马刺1998-99赛季实录（780+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Travis E. Poling

马刺球迷在波特兰将难觅住处

任何计划前往波特兰观看西部决赛第三、四场比赛的马刺球迷，最好能有朋友住在那里。

并非刻意安排，但这座俄勒冈州城市正在经历旅游业的繁荣，酒店都挂出了“客满”的牌子。

本周末是为期三周的玫瑰节的开幕，波特兰将举办延续版的“嘉年华”。开拓者队将在今晚和周日与马刺队在玫瑰花园球馆比赛。更重要的是，这座城市还将举办美国-加拿大和巴西-澳大利亚女子足球友谊赛。

“还有一些房间，但越来越少了，”波特兰-俄勒冈游客协会传播总监黛博拉·韦克菲尔德(Deborah Wakefield)说。

韦克菲尔德表示，剩下的主要是高端高价的房间。

大波特兰地区约有13000间酒店房间。开发商正在建造另外四家酒店，新增1000间房间，以满足需求。

但赶不上马刺队和开拓者队系列赛第三、四场比赛了。

玫瑰花园球馆约有2万个座位，其中大多数是季票持有者。开拓者队发言人约翰·克里斯滕森(John Christensen)表示，第三、四场比赛的所有可用门票在30分钟内售罄。

由于波特兰地区的报纸上充斥着票务经纪人的广告，获得座位的机会仍然存在——但要付出高昂的代价。

据圣安东尼奥市Ticket Ave票务公司负责人安东尼·桑多瓦尔(Anthony Sandoval)表示，观看马刺队在玫瑰花园球馆试图横扫开拓者的比赛的门票价格在200美元到850美元之间。截至周四下午，桑多瓦尔已经向圣安东尼奥地区的居民出售了大约8张这两场比赛的门票。

点击查看原文：Spurs fans won't find room at Portland inns

Spurs fans won’t find room at Portland inns

Any Spurs fans heading west for Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference finals had better have friends in Portland.

It wasn’t planned this way, but the Oregon city is experiencing a tourism boost that has hotels hanging no-vacancy signs.

This weekend kicks off the three-week Rose Festival, Portland’s extended version of Fiesta. The Trail Blazers play the Spurs in the Rose Garden tonight and Sunday. To top it off, the city will host the United States-Canada and Brazil-Australia women’s soccer exhibition matches.

“There are some rooms left, but it’s getting a little spotty,” said Deborah Wakefield, director of communications for the Portland Oregon Visitors Association.

Most of what remains is high-end and high-dollar, Wakefield said.

The Greater Portland area has about 13,000 hotel rooms. Developers are building four more hotels, representing another 1,000 rooms, to keep up with the demand.

But not in time for Games 3 and 4 of the Spurs-Blazers series.

The Rose Garden seats about 20,000, most of them season-ticket holders. All available tickets for Games 3 and 4 sold out in 30 minutes, Blazers spokesman John Christensen said.

Because the Portland-area newspapers are full of ticket-broker ads, the opportunity to land a seat still exists - but at a premium.

Tickets to see the Spurs attempt a sweep in the Rose Garden will cost $200 to $850, according to Anthony Sandoval of San Antonio-based Ticket Ave. By Thursday afternoon, Sandoval had sold about eight tickets for those games to San Antonio-area residents.

By Travis E. Poling, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04

聚焦：季后赛和球场

支持有极限

我过去四年一直关注圣安东尼奥马刺队。周日，我去附近一家购物中心的美食广场观看最后一节比赛。哇！

我去了市中心，亲眼目睹了马刺热潮的力量，一个小女孩挥舞着标语，对着车里欢呼的球迷招手，汽车鸣笛不断。感觉很棒！

但回到家后，我听到一位WOAI电台的球迷说，无论马刺是否赢得NBA总冠军，球迷都应该支持球队寻找新的球场，否则就不是真正的球迷。

如果一个球迷必须是盲目的，那我就不算球迷。我将投票反对这种措施。我不会强迫非球迷为别人的娱乐买单，包括我自己的娱乐。 - 杰西·A·托雷斯四世(Jesse A. Torres IV)

谢谢，波波维奇教练

我一直以为马刺队有一位教练——“波波”什么来着。如果他的名字在所有喧嚣的新闻中被提及过，我错过了。如果马刺队失去了季后赛席位，报纸上会到处都是。

你们的作者活生生地掩埋了唯一一个坚持己见、对球员保持信心的教练，无论球队经历过什么起起伏伏。他们最应该感谢的是一位默默无闻、伟大的教练，他从不放弃。巴克·哈维(Buck Harvey)，你如何拼写他的名字？“P-O-P-O-V-I-C-H，拉拉拉。”

恭喜，波波维奇教练！ - 杰克·格罗斯(Jack Gross)

假设这是一个糟糕的交易

随着马刺队本赛季的成功，将会有建造球场的呼声。之前的尝试将把负担强加于东北学区。据我所知，该计划将利用税收收入来支付球场的费用，而这些税收收入是基于该地区“预计”的房产价值上涨而来的，而不是用于东北学区的利益。所有这一切都是基于“预计”的房产价值上涨。

鉴于商业界将从球场中受益，我建议几名圣安东尼奥的富商为马刺队的球场提供资金，基于“假设”新球场在未来十年内每次活动都将售罄。

但这将是一个糟糕的商业决定，商业界也知道这一点。

难道你从没被告知不要假设吗？ - 比尔·辛普森(Bill Simpson)

马刺加油！没有球场的马刺！

希律王喝了几杯酒后，对莎乐美的舞蹈非常满意，他对她说：“你想要什么，我都会给你。”她要求得到施洗约翰的头，并在一盘子上得到了它。

马刺加油！但我们不是希律王。即使你们马刺队赢得了所有的荣耀，我们也不会把税收交给你们。

希律王那美妙、辉煌的感受让施洗约翰失去了无法弥补的身体部位。我们用于职业培训、教育或基础设施的任何税款也无法弥补。

马刺加油！留住马刺！自己支付看台和篮板的费用，马刺！ - 马丁·埃尔斯纳(Martin Elsner)

有人没有听

我对5月21日体育版上美联社的一篇文章很感兴趣，文章描述了俄亥俄州汉密尔顿县的人民是如何通过了一项提高销售税0.5%的提案，为辛辛那提孟加拉虎队建造一个新的体育场，以及为辛辛那提红人队建造一个棒球场，总计超过7亿美元。对于一个人口约为870,000的县来说（相比之下，贝克县有110万人口），这不算少。

但是，难道我们不应该提醒那些北方佬，用公共资金帮助体育特许经营权是一个多么糟糕的交易吗？

这似乎是一件邻里之间应该做的事，我们有很多专家可以分享给他们。 - 吉姆·刘易斯(Jim Lewis)，塞金

点击查看原文：Focus: Playoffs and arenas

Focus: Playoffs and arenas

Support has its limits I’ve followed the San Antonio Spurs the last four seasons. Sunday, I went to the food court of a nearby mall to watch the last quarter. Wow!

I went downtown and witnessed the power of Spurs fever, as a little girl waved a placard at the cheering fans passing in honking cars. It felt great!

But then I came home to hear a fan on WOAI Radio say that whether or not the Spurs win the NBA championship, fans should support the team in finding a new arena or they’re not really fans.

If a fan has to be blind, then I am no fan. I will vote against such a measure. I will not force nonfans to pay for someone else’s entertainment, including my own. - Jesse A. Torres IV

Thanks, Coach Pops

I thought the Spurs had a coach - “Pops” something or other. If his name was mentioned in all the hoopla news, I missed it. If the Spurs had lost a playoff spot, it would have been spread all over the paper.

Your writers buried alive the one man who stuck to his guns and kept faith in his players through all the ups and downs. They owe the most to a quiet, great coach who never gives up. How do you spell his name, Buck Harvey? “P-O-P-O-V-I-C-H, Rah, Rah, Rah.”

