
16. 菲尼克斯太阳：太阳队需要更早地控制基德
17. 萨克拉门托国王：国王队将季后赛收入囊中
18. 华盛顿奇才：斯特里克兰离队，奇才队赢球，伯尼幸存
19. 金州勇士：勇士队再次成为搅局者
20. 克利夫兰骑士：骑士队现在没有了两个活泼的欧洲人
21. 达拉斯小牛：小牛队赢了两场，尼尔森看到了冠军
22. 多伦多猛龙：文斯·卡特可以与北卡罗来纳大学的球员们感同身受
23. 芝加哥公牛：公牛队输球，克劳斯的比赛计划仍然完整
24. 夏洛特黄蜂：黄蜂队对待范甘迪就像对待考文斯一样
25. 波士顿凯尔特人：伯德把小妖精带到了印第安纳
26. 丹佛掘金：掘金队检查了赛程表，看看灰熊队什么时候来
27. 新泽西网队：凯西在打球。杰克逊在投球？
28. 温哥华灰熊：灰熊队仍然在冬眠
29. 洛杉矶快船：福特想要交易，但没有人想要他的天赋。

点击查看原文：Defense locking up the game's innate beauty

Defense locking up the game’s innate beauty

Pump up the volume - please.

No, not the deafening noise that booms out whenever there is a pause in action on the floor.

Juice up the offense and stop the NBA’s attempt to mislead its fans.

To wit: Some Floridians living in the panhandle claim they heard the crowd roar at the Orlando Arena when the Magic stole the game from Philadelphia in the final three seconds Monday night.

The media fell for it, too. They surrounded the hero, Darrell Armstrong, and hounded the goat, George Lynch. Lynch flubbed the inbounds pass, and Armstrong stole the ball and scored.

The true storyline was lost in the final clamor but found in the box score.

Lynch’s flub was the final of 22 butterfingered dribbles and errant passes by the Sixers. Philadelphia hit 35 percent of its shots.

Orlando celebrated in its locker room. The players had another win, thought about the playoffs. They skirted the fact that they hit 28 percent of their shots.

Coaches Chuck Daly and Larry Brown had pulled another fast one. They treated the arena gathering to a textbook example of slow ball.

Daly was on the verge of losing, close to having to wear that mournful, long face for the postgame press.

Brown was ready to smile, just a little, and talk about how his Philly guys still had to learn where they were on the floor.

The roles reversed in a last- second blitz of excitement. But the final score jars the mind - 74-73.

That’s high school offense. Now we’re being treated to this by pros on a nightly basis.

We’re told to like it by the likes of Miami coach Pat Riley.

Imagine. Pat Riley, the one-time master of Showtime in L.A., now a connoisseur of bang ball.

Who likes this stuff?

Lots of coaches do. Mike Fratello loves it. Daly thrives on it. Gregg Popovich is a disciple. Brown sees its virtues. Don Nelson used to run clinics for other coaches on the intricacies of the rotating defense.

Some teams have no offense or defense. They get shellacked when they run into the occasional offensive machine and look reasonably respectable when the defensive gurus parade into town.

Who wants to watch it?

Nobody.

Fans sit in silence, stir restlessly, study the crowd and wait to see whether there might be a modicum of tension at game’s end. Usually there is because neither team is capable of scoring enough to escape the other.

Basketball is, or at least was, supposed to be an exciting, blood- pulsing romp of a game. Guys flying down the floor, filling the lanes, leaping and jamming.

The NBA used to offer a steady stream of dead-eye shooters who pulled up and fired into the net. And the players actually were capable of hitting almost half of their shots.

Now the league has been so stretched by expansion that even when a team does boast a legitimate shooter, the defense takes him out of the game and leaves the ball in the hands of bricklayers and ironworkers.

We used to see picturesque flights of fancy from guys nicknamed Ice, Dr. J., the Glide or just plain Mike.

We used to have an entire league, the ABA, amaze and delight audiences and force the aging NBA to merge and adopt the pulsating schemes.

Now what do we have?

Just a modicum of hope. We see crowds beginning to show up to watch the Kings’ Jason Williams. Allen Iverson of the Sixers can still put on a show.

But we’ve got coaches believing they’re generals going to war. Not Pattons with tanks and covering airpower, but throwbacks to the castle tenders preparing to dig in for sieges.

They choke the life out of the game. They concoct endless variations of double-teams and complex defensive rotations. They settle on plain-vanilla offense. They think offense only because they figure the nets are there for reasons other than to be defended.