Congratulations, Coach Pops! - Jack Gross

Assume it’s a bad deal

With the success of the Spurs this season, there will be a push for the construction of an arena. The previous attempt would have placed the burden on the North East School District. As I understood it, that plan would have used tax revenue, based on the “assumed” rise in property value in the area, to pay for the arena rather than the revenue benefiting NESD. All of this was based on the “assumed” rise in property value.

Since the business community will benefit from an arena, I suggest that several wealthy San Antonio businessmen finance the Spurs arena, based on the “assumption” that the new arena will sell out every event for the next 10 years.

But that would be a terrible business decision, and the business community knows it.

Weren’t you ever told not to assume anything? - Bill Simpson

Go Spurs! No arena Spurs!

Herod, after a few drinks, was so pleased with the dancing of Salome that he told her: “What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want.” She asked for the head of John the Baptist and received it on a plate.

Go Spurs! But we are not Herod. Even if you Spurs capture the entire enchilada, we are not going to give you our tax maoney.

Herod’s wonderful, glorious feeling cost John the Baptist a body part he could not replace. Any tax money that we could use for job training, education or infrastructure also cannot be replaced.

Go Spurs! Stay Spurs! Pay for the bleachers and backboards yourself, Spurs! - Martin Elsner

Someone didn’t listen

I read with interest the Associated Press article in the May 21 Sports section describing how the people of Hamilton County, Ohio, had approved a 1/2 percent increase in the sales tax to build a new stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals and a baseball stadium for the Cincinnati Reds, for a total of more than $700 million. That’s not bad for a county with a population of about 870,000 (compared to Bexar County’s 1.1 million).

But shouldn’t we be warning those Yankee dummies about what a bad deal it is to use public money to help sports franchises?

Seems like the neighborly thing to do, and we have an abundance of experts to share with them. - Jim Lewis, Seguin

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Johnny Ludden

波特兰的痛苦证明了马刺的优势 - 马刺的优势 最后一刻的胜利对圣安东尼奥来说是一个不错的改变

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 感受到波特兰的痛苦。去年，当蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 在西部半决赛第一场对阵犹他的比赛中错失了一个15英尺的投篮时，他就感受到了。两天后，当贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 从23英尺外投篮不中时，他又感受到了。

他曾在1995年感受过罗伯特·霍里(Robert Horry) 的三分球带来的痛苦。1993年，查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley) 面对他时，他也感受到了痛苦。1990年，当罗德·斯特里克兰(Rod Strickland) 传出不看球传球时，他再次感受到了痛苦。

所以，罗宾逊对开拓者队有什么看法呢？他们经历了两场令人心碎的失利后，认为他们应该以2-0领先西部决赛，而不是以0-2落后？罗宾逊说，他经历过，也做过。

“我们去年在对阵犹他的系列赛中也经历了同样的情况，输掉了很多接近的比赛，”罗宾逊说。“这很痛苦，因为你感觉自己把比赛拱手相让了。

“在七场制的系列赛中，你不能这样输球。当你把比赛拱手相让时，你实际上是在把自己埋葬。你无法回头重新获得这样的比赛。它结束了，它已经过去了。”

当然，马刺队最近没有经历过这种痛苦。如果第三场比赛（今晚在玫瑰花园球馆进行）能够延续过去的趋势 - 最后的60秒比前47分钟更重要 - 那么马刺队应该会感到宾至如归。

在马刺队和开拓者队的过去五场比赛中（包括本系列赛的前两场），有四场是在最后一分钟决定的。唯一一场没有在最后一分钟决定的比赛打进了加时赛。在这所有的比赛中，马刺队都赢了。

“我从来没有赢过像今年这样多的接近的比赛，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie) 说。“在休斯敦，我们可能赢过一两场，但我们通常会取得不错的领先优势，然后以8分或10分获胜。这些季后赛 - 这些接近的比赛 - 让我快要疯了。

“它们都快让我心脏病发了。”

如果埃利需要心脏复苏，马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 可能需要一些除臭剂。波波维奇说，他在对阵波特兰的五场比赛中都汗流浃背。然而，数据显示，马刺队没有问题应对压力。

在他们臭名昭著的6胜8负开局之后，马刺队在常规赛中以14胜4负的战绩结束了分差小于10分的比赛。他们以四场连续的拼死战斗的胜利（其中两场战胜开拓者队）以8分或更小的差距获得了季后赛的榜首。

“当你一次又一次地做到这一点时，每个人的信心都会增强，”波波维奇说。“你不能把它视为理所当然。”

季后赛中并没有发生太大变化。蒂姆·邓肯在西部半决赛第二场对阵洛杉矶湖人队的比赛中，在比赛结束前8.4秒投进了钩射。埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 在最后几分钟的投篮帮助球队赢得了第三场。贾伦·杰克逊在最后几分钟的投篮帮助球队赢得了第四场。

马刺队在本系列赛的前两场中，在最后几秒钟，依靠开拓者队前锋拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace) 的失误以及肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 的得分赢得了比赛。

“这永远不会让人厌倦，”罗宾逊说。“我认为，当我们陷入苦战时，信心就自然而然地出现了。我们知道我们能够执行战术。我们知道我们能够防守，能够拿到球，这就是我们今年最大的区别。

“如果比赛很接近，我认为我们会更加舒服，因为我们相信我们能够赢下来。”

马刺队将他们关键时刻的发挥归功于他们几乎所有成功的因素：防守。马刺队在季后赛的第四节中，比对手多得了38分，这是他们所有节中最多的。

“我们有很多防守成功，”埃利奥特说。“这是关键。我们不会让对手在比赛的最后时刻轻松得分。他们必须为得分而努力。我们有两名大个子，他们能够抢篮板，用他们的盖帽能力弥补失误。”

波波维奇说：“很多人说我们很幸运肖恩投进了那个球。我们确实是幸运的。但如果我们没有防守成功，肖恩的投篮就毫无意义。”

在周一比赛的最后时刻，马刺队将波特兰队的命中率限制在38.1%，并迫使他们出现了四次失误。

“他们很有耐心，”波特兰队后卫吉米·杰克逊(Jimmy Jackson) 说。“他们没有强行进攻。他们只是利用我们的失误。这就是一支好的、经验丰富的球队所做的事情。”

与此同时，开拓者队并没有那么多经验。如果这一点在球场上没有体现出来，那么在球场外就体现出来了。在过去的两天里，控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire) 一直抱怨自己在第四节的出场时间少。

一览

西部决赛

七场四胜制

今晚：第三场 - 马刺队@波特兰队，晚上8点

系列赛：马刺队以2-0领先

电视：NBC

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语广播：KCOR-AM 1350

点击查看原文：Portland's pain proof Spurs gain - Spurs gain Last-minute victories nice change for S.A.

Portland’s pain proof Spurs gain - Spurs gain Last-minute victories nice change for S.A.

David Robinson feels Portland’s pain. He felt it last year when Tim Duncan missed a 15-footer in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Utah. He felt it again two nights later when Jaren Jackson clanged from 23 feet.

He felt it in 1995 with Robert Horry’s three- pointer. In '93 with Charles Barkley in his face. In '90 with Rod Strickland passing, but not looking.

So what does Robinson think of the Trail Blazers, who, after a pair of heart-breaking defeats, think they should be leading the Western Conference finals 2-0 instead of trailing 0-2? Been there, Robinson said, done that.

“We went through the same thing last year with Utah, losing close games,” Robinson said. "And it hurts because you feel like you gave it away.

“In a seven-game series, you can’t afford to do that. You are really burying yourself when you’re giving games away. You can’t go back and get games like that. It’s over; it’s gone now.”

The Spurs, of course, have not had to live with such pain recently. And if Game 3, scheduled for tonight at the Rose Garden, lives up to the past - with the final 60 seconds outweighing the first 47 minutes - the Spurs should feel right at home.

Four of the last five games - including the first two of this best-of-seven series - between the Spurs and Blazers have been decided in the last minute. The only one that wasn’t went overtime. In all of them, the Spurs won.

“I’ve never won as many close games as we have this year,” Mario Elie said. "In Houston we won maybe a couple, but we would usually get a nice lead and then win by eight or 10. These playoffs - with all these close games - are driving me crazy.

“They’re giving me a heart attack.”

If Elie needs CPR, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich could use some deodorant. Popovich said he’s sweated out all five wins over Portland. The stats, however, say the Spurs have no problem handling the pressure.

After their infamous 6-8 start, the Spurs finished the regular season 14-4 in games decided by less than 10 points. They wrapped up the top seed in the playoffs with four straight gut-it-out victories - two over the Blazers - by eight points or less.

“Everybody’s confidence grows when you do it over and over again,” Popovich said. “You just can’t take it for granted.”

Not much has changed in the postseason. Tim Duncan’s hook shot with 8.4 seconds left beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. Avery Johnson’s shooting in the final minutes won Game 3. Jaren Jackson’s shooting in the final minutes won Game 4.

The Spurs took the first two games of this series in the final seconds when Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace missed and Sean Elliott didn’t.

“It doesn’t get old at all,” Robinson said. "I think when we get in a close game, the confidence is just there. We know we can execute. We know we can play defense and come up with the ball and that’s been the big difference all year.

“If it’s a close game, I think we feel more comfortable with it because we feel like we’re going to get it.”

The Spurs trace their crunch-time play to the same thing they trace almost all their success: defense. The Spurs have enjoyed a 38-point differential over their playoff opponents in the fourth quarter, their largest of any quarter.

“We get a lot of stops,” Elliott said. “That’s been the whole key. We don’t let teams get easy baskets on us late in the game. They have to work for them. And we have two big guys who can clean up the glass and clean up mistakes with their shot- blocking ability.”

Said Popovich: “A lot of people said we were fortunate Sean made that shot. And we were fortunate. But Sean’s shot doesn’t matter if we don’t make stops.”

In the final quarter of Monday’s win, the Spurs held Portland to 38.1-percent shooting while forcing four turnovers.

“They’re patient,” Portland guard Jimmy Jackson said. “They didn’t force anything. They just fed off our mistakes. And that’s what a good, veteran team does.”

The Blazers, meanwhile, don’t have nearly as much experience. If it hasn’t shown on the court, it has off it. In the past two days, point guard Damon Stoudamire has complained about his lack of fourth-quarter minutes.

At a glance

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Best-of-seven

Tonight: Game 3 - Spurs @Portland, 8 p.m.

Series: Spurs lead 2-0

TV: NBC

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

Online: expressnews.com/ spurs or hoopsnews.com

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Roy Bragg

开拓者以别具一格的方式击败马刺

波特兰开拓者队就像一幅移动的艺术画廊，也是美国国家篮球协会中最具装饰性的球队之一，而季后赛甚至还没有结束。

据报道，开拓者队的球员人均纹身数量已经超过了联盟中的大多数球队，而且这还是在圣安东尼奥马刺队在上周末在七场四胜制的半决赛中以 2-0 领先后，在开拓者球员身上又增添了几处纹身之前。

但现在马刺队将在今晚前往波特兰进行第三场比赛，想要在开拓者身上留下难以磨灭的印记将非常困难，因为开拓者队从头到脚、从头到尾都充满了纹身艺术。

没有官方的关于球员纹身信息的资料库，但20年前，联盟中还没有听说过纹身。

然而，1997年美联社对 NBA 训练营的调查显示，联盟中超过 35% 的球员至少有一个纹身。

虽然迈阿密热火队以 12 名有纹身球员位居榜首，但根据两个月前温哥华哥伦比亚报的非正式调查，开拓者队以 10 名球员位列高位。

在球队的五名首发球员中，只有来自立陶宛的 7 英尺 3 英寸的中锋阿维达斯·萨博尼斯(Arvydas Sabonis) 没有纹身。

而这四名球员身上有大量的纹身。

达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire) 有六个纹身，包括左臂上祖母的漫画头像、左肩上的哥特式姓名、右臂上的大力水手和左腿上的“Biggie”名字。

• 拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace) 有两个纹身。右肩上是埃及场景，描绘了他作为法老，他的妻子作为王后，以及他的三个孩子。另一只肩膀上有一只小斗牛犬，代表华莱士的儿子。

• 以赛亚·莱德(Isaiah Rider) 在左胸上方纹了他的名字，以及“34”，这是他的球衣号码。

• 布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant) 在右肩上纹了雷鬼音乐家鲍勃·马利(Bob Marley)，左肩上纹了有刺的双鱼座，右前臂上纹了一只巨大的蝎子。

替补中锋凯尔文·凯托(Kelvin Cato) 是开拓者队纹身最多的球员，有七个纹身，包括右肩上的十字架，上面写着“Can Always Top Others”。

马刺队可能在心理上占据优势，并掌控着系列赛，但在皮肤艺术方面，当地球员远远落后。

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 有两个大的纹身，分别是胸前和背上的巫师和小丑。

另一个公认有纹身的马刺队球员是安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)，他身上纹有他哥哥克里斯(Chris) 的出生日期和死亡日期，克里斯于 1996 年去世。

由于丹尼尔斯被诊断出患有喉咙感染，可能无法参加比赛，更不用说上场了，因此马刺队将被开拓者队的纹身数量超越是预料之中的事。

著名的旧金山纹身艺术家莱尔·塔特尔(Lyle Tuttle) 表示，纹身，比如丹尼尔斯纪念他兄弟的纹身或华莱士对家人的承认，是球员表达自己的一种方式。

“这是一种对内心感受的外部表现，”他说。

纹身，尤其是在非裔美国运动员中流行，是这项已有 5000 年历史的艺术形式历史上的新发展。

他说，这可以追溯到一位特定运动员，他在 1993-94 和 1994-95 赛季以其才华横溢却又滑稽可笑的表现 graced 马刺队的阵容：

丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis “The Worm” Rodman)。

一位犹他州的专栏作家上赛季统计了 130 名 NBA 球员的 250 个纹身，他说罗德曼占了总数的 5%。

他还说，身体艺术也源于古代非洲文化。

“运动员是我们的战士，”他说。“非洲的战士有纹身。纹身更多的战士被认为更强壮，因为（古代纹身形式）会造成伤口，战士的身体必须经受感染。他们更强壮。”

这只是个人的观点。

点击查看原文：Blazers top S.A. in an artful way

Blazers top S.A. in an artful way

Part ink blur and part mobile art gallery, the Portland Trail Blazers are among the National Basketball Association’s most decorated teams, and the playoffs aren’t even over yet.

The Blazers already had more tattoos per player than most teams in the NBA, according to some reports, and that was before the San Antonio Spurs put a couple more marks on them last weekend while taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven semifinal series.

But now the Spurs are in Portland for Game 3 tonight, and it’s going to be difficult to make an indelible mark on a team that’s gone head-, body-, arm-and leg-first into body art.

There’s no official repository of information on tattooed basketball players, but tattoos were unheard of in the league 20 years ago.

A 1997 Associated Press survey of NBA training camps, however, showed slightly more than 35 percent of the league’s players sported at least one tattoo.

Although the Miami Heat led the pack with 12 tattooed players, the Blazers, with 10, probably fall into the high end, according to an informal survey two months ago in the Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian newspaper.

Of the team’s five starters, only 7-foot-3 center Arvydas Sabonis, who hails from Lithuania, is unmarked.

And between those four other guys there are a lot of tattoos.

Damon Stoudamire has six, including a caricature of his grandmother on his left biceps, his name in Gothic script on his left shoulder, Mighty Mouse on his right biceps and the name “Biggie” on his left leg.

- Rasheed Wallace has two tattoos. On his right shoulder is an Egyptian scene showing him as Pharaoh, his wife as the queen and his three children. A small bulldog, representing Wallace’s son, is on his other shoulder.

- Isaiah Rider has his name on his upper left chest, along with “34,” which is his jersey number.