They annually promise a running game, then scurry to their blackboards and draw up clock- draining, hold-the-ball, pass-it- around schemes that kill any semblance of tempo.

George Gervin could never have played for these guys.

You’ll hear the apologists for the new brand of ball exclaim that Chicago won titles with its defense, that the Bulls were the most ferocious defenders in crunch time.

Fine. But these folks look away when you note that the Bulls averaged 105, 103 and 97 points in the last three regular seasons. Jordan & Co. entertained the home and away crowds.

If the entertainment stops, the league won’t be able to fill up a local gym, let alone a dome.

ROGERS’ NBA RANKINGS

RANK, TEAM COMMENT

1. Utah: Always salty in comeback games 2. Miami: Heat consumed Nets and Calipari 3. Portland: Blazers found patsies after Jazz 4. L.A. Lakers: L.A. loses, Rodman stays in the chips 5. Indiana: Pacers answer Bird’s challenge 6. Orlando: Magic returns at O-rena 7. SPURS: Spurs armed with Elliott missiles 8. Atlanta: Steve Smith’s scoring makes Hawks formidable 9. Philadelphia: Turnovers tough on Lynch 10. Detroit: Pistons climbing back up Hill 11. Minnesota: Brandon has time to become Marbury12. Houston: Pippen learning what Drexler knew 13. Seattle: Sonics are putty with Baker 14. New York: Will Ewing really go with Van Gundy? 15. Milwaukee: How come no one wanted to play here? 16. Phoenix: Suns need earlier Kidd control 17. Sacramento: Kings keep playoffs in sight 18. Washington: Strickland out, Wizards win, Bernie survives 19. Golden State: Warriors back into spoiler role 20. Cleveland: Cavaliers now without two lively Europeans 21. Dallas: Mavs win two, Nelson sees title 22. Toronto: Vince Carter can sympathize with Tar Heels 23. Chicago: Bulls lose, Krause game plan intact 24. Charlotte: Hornets treat Van Gundy like Cowens 25. Boston: Bird took leprechauns to Indiana 26. Denver: Nuggets check schedule for Grizzly times 27. New Jersey:Casey’s at the bat. Jackson pitching? 28. Vancouver: Bears still in hibernation 29. L.A. Clippers: Ford wanted trades, no one wanted his talent.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-18, By Johnny Ludden

火热马刺力克勇士 - 圣安东尼奥将九连胜带到波特兰

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr) 很早就看到了迹象。埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 竭尽全力。大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 看起来僵硬。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 手感冰凉。肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 失去了弹跳。

科尔也知道原因。

“我们欠他们的，”科尔说。“他们在周二晚上对阵国王队的比赛中帮助了我们。”

现在，这份债务已经偿还。

马刺队在周三晚上以 82-78 击败了金州勇士队，取得了九连胜，这也是他们在奥克兰竞技场在 10257 名球迷面前取得的胜利。没有人需要再看更远，只要看看替补席就能知道马刺队 (15-8) 是如何取得这场胜利的。

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose) 得分 17 分，抢下 6 个篮板。科尔被从替补席上调上来，拿下了全场最高的 14 分，其中除 1 分外，其余都在第二节的 5 分钟内完成，当时马刺队正在从早些时候的 16 分落后中奋力追赶。安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels) 在最后阶段的拉锯战中得到 7 分中的 6 分。

“这是我们的工作，”罗斯说。“当首发球员发挥不佳时，我们必须站出来。”

而那确实是一个糟糕的夜晚。

马刺队的投篮命中率仅为 37.7%，比前一天创造的赛季新高 61.3% 低很多。在周二战胜国王队的比赛中，所有五位首发球员都得分上双，替补球员仅贡献了全队 121 分中的 5 分。

而面对勇士队，替补球员则贡献了 39 分。马刺队首发球员的投篮命中率仅为 14 投 49 中。

“我们很累，”埃利奥特说。“马利克，史蒂夫和安东尼奥拯救了我们。”

罗斯和丹尼尔斯合计贡献了马刺队在最后一节的前 11 分。约翰·斯塔克斯(John Starks) 的一个三分球让勇士队在比赛还剩 4 分 26 秒时以 68-67 领先，约翰逊随后在篮下打进了一个跳投。

邓肯在之前 16 次出手中错失了 4 次，他投进了一个擦板跳投。贾森·卡菲(Jason Caffey) 将勇士队的比分缩小到 71-70，但邓肯抢断后助攻罗斯完成灌篮。埃利奥特随后也完成了一次灌篮，并在比赛最后几秒钟罚进了四罚全中，帮助球队锁定了胜利。