- Brian Grant has reggae musician Bob Marley on his right shoulder, a thorned Pisces on his left shoulder and a large scorpion on his right forearm.

Backup center Kelvin Cato is the most marked man among the Blazers with seven tattoos, including a cross on his right shoulder with the phrase “Can Always Top Others.”

The Spurs may hold a mental edge and command the series, but in terms of skin art, the local guys are woefully behind.

Tim Duncan has two big tattoos, a wizard and a joker decorating his chest and back, respectively.

The only other Spur widely known to be marked is Antonio Daniels, who carries the birth and death dates of his brother Chris, who died in 1996.

And since Daniels, who has been diagnosed with a throat infection, may not make the trip, much less play, it’s a foregone conclusion the Spurs will be out-inked.

Legendary San Francisco tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle suggests the tattoos, such as Daniel’s tribute to his brother or Wallace’s acknowledgement of his family, are a way for players to send a message.

“It’s an external demonstration of internal feelings,” he said.

The popularity of tattoos, particularly among African-American athletes, is a new development in the history of the 5,000-year-old art form.

And that, he says, can be traced back to one particular athlete who graced the Spurs roster with his talented-yet-goofy presence in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons:

Dennis “The Worm” Rodman.

A Utah columnist, who counted 250 tattoos on 130 NBA players last season, said Rodman accounted for 5 percent of that total.

Body art also has roots in ancient African culture, he said.

“Athletes are our warriors,” he said. “And warriors in Africa had tattoos. Guys with more tattoos were considered hardier warriors because (ancient tattoo forms) created wounds, and the warriors’ bodies had to survive the infections. They were stronger.”

That’s one guy’s opinion.

By Roy Bragg, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Glenn Rogers

开拓者连续剧继续 - 斯塔德迈尔不喜欢被冷板凳

开拓者在周四早上遇到了一个意想不到的难题——扑灭内部的“火苗”。

波特兰处于必须赢球的境地。如果今晚在玫瑰花园输给马刺，他们将在西部决赛中落后 3-0，而NBA历史上没有任何一支球队能够从这种劣势中恢复过来。

信心一直是开拓者的口号。大部分的谈论都集中在波特兰离赢得一场甚至两场在阿拉莫穹顶的比赛有多近。

然后，控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire) 扭转了开拓者口头上的方向，抱怨他上场时间不足、第四节坐在替补席上，以及他作为波特兰进攻首脑的地位不复存在。

“我会克服它，但我永远不会忘记它，”斯塔德迈尔说。“我这一辈子都会记得这件事。当我 55 岁的时候，我会回想起今年发生在我身上的事情，我不希望再有这种感觉，”他对一位波特兰记者说。

周四，斯塔德迈尔、他的队友和主教练迈克·邓利维(Mike Dunleavy) 被迫淡化这些言论。

“这个话题只是被提出来了，我试图处理它，”斯塔德迈尔在球队训练前说。“我在今年的比赛中已经谈过这个问题了。但我已经接受了现状，我从来没有向教练抱怨过。

“现在时机不好，但我不知道为什么有人要对此大惊小怪，”他说。“我们一直在赢球，所以我一直在配合，我唯一的念头就是全力以赴。我计划一直保持侵略性和进攻的姿态。”

斯塔德迈尔本赛季基本上都在打第一节和第三节，而格雷格·安东尼(Greg Anthony) 则打第二节和第四节。

“底线是我只想打球，”斯塔德迈尔说，他拥有一份为期七年的 8100 万美元的合同。

邓利维坚称他对他的控球后卫的感受并不太担心。

“我更喜欢有想要打球的球员，而不是那些不想打球的球员，”他说。“我不想看到替补席上球员回避我的目光，因为他们不想上场。”

邓利维本赛季一直在处理与球队成员的出场时间问题，到目前为止似乎赢得了这场战斗。

“我一直在与球员们谈论这个问题，确保这永远不是对他们能力的信心问题，而只是当时场上的一种情况。有些时候，你必须换人，确保问题不会出现。”

不过，主教练表示他不理解为什么一名球员会如此关心自己的个人情况。

“当我打球的时候，我从来没有抱怨过时间，”这位前控球后卫说。“我为了球队而收敛了自己的球风。我可以得分，我可以练习中得分 30 分，但如果我是控球后卫，我的任务是给某个人传球，我就会去做。我按照教练的指示去做。”

安东尼表示，这只是在出场时间分配过程中保持积极心态的问题。

“有些人可能把它看作是消极的，我不，”他说。“我知道教练把你放到板凳上，并不是在嘲笑你或者贬低你的比赛。如果其他人把它看作是消极的，我一点也不受干扰。”

拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace) 本赛季也经历了替补和上场时间的起伏，与斯泰西·奥格蒙(Stacey Augmon) 轮流首发。但华莱士将首发对阵马刺。

点击查看原文：Trail Blazers' saga continues - Stoudamire doesn't like being benched

Trail Blazers’ saga continues - Stoudamire doesn’t like being benched

The Trail Blazers faced an unexpected Thursday morning chore - putting out brush fires of dissension.

Portland is in a must-win situation. A loss to the Spurs tonight at the Rose Garden would put them down 3-0 in the Western Conference finals and no team ever has recovered from such a deficit in the history of the NBA.

Confidence has been the Blazers’ by-word. The bulk of talk has centered on how close Portland came to winning one, if not both, of the games at the Alamodome.

Then, point guard Damon Stoudamire reversed the Blazers’ verbal direction and complained about his lack of playing time, his bench time in the fourth quarters, his non-existent status as the prime guide of the Portland offense.

“I’m going to get over it, but I’m never going to forget it,” Stoudamire said. “I’ll remember this my whole life. When I’m 55 years old, I’ll sit back and remember what happened to me this year and I don’t want to feel like this ever again,” he told a Portland reporter.

Thursday, Stoudamire, his teammates and Coach Mike Dunleavy were pressed to shrug off the comments.

“The topic just came up and I tried to address it,” Stoudamire said before the team’s practice. "I have talked about it before during the year. But I’ve accepted the situation and I’ve never complained to the coach about it.

“The timing now is bad but I don’t see why anybody should make a big deal about it,” he said. “We’ve been winning so I’m going along with it and my only thought is to play hard while I’m out there. I plan to always be in an aggressive, attack mode.”

Stoudamire has spent the season basically playing the first and third quarters and Greg Anthony has played the second and fourth quarters.

“The bottom line is that I just want to play,” said Stoudamire, who works under a seven- year, $81 million deal.

Dunleavy insisted he was not concerned too much about his point guard’s feelings.

“I much prefer having guys who want to play than having some who don’t,” he said. “I don’t want to be looking down the bench and seeing guys averting my eyes because they don’t want to go in.”

Dunleavy has confronted the problem of minutes with his crew the whole season and thus far seems to have won the war.

“I’ve always talked to the guys about it, made sure that it was never a question of confidence in their abilities but just a situation at the time on the floor. There are times when you have to jump somebody and make sure a problem doesn’t arise.”

Still, the coach said he didn’t understand why a player would be concerned so much about his personal situation.

“When I played, I never complained about time,” the former point guard said. “I toned down my game for the team. I could score, I would score 30 points in practice but if I was point guard and my job was to get somebody the ball, I did. I did what the coach told me to do.”

Anthony said it is just a matter of staying positive during the juggling of minutes.

“Some guys can take it as a little negative, I don’t,” he said. “I know that coach is not ridiculing you or knocking your game when he puts you on the bench. It doesn’t distract me at all if others take it as a negative.”

Rasheed Wallace also went through the ups and downs of bench and floor time throughout the season, swapping starting slots with Stacey Augmon. But Wallace goes first against the Spurs.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Buck Harvey

显微镜？如何拯救波特兰

我看着迈克·邓利维(Mike Dunleavy)身上唯一我不喜欢的东西。这是一个来自开拓者队的盒子，里面装着一台显微镜。邓利维的照片印在盒子的外侧，他穿着白色长袍。

旁边写着：“邓利维教授的年度最佳NBA教练科学套装。”

再旁边写着：“显微镜(Mike-roscope)！包括在内！”

我看着如果鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)同时拥有工作和梦寐以求的公关人员，他会怎么做。我看着微不足道的智慧和巨额的保罗·艾伦(Paul Allen)的资金能创造出什么。我也看着即使是这种公关手段也无法击垮邓利维。

我的同行们收到了同样的套装，并且——违背了所有的玩世不恭的本能——仍然投票选邓利维为年度最佳教练。这就是他应得的。

但即使这位篮球化学家如此出色，也许这赛季没有任何事情像今晚这样考验他。现在，他试图在异常易燃的时刻混合通常易燃的成分。

0-2落后。从阵亡将士纪念日奇迹中恢复过来。伊赛亚·莱德(Isaiah Rider)喊着“choke（掉链子）”，达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)喊着要更多时间。盒子还相信吗？

邓利维同意了显微镜的笑话，但他对此并不太兴奋。也许格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)也并不兴奋。盒子上引用了丹佛的一位作家、一位电视分析师和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的言论。“麦克似乎是一位球员教练，他理解球员的心态，”罗宾逊宣布。

“麦克似乎”在马刺队开局6-8的时候就做了所有这些事情。然后，波波维奇科学套装里就变成了一个空杯子。

至少罗宾逊说对了。邓利维一直都是个聪明人，他在圣安东尼奥的短暂时间证明了这一点。1982年，斯坦·阿尔贝克(Stan Albeck)让邓利维在比赛结束时取代了约翰尼·摩尔(Johnny Moore)。摩尔最终证明阿尔贝克错了，但阿尔贝克对邓利维的信任在联盟中是众所周知的。

这就是为什么湖人队让他执教一支有魔术师·约翰逊(Magic Johnson)的争冠球队。为什么雄鹿队给他一份史无前例的8年合同，让他既担任教练又担任总经理。为什么，当密尔沃基发生问题时，波特兰队看到了迷雾并给了他另一次机会。

邓利维从来没有看起来合适。作为一个球员，他将一张孩子气的爱尔兰面孔与一个弯腰的柔软身体结合在一起。作为一个教练，他选择成为一个油头粉面的莱利(Riley)，却没有多少东西可以抹油。但在他内心，他将纽约街头与一些常识结合在一起。这个赛季他需要这一切。

他的更衣室并不完全腐烂；布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant)和斯塔德迈尔在公共场合用刀叉吃饭。但任何一个通过对波特兰当地报纸大喊诅咒来庆祝胜利的团队，都不是大卫·斯特恩(David Stern)的“感觉良好”的解禁后宣传活动的一部分。

邓利维私下承认，无论任何人读到什么，真实情况都要糟糕两倍。他花了一个赛季试图解决琐碎的、幼稚的问题，这就是为什么邓利维不应该成为年度最佳教练，而应该是十年最佳教练。他调整了时间，将巨星的自我转化成了强大的替补阵容。

马刺队并不认为开拓者比湖人队更爱发牢骚，他们只是觉得开拓者队里发牢骚的人更多。几乎每个位置上都有想要自己豪车的有才华的球员。这就是令人惊讶的化学反应产生的原因。在恐慌的情况下，这些开拓者队会环顾球场，看看哪个彩票明星防守哪个球员，通常会做出正确的选择。

现在会发生吗？当脆弱的球队经常崩溃的时候？

盒子相信。它在侧面用大字写着：“在主场和客场都能用！”

点击查看原文：Mike-ro-what? How Portland can be saved

Mike-ro-what? How Portland can be saved

I’m looking at the only thing I don’t like about Mike Dunleavy. It’s a box that came in the mail from the Blazers, and enclosed in it is a microscope. Dunleavy is pictured on the outside of the box wearing a white smock.

Next to him it says: “Professor Dunleavy’s NBA Coach of the Year Science Kit.”

Next to that it says: “Mike- roscope included!”

I’m looking at what Bob Hill would do if he had both a job and the publicist of his dreams. I’m looking at what minimal wit and maximum amounts of Paul Allen’s money can create. And I’m looking at how even this PR couldn’t sink Dunleavy.

My media peers got this same kit and - going against all cynical instincts - still voted Dunleavy the coach of the year. That’s how much he deserved it.

But as brilliant as this hoop chemist has been, maybe nothing tested him this season as much as tonight will. Now he tries to mix the usual combustible elements at an unusually combustible moment.

Down 0-2. Recovering from the Memorial Day Miracle. With Isaiah Rider yelling choke and Damon Stoudamire yelling for more minutes. Does even the box believe anymore?

Dunleavy went along with the microscope gag, but he wasn’t too thrilled about it. And maybe Gregg Popovich wasn’t, either. Among those quoted on the box was a Denver writer, a TV analyst and David Robinson. “Mike seems to be a players’ coach and understands the players’ mentality,” Robinson announced.

“Mike seems” to have done all these things about the time the Spurs started 6-8. Then, the Popovich Science Kit contained an empty beaker.

At least Robinson got it right. Dunleavy has always been a smart guy, and his short time in San Antonio summed that up. In 1982 Stan Albeck brought in Dunleavy to replace Johnny Moore at the end of games. Moore eventually proved Albeck wrong, but Albeck’s faith in Dunleavy was league-wide.

That’s why the Lakers let him coach a Magic Johnson-contender. Why the Bucks gave him an unprecedented eight-year deal to be both coach and GM. Why, when things went wrong in Milwaukee, Portland saw through the haze and gave him another chance.

Dunleavy never looked right. As a player, he combined a boyish, Irish face with a stooped, soft body. As a coach, he opts to be a slicked-back Riley without much to slick back. But inside he combines New York street with some common sense. He needed all of it this season.

His locker room isn’t entirely rotten; Brian Grant and Stoudamire use knives and forks in public. But any group that celebrates a win by chanting curses at the local Portland newspaper is not part of David Stern’s feel-good, post-lockout campaign.

Dunleavy admits privately that whatever anyone has read, it’s twice as bad. He’s spent a season trying to solve petty, childish issues, which is why Dunleavy shouldn’t have been coach of the year, but coach of the decade. He juggled minutes and turned big- time egos into big-time bench support.

The Spurs don’t see the Blazers as bigger crybabies than the Lakers - the Spurs just think there are more of them. Almost every position is contested with talent that wants its own limo. That’s where the surprising chemistry comes in. In panic situations, these Blazers have looked around the court, seen which lottery star had which defender and usually made the right choice.

Does it happen now? When fragile teams often fall apart?

The box believes. It says on the side, in big letters: “Works at home and on the road!”

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

马龙荣膺MVP - 邓肯排名第三

莫里斯·波多洛夫奖杯（没错，这就是颁发给NBA最有价值球员的奖杯的名字）并不是卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)希望在本赛季结束时拿到的奖杯。

而根据马刺队的蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的说法，这也不是他期望得到的奖杯。

人们原本预计是犹他爵士队的卡尔·马龙第二次获得该奖项。他在投票中获得了827分。邓肯以740分排名第三，包括30张第一名的选票，仅次于迈阿密热火的阿朗佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)。

“我不沮丧，”邓肯说道。“我本来也没想过我会赢。”

马龙周四在盐湖城并没有在第二次获得MVP后实际拿到奖杯。奖杯仍在纽约，马龙预计将在周末领取。

“所以他们给我送了一顶帽子，”他带着困惑的表情说道，同时看着联盟办公室寄给他的“MVP”帽子。“他们说用联邦快递寄（奖杯）是不可能的。”

对于35岁的马龙来说，这一年就是这样，另一个辉煌的个人赛季，却在其他领域遭受挫折，尤其是爵士队未能赢得第一个冠军。

“我希望我们能处于不同的场景，但我们没有，”马龙说道。“上次我获得这个奖项时，我走上球场，举起它，然后又继续打球。……比起现在这样，我更喜欢那样。”

尽管得分和篮板数都创下了十年来的最低值，他还是力压了同为大个子的莫宁和邓肯。莫宁被评为联盟最佳防守球员，而邓肯则带领马刺队取得了联盟最佳战绩。

“能出现在那个榜单上很棒，”邓肯说道。“但这与我们现在所做的事情相比，意义并不大。”

马刺队今天将在他们与波特兰开拓者队进行的西部决赛系列赛中进行第三场比赛。

邓肯的队友们则更强烈地为他的情况辩护。

“他没赢？”艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说道。“他真的没赢？我们拥有NBA的最佳战绩，他都没赢？”

“太遗憾了，”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说道。“还能说什么呢？太遗憾了。他显然是联盟中最有价值的球员。我认为蒂姆未来会遇到迈克尔(乔丹)遇到的问题：人们会厌倦投票给他，转而投票给其他人。”

马龙曾在1997年赢得过该奖项，现在成为联盟历史上第九位两次获得MVP奖项的球员。这发生在一年的最后，马龙在付费电视上与丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)扭打，主持了一档短暂的脱口秀节目，宣誓永远不再为爵士队效力，然后又返回，几乎承诺将在犹他州结束自己的职业生涯。

随后，他带领爵士队取得了37胜13负的战绩，与马刺队并列联盟最佳，但他的球队在赛季末遭遇滑铁卢，在第二轮被波特兰开拓者队淘汰，这是爵士队自1995年以来最早的季后赛出局。

“整个赛季都怪怪的，所以以这种方式结束真的很有意义，”马龙说道。“我不喜欢自己在季后赛中的表现，但周六我要领奖，我不会退还它。”

马龙是9个赛季以来第一个未能带领球队至少打进联盟决赛的MVP。魔术师·约翰逊(Magic Johnson)的洛杉矶湖人队也在1990年的季后赛第二轮爆冷出局。

“个人奖项很好，因为它们是应得的，但你打球是为了冠军，”马龙说道。“大家都知道我们对发生的事情感到失望，但这可以帮助我们从这件事中恢复过来。”

当被问到是否愿意用MVP奖杯换一个冠军时，马龙笑了。

“当然，因为我还有一个，”他说道。“我会用1997年的那个换。这个不一样，但对我来说更重要。”

马龙还被联盟教练评选为最佳防守阵容第一阵容，联盟得分排名第三，投篮命中率排名第11（.493），篮板排名第14。

他的第一个MVP奖项，他战胜了乔丹获得该奖项，被许多人视为对辉煌职业生涯的终身成就奖。然后，乔丹带领他的公牛队在NBA总决赛中战胜爵士队，取得了第一个冠军。

“你会听到人们谈论这个奖项的，”马龙说道。“过去几周，有些人一直在攻击我，但现在他们必须闭嘴。”

马龙在1999年的场均得分是23.8分，这是他自1986-87赛季（他进入联盟的第二个赛季）以来的最低值。他的场均篮板数降至9.4个，创下他1986年新秀赛季以来的最低值。

但马龙在常规赛中几乎总是为爵士队挺身而出。他连续第13年成为爵士队的得分王，并继续成为爵士队进攻和防守的核心人物。

在4月令人难忘的一周里，马龙在战胜湖人队的比赛中12投12中，在战胜金州勇士队的比赛中得到赛季最高的38分，并在比赛结束前0.6秒罚进3个罚球，帮助爵士队以1分的优势战胜了菲尼克斯太阳队。他的教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)称这是马龙职业生涯中最棒的一周。

马龙现在是一名自由球员，尽管他周四表示，“我可能会把全部家当都压上”，他不会考虑来自其他球队的报价。

点击查看原文：Malone is MVP - Duncan in third

Malone is MVP - Duncan in third

The Maurice Podoloff Trophy - yes, that’s the name of the trophy given to the NBA’s most valuable player - wasn’t the trophy Karl Malone hoped to be holding at the end of the season.

And according to the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, it wasn’t a trophy he expected to hold.

What was expected was Utah’s Karl Malone winning the award for the second time. He received 827 points in the voting. Duncan finished third with 740 points - including 30 first-place votes - narrowly trailing Miami’s Alonzo Mourning.

“I’m not upset,” Duncan said. “I didn’t think I was going to win it anyway.”

Malone, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, didn’t get to actually hold the trophy after being named the MVP for the second time. It’s still in New York, where Malone is expected to pick it up over the weekend.

“So they got me a hat,” he said bemusedly, while looking at an “MVP” cap sent to him by the league office. “They said FedExing it (the trophy) was out of the question.”

It was that kind of season for the 35-year-old Malone, another banner individual year marred by setbacks in other areas, notably Utah’s failure to win its first title.

“I wish we were here in a different scenario, but we’re not,” Malone said. “Last time when I won this award, I went out on the court, held it up and then had to go back to playing ball. … I prefer doing that to doing this.”

Despite posting his lowest scoring and rebounding numbers in over a decade, he edged fellow big men Mourning and Duncan. Mourning was named the league’s defensive player of the year while Duncan led the Spurs to the league’s best record.

“It’s great to be on that list,” Duncan said. “But it doesn’t really mean anything compared to what we’re doing now.”

The Spurs play Game 3 today in their best-of-seven Western Conference finals series against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Duncan’s teammates pleaded his case a little more strongly.

“He didn’t win it?” Avery Johnson said. "He really didn’t win it? “We had the best record in the NBA and he didn’t win it?”

“That’s a shame,” Sean Elliott said. “What more can you say except that’s a shame? He’s clearly the MVP in the league. I think Tim’s problem in the future is that he will suffer from what Michael (Jordan) suffered from: People are just going to get tired of voting for him and will vote for someone else instead.”

Malone, who also won the award in 1997, became the ninth player in league history to win the MVP award twice. It comes at the conclusion of a 12-month span in which Malone wrestled Dennis Rodman on pay-per-view, started a short-lived talk radio show, vowed to never again play for the Jazz and then returned, all but promising to finish his career in Utah.

He then led the Jazz to a 37-13 record, tying the Spurs for the league’s best, but his team sputtered down the stretch and was eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah’s earliest exit since 1995.

“This whole year was weird, so to top it off with this was really special,” Malone said. “I didn’t like the way I played in the playoffs, but I’m getting the award Saturday, and I’m not giving it back.”

Malone is the first MVP in nine seasons to fail to take his team to at least the conference finals. Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers also were upset in the second round of the playoffs in 1990.

“Individual awards are nice because they come with the territory, but you play this game for a championship,” Malone said. “Everybody knows we’re disappointed with what happened, but this could start the healing process on that.”

Malone grinned when asked if he would trade the MVP trophy for a championship.

“Yeah, because I have another one,” he said. “I’d trade the one from '97. This one is different, but it’s still bigger for me.”

Malone also was chosen by the league’s coaches for the all-defensive first team, was third in the league in scoring, 11th in field goal percentage (.493) and 14th in rebounding.

His first MVP award, for which he beat out Jordan, was considered by many to be a lifetime achievement award for a brilliant career. Jordan then led his Bulls to the first of two NBA Finals wins over the Jazz.

“You’re going to have people talking about this one, too,” Malone said. “Some guys in the last couple of weeks have been taking their shots, but they’re going to have to swallow really hard now.”

Malone averaged 23.8 points per game in 1999, his lowest since 1986- 87, his second year in the league. His rebounding average was down to 9.4 per game, lowest since his rookie year in 1986.

But Malone almost always came through for the Jazz during the regular season. He led Utah in scoring for the 13th straight year and continued to be the Jazz’s focal point on both offense and defense.

In one memorable week in April, Malone went 12-for-12 from the field in a victory over the Lakers, scored a season-high 38 points in beating Golden State and hit three free throws with six-tenths of a second left to beat Phoenix by a point. His coach, Jerry Sloan, called it the finest week of Malone’s career.

Malone is now a free agent, though he said Thursday that “I’d probably bet the ranch” he wouldn’t consider offers from other teams.

By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-04, By Associated Press

报告：多克·里弗斯将成为魔术队主教练

多克·里弗斯(Doc Rivers)周四晚些时候返回家乡圣安东尼奥，此前他与奥兰多魔术队官员进行了为期两天的会面。据一家报纸报道，他将在周一之前被任命为这支NBA球队的新的主教练。

《奥兰多哨兵报》在今天的报刊中报道称，里弗斯，一位前马刺球员，预计将获得一份价值约600万美元的四年合同。

“我认为这里会发生一些事，而且我认为它们很快就会发生。” -美联社

点击查看原文：Report: Doc Rivers to be Magic coach

Report: Doc Rivers to be Magic coach

Doc Rivers went back home to San Antonio late Thursday after meeting two days with officials of the Orlando Magic, and will be named the NBA team’s new coach by Monday, a newspaper reported.

Rivers, a former Spurs player, is expected to net a four-year deal worth an estimated $6 million, The Orlando Sentinel reported in today’s editions.

“I think things will happen here for me. And I think they will happen soon,” Rivers said. - Associated Press

By Associated Press, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-05, By Roy Bragg

马刺逼近横扫，球迷加入战局

马刺周五以 85-63 的比分大胜波特兰开拓者，将开拓者的午饭钱也一并拿走。

20732 名观众涌入玫瑰花园球馆，眼看着马刺在西部决赛中取得 3-0 的领先优势，他们只能目瞪口呆。

如果周日马刺能取得胜利，这将意味着他们连续第二轮横扫对手，并首次晋级 NBA 总决赛。

比赛过程并不漂亮。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 的得分和犯规次数一样，都是 5 次。马刺还错过了 5 次扣篮中的 3 次。

但比赛在第二节中段就已经基本结束了。开拓者本赛季拥有联盟最好的主场战绩，但他们的投篮命中率却像太平洋西北部寒冷夜晚的水银柱一样下降。

开拓者全场比赛的投篮命中率仅为 24.7%，创下了马刺季后赛对手的最低纪录。

开拓者在第二节只得到 12 分，第三节只得到 8 分（这也是马刺季后赛对手的最低纪录），第四节只得到 17 分。

马刺在第一节结束后以 22-26 落后，但在第二节 8 分 43 秒时，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 的罚球命中，从此之后他们再也没有落后过。

赛前，这个通常平静的太平洋西北部城市已经陷入疯狂。

确切地说，两只巨大的充气大猩猩守卫着玫瑰花园球馆的入口。

在两只大猩猩的注视下，球迷们在一条布满酒吧和餐馆的行人步行街上疯狂欢呼，蒂姆和凯西·唐宁(Tim and Kathie Downing) 等人更是助长了这种狂热。

他们随着 AC/DC 的《重返黑》的旋律跳舞，并举着标语：“Duncan’t”，这是对邓肯的嘲讽，还有另一个标语写着“赐予我们一个愿望”，这是对开拓者球员、当地球迷偶像布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant) 的请求。

格兰特热潮蔓延到附近。

15 岁的克里斯·托德(Chris Todd) 和乔·福尔廷(Joe Faltyn) 长得一模一样——他们身体的一侧，包括腿、胳膊和脸，都涂成红色，另一侧涂成黑色。他们穿着开拓者的球衣。每个人都戴着俄勒冈州人最喜欢的帽子——黑色假发帽，编成 dreadlocks，与格兰特的标志性发型相似。

“布莱恩·格兰特在这里就是神，”托德直言不讳地说。

说到宗教狂热，一位球迷，只被大家称为保罗，为了参加电台比赛赢取门票，他做了一件令人心动但也令人作呕的事。

他吃了一把虫子。活的虫子。

“这真是太疯狂了，”开拓者解说员、当地电台主持人马克·梅森(Mark Mason) 说，他就是颁发这些门票的人。

场内，另一名开拓者球迷并没有满足于简单的团队精神，他举着一张海报，对一些圣安东尼奥人来说，这有点触及痛点：“你的球馆很烂，我们的球馆很疯狂。”

马刺在第三节拿下了 24 分，让现场观众鸦雀无声。在第三节还剩 1 分 15 秒时，球迷们开始发出嘘声，在比赛还剩 7 分钟时，他们开始涌向出口。

当地人恢复了他们通常的冷静，但球馆里也有一些马刺球迷。他们大多也很安静，因为害怕自己的生命安全。

“上半场我一直在拼命地欢呼，然后我哥哥给我打了手机，告诉我我最好冷静下来，”保罗·内梅斯(Paul Nemeth) 说，他穿着一件蓝绿色、粉色和橙色的皮革马刺夹克。

鲍勃和贝蒂·赖斯(Bob and Betsy Rice) 带着他们的儿子布莱恩——他通过马刺奖励计划为季票持有者赢得了门票——赛后喜气洋洋，但并没有得意忘形。

“我们很低调，因为我们不想被打，”鲍勃·赖斯说。

并非所有在场的马刺球迷都表现得像赢家一样得体。加里·米勒(Gary Miller) 鼻梁上有一道伤口，在比赛还剩 4 分钟时被赶出了球馆。在比赛结束时，他还在球场外与其他一些马刺球迷击掌。

米勒说，他为周末的比赛支付了 2000 美元买到了中场票，他说他被开拓者球迷打了，因为那些球迷对他在整场比赛中的洋洋得意很不满。

“我承认，我有点过分，”他说。“我活该被打。但为什么把我赶出去？他们打我。”

点击查看原文：Spurs close in on sweep as fans join in the fray

Spurs close in on sweep as fans join in the fray

The Spurs beat up the Portland Trail Blazers and took away their lunch money Friday in an impressive 85-63 victory.

A stunned sellout Rose Garden crowd of 20,732 only could watch in horror as the Spurs took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

A victory Sunday would mean a second straight series sweep for the Spurs and vault the team into the NBA Finals for the first time ever.

It wasn’t pretty. Tim Duncan had as many points - five - as he had fouls. The Spurs missed three of five dunks.

But the game was effectively over midway through the second quarter as the Blazers, who boasted the NBA’s best home record this season, saw their shooting percentage drop like the mercury on a cold Pacific Northwest night.

Portland’s 24.7 percent shooting from the field was an all-time low for a Spurs playoff opponent.

The Blazers scored only 12 points in the second period, eight points in the pivotal third (another playoff low for a Spurs opponent) and 17 in the last period.

The Spurs, down 26-22 after the first period, took the lead on a David Robinson foul shot at 8:43 in the second period and never trailed again.

Before the game, this normally placid Pacific Northwest city had gone ape.

Literally. Two giant inflatable gorillas guarded the entrance to the Rose Garden.

Under the watchful eyes of the apes, on a pedestrian mall lined with bars and restaurants, fans worked themselves into a frenzy, helped by folks like Tim and Kathie Downing.

Dancing to the sounds of AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” they held signs: “Duncan’t,” a swipe at Duncan, and another that read “Grant Us a Wish,” a plea to Blazers player and local cult favorite Brian Grant.

Nearby, Grant-mania hit new levels.

Fifteen-year-olds Chris Todd and Joe Faltyn were identical - one side of their bodies, legs, arms and faces was painted red and the other was black. They wore Blazers uniforms. And each sported the chapeau of choice for discriminating Oregonians - the black wig- hat of dreadlocks resembling Grant’s trademark hairdo.

“Brian Grant is a god here,” Todd said matter-of-factly.

Speaking of religious fervor, one fan, known only to the crowd as Paul, won the hearts and turned the stomachs of the faithful with his stunt for a radio contest ticket giveaway.

He ate a handful of worms. Live ones.

“It was something,” said Blazers announcer and local radio personality Mark Mason, who gave away the tickets.

Inside, not satisfied with team spirit, another Blazers fan carried a poster that hit a little too close to home for some San Antonians: “Your dome is lame, our arena is insane.”

The Spurs’ 24-point third quarter silenced the crowd. Fans broke out the boos with 1:15 left in the third and began streaming for the exits with seven minutes to go in the game.

While the locals returned to their normally stoic selves, there was a handful of Spurs fans in the arena. Most of them were quiet, too, out of fear for their lives.

“I was cheering my head off in the first half, then my brother called me on my mobile phone and told me I better chill out,” said Paul Nemeth, who sported a turquoise, pink and orange leather Spurs jacket.

Bob and Betsy Rice, with son Bryan - who won tickets from the Spurs Reward Program for season ticket holders - were beaming but not gloating after the game.

“We’re subdued because we don’t want to get beat up,” Bob Rice said.

Not all Spurs fans here were gracious winners. Gary Miller, sporting a cut on the bridge of his nose, was tossed from the arena with four minutes left in the game. He was chest bumping a few other Spurs fans in the concourse as the game ended.

Miller, who says he paid $2,000 for midcourt tickets for the weekend games, says he was punched by Blazers fans who didn’t take kindly to his game-long gloating.

“I was obnoxious, I’ll admit that,” he said. “And I had it coming. But why did I get thrown out? They were punching me.”

By Roy Bragg, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-05, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队的外线射手近期大放异彩

马刺队前锋马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)表示，他认为他知道为什么球队的外线射手在西部决赛中对阵波特兰开拓者队时表现出色。

“美女喜欢三分射手，”罗斯模仿了一个流行的电视广告说道。

无论原因是什么，马刺队备受诟病的外线群在周五对阵开拓者队的比赛中，在玫瑰花园球馆以85-63获胜，投进了18次三分球中的8次。

在过去的两场比赛中，马刺队投进了35次三分球中的15次。肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在周一圣安东尼奥马刺队以86-85险胜开拓者队的比赛中，在比赛结束时投进了一个不可思议的远距离投篮，彻底击垮了开拓者的士气。

随着系列赛移师波特兰，马刺队继续开火，并命中了目标。这一次，是贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)创造了球队纪录，投进了6个三分球。甚至史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)也摆脱了季后赛的投篮低迷，命中了一个三分球。

凭借这场胜利，马刺队在系列赛中以3-0领先开拓者队，并向他们首次进入NBA总决赛的目标迈进了一步。

比赛结束后，罗斯对马刺队最近一次胜利中的一项有趣数据感到兴奋。这是他们在季后赛中的第9场胜利。马刺队以他们强大的内线进攻著称，但他们的三分球命中率（44.4%）比灌篮命中率（40%，5投2中）更高。

听到这个消息，罗斯提高了音量，并对最近一个为棒球长打手做宣传的广告进行了自己的演绎。在广告中，女性们对马克·麦格怀尔(Mark McGwire)等球员赞不绝口，并指出“美女喜欢长打手”。

罗斯坐在自己的储物柜旁，朝左边瞥了一眼。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)，球队的明星大前锋，就在那里。

“嘿，蒂姆·邓肯，最有价值球员候选人，”罗斯用他最高亢的声音说道。“你看到史蒂夫·科尔了吗？你看到贾伦·杰克逊了吗？”

在第三场比赛结束后，开拓者队可能会在噩梦中梦到杰克逊。

从第一节结束到第二节开始，杰克逊连续投进三个三分球，为停滞不前的马刺队进攻注入了活力。

“我们有非常无私的大个子，”杰克逊说道。“他们真的为我们打开了外线的空间。AJ（艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)）投进了球。我投进了球。史蒂夫·科尔。但大个子（邓肯和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)）非常无私。和他们一起打球真是太棒了。”

在季后赛开始之前，联盟中的一些教练质疑马刺队的外线进攻是否足够强大，能够帮助他们进入NBA总决赛。现在，他们只差一场胜利就能实现目标。

马刺队在邓肯仅得到7投2中，得到5分的情况下，凭借他们的外线射手们站了出来，取得了这场胜利。

“我们都相信彼此，”杰克逊说道。“但毫无疑问，蒂姆是，并且永远是，我们进攻的焦点。”

科尔在第二节初期的表现非常重要。他和杰克逊以及马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)组成的外线三人组，让开拓者队感到困惑。他们三人在外线积极跑位，拉开了空间。

科尔投进了他的第一个季后赛三分球，帮助马刺队以34-30领先。埃利随后又投进了一个22英尺的投篮，迫使开拓者队请求暂停。科尔在周五之前季后赛12投0中，这场比赛5投2中，其中三分球3投1中。

点击查看原文：Spurs dig the recent success of their perimeter shooters

Spurs dig the recent success of their perimeter shooters

Spurs forward Malik Rose said he thinks he knows why the team’s perimeter shooters are coming alive against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals.

“Chicks dig three-point shooters,” Rose said, mimicking a popular television commercial.

Whatever the reason, the Spurs’ much- maligned perimeter gang hit 8 of 18 treys in an 85-63 victory Friday over the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

In the last two games, the Spurs have nailed 15 of 35 threes. Sean Elliott broke the Blazers’ spirit with a miraculous long ball at the end of an 86-85 Spurs win Monday in San Antonio.

As the series moved to Portland, the Spurs kept firing - and hitting. This time, it was Jaren Jackson, who tied a franchise record with six threes. Even Steve Kerr broke out of a playoff shooting slump and hit one of the long balls.

With the win, the Spurs took a 3-0 lead in the series against the Trail Blazers and moved tantalizingly close to their first trip to the NBA Finals.

After the game, Rose got a kick out of one of the curious statistics from the Spurs’ most recent triumph - their ninth in a row in the postseason. The Spurs, known for their high-powered inside power game, made a higher percentage on their threes (44.4 percent) than they did on their dunks (40 percent, 2 of 5).

Hearing the news, it prompted Rose to raise the pitch of his voice and put his own twist to a recent commercial that hypes baseball’s long-ball hitters. In the commercial, women fawn over the likes of Mark McGwire, noting that, “Chicks dig long-ball.”

Sitting at his locker, Rose glanced to his left. There was Tim Duncan, the team’s star power forward.

“Hey, Tim Duncan, most valuable player candidate,” Rose said, in his best high- pitched voice. “Have you seen Steve Kerr? Have you seen Jaren Jackson?”

After Game 3, the Blazers may be seeing Jackson in their nightmares.

His string of three treys, starting at the end of the first period and continuing early in the second quarter, pumped life into a stagnant Spurs offense.

“We have such unselfish big guys,” Jackson said. “They really open up the perimeter for us. AJ (Avery Johnson) was hitting. I was hitting. Steve Kerr. But the big guys (Duncan and David Robinson) are so unselfish. It’s just a tremendous feeling playing with those guys.”

Before the start of the playoffs, coaches around the league questioned whether the Spurs’ perimeter game would be good enough to carry them to the NBA Finals. Now, they are one win away.

And the Spurs got there on a night that the shooters had to step up, when Duncan was scoring only five points on 2 of 7 field goals.

“We all just believe in each other,” Jackson said. “But there is no doubt that Tim is and always will be the focal point of our offense.”

Kerr’s presence was important early in the second quarter. He played in a perimeter troika with Jackson and Mario Elie that confused the Blazers. The three spotted up on the outside and spread the floor.

A three by Kerr, his first of the postseason, gave the Spurs a 34-30 lead. Elie promptly added a 22-footer, forcing the Blazers to call timeout. Kerr, 0 for 12 from the field in the playoffs before Friday night, finished 2 for 5 overall and 1 of 3 from long distance.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-05, By Arthur Garcia

海军上将掌舵 - 如同往昔，罗宾逊带领马刺走向胜利

在当今马刺队球星只能作为观众的一场比赛中，这位在过去十年里大部分时间都扛起球队大旗的男人再次成为了舞台的中心。

如同他职业生涯的大部分时间一样，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 在周五晚上对阵波特兰的西部决赛第三场比赛中带领圣安东尼奥马刺队前进。海军上将在这场比赛中承担了进攻重任，因为蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 因犯规困扰而缺席第三节，并且在整场比赛