罗宾逊在 23 分钟的比赛中 8 投 1 中，仅得到 3 分和 5 个篮板。这是他职业生涯的最低得分，除了上赛季他被爵士队前锋卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 的肘击打昏之后，那一场他一分未得。

“大卫看起来有些僵硬，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 说。“但他表示自己没事。”

邓肯说：“他在联盟里打了多少场比赛？他偶尔打一场糟糕的比赛是应该的。”

科尔在第二节中段连续得到 8 分，包括两个连续的三分球。曾经 16 分的落后变成了马刺队 32-28 的领先。

科尔在前半场最后 13 分钟上场，在不到 5 分钟的时间里就拿下了全队最高的 11 分。他前三投全中，并且从上周五战胜太阳队的比赛开始，他已经连续命中了 5 个三分球。

“我能在联盟里打这么长时间的原因之一就是，我知道这没有任何道理，”科尔说。科尔在马刺队之前三场比赛中，有两场没有上场。

“在过去的四场比赛中，我几乎没有上场。而在这场比赛中，我上场了 25-30 分钟。你必须努力不要把它当作个人问题，并做好准备。幸运的是，我一直都在这样做。而这对我来说已经收到了回报。”

宾博·科尔斯(Bimbo Coles)（全场最高 20 分）早早地就给马刺队制造了麻烦，在开场前 5 分钟就拿下了 10 分。波波维奇已经看够了。在比赛还剩 6 分 27 秒时，他用丹尼尔斯、罗斯和佩杜(Perdue) 换下了约翰逊、邓肯和罗宾逊。

勇士队将领先优势扩大到 16 分，然后马刺队才开始发力。罗斯在前半场的 9 分钟里贡献了 8 分和 4 个篮板。

“我认为教练用第二阵容换上首发阵容是一个非常好的决定，”邓肯说。“他们给我们带来了活力，让我们重新回到了比赛中。”

马刺队赛程

周三：马刺队 82，@勇士队 78

得分最高者：马刺队 - 邓肯 17 分，罗斯 17 分；勇士队 - 科尔斯 20 分

战绩：马刺队 15-8（中西部赛区第二名）；金州勇士队 9-14（太平洋赛区第六名）

连胜：9 连胜

下一场比赛：周五 @波特兰，晚上 9 点（电视转播：KRRT）

点击查看原文：Hot Spurs hold Warrios at Bay - S.A. takes nine-game streak to Portland

Hot Spurs hold Warrios at Bay - S.A. takes nine-game streak to Portland

Steve Kerr saw the signs early. Avery Johnson labored. David Robinson looked stiff. Tim Duncan couldn’t buy a shot. Sean Elliott had lost his spring.

Kerr also knew the reason why.

“We owed it to them,” Kerr said. “They carried us (Tuesday night) against Sacramento.”

Consider the debt repaid.

The Spurs won for the ninth straight game, edging Golden State 82-78 in front of 10,257 fans at The Arena in Oakland on Wednesday night. And no one needs to look any closer than the end of the bench to find out how the Spurs (15-8) slipped away with their latest win.

Malik Rose scored 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. Kerr, taken out of storage, busted out for a season-high 14 points, all but one coming in a five-minute span in the second quarter when the Spurs rallied from an early 16-point hole. Antonio Daniels scored six of his seven points in the final see-saw period.

“That’s our job,” Rose said. “When the starters have a slow night, we have to come through.”

And what a slow night it was.

The Spurs shot only 37.7 percent from the field, one night after making a season-high 61.3 percent of their shots. In Tuesday’s win against Sacramento, all five starters scored in double figures. The bench accounted for only five of the team’s 121 points.

Against the Warriors, the bench totaled 39 points. The Spurs’ starters made only 14 of 49 shots.

“We were tired,” Elliott said. “Malik, Steve and Antonio saved us.”

Rose and Daniels combined to score the Spurs’ first 11 points of the final quarter. After a three- pointer by John Starks gave Golden State a 68-67 lead with 4:26 left, Johnson answered with a runner in the lane.

Duncan, who missed four of his first 16 shots, banked in a jumper. Jason Caffey pulled the Warriors within 71-70, but Duncan turned a steal into a dunk by Rose. Elliott followed with a dunk of his own and made four free throws in the final seconds to help seal the win.

Robinson missed all but one of his eight shots and finished with three points and five boards in 23 minutes. It was his career low, with the exception of last season when he was shut out after being knocked unconscious last season by Utah forward Karl Malone’s elbow.

“David looked a little stiff at times,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But he said he was all right.”

Said Duncan: “How many games has he played in this league? He’s entitled to one bad game once in a while.”

Kerr scored eight straight points - including back-to-back three- pointers - in the middle of the second quarter. What was once a 16-point deficit became a 32-28 lead for the Spurs.

Kerr, who played the last 13 minutes of the first half, scored his team-high 11 points in less than five minutes. He hit his first three shots and had made five straight three-pointers dating back to Friday’s win over Phoenix.

“One of the reasons I’ve been able to stick around in this league so long is that I know it doesn’t make any sense,” said Kerr, who did not play at all in two of the Spurs’ three previous games.

“The last four games, I practically haven’t played. This game, I play 25-30 minutes. You have to try to not take it personally and be ready. Fortunately, I’ve been doing that. And it’s paid off for me.”

Bimbo Coles (game-high 20 points) lit up the Spurs early, scoring 10 points in the first five minutes. Popovich had seen enough. He subbed Daniels, Rose and Perdue for Johnson, Duncan and Robinson with 6:27 left.

Golden State pushed its lead to 16 before the Spurs got going. Rose added eight points and four rebounds in nine first-half minutes.

“I think Coach made a great move in putting in that second squad,” Duncan said. “They gave us some great energy to get us back into the game.”

Spurs watch

Wednesday: Spurs 82, @Warriors 78

High scorers: Spurs - Duncan 17, Rose 17; Warriors - Coles 20

Records: Spurs 15-8 (second in Midwest Division); Golden State 9- 14 (sixth in Pacific)

Streak: Won 9

Next game: Friday @Portland, 9 p.m. (TV: KRRT)

Online: expressnews.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-18, By Associated Press

马刺、森林狼将在日本比赛

美国职业篮球联赛（NBA）今日宣布，明尼苏达森林狼队(Minnesota Timberwolves)和圣安东尼奥马刺队(San Antonio Spurs)将在11月于东京进行两场常规赛。

联盟表示，这是NBA常规赛第五次在东京举办。

1990年，NBA成为首个在美国以外地区举办常规赛的美国职业联盟，当时菲尼克斯太阳队(Phoenix Suns)和犹他爵士队(Utah Jazz)在东京开启了1990-1991赛季。

森林狼和马刺将在11月6-7日于东京巨蛋进行比赛。这将是两支球队首次在日本比赛。

点击查看原文：Spurs, Wolves to play in Japan

Spurs, Wolves to play in Japan

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs will play two regular-season games in Tokyo in November, the NBA said today.

The scheduled matchups mark the fifth time NBA regular-season games will have been played in Tokyo, the league said.

In 1990, the NBA became the first U.S. professional league to stage regular-season games outside North America when the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz opened the 1990-1991 season in Tokyo.

Minnesota and San Antonio will play at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 6-7. It will be the first games in Japan for both teams.

By Associated Press, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-18, By Johnny Ludden

笔记

伤情: 威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)在周二战胜萨克拉门托国王队的比赛中肋骨受伤，周三仍然感到疼痛。

“他们告诉我情况不会恶化，所以我能上场，”珀杜说。“我开玩笑说我需要一件防弹背心。但我想那可能有点太累赘了。”

在周二第二节比赛中，珀杜挺身而出想要造成国王队前锋劳伦斯·方德伯克(Lawrence Funderburke)进攻犯规，结果被对方用膝盖顶到了肋骨。

珀杜退出比赛去拍了 X 光片，结果显示没有问题。他在第三节比赛中回归。

里程碑: 马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)在周二战胜萨克拉门托国王队的比赛中拿到了他职业生涯的第 1500 次助攻。他是马刺队历史上第四位达成 1500 次助攻和 1500 个篮板的球员，此前三位分别是：大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)、肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和杰罗姆·科尔西(Jerome Kersey)。

点击查看原文：Notes

Notes

Ouch: Will Perdue was still in pain Wednesday after bruising his ribs in Tuesday’s win over Sacramento.

“They tell me it’s not going to get any worse, so I can play,” Perdue said. “I was joking that I need a flak jacket. But I think that might be a little too cumbersome.”

Perdue stepped up to take a charge in the second quarter Tuesday, when Kings forward Lawrence Funderburke kneed him in the ribs.

Perdue left the game to have X- rays, which were negative. He returned in the third quarter. Milestone: Mario Elie picked up his 1,500th career assist in Tuesday’s win over Sacramento. He is the fourth player on the Spurs’ roster - joining David Robinson, Sean Elliott and Jerome Kersey - with 1,500 assists and 1,500 rebounds.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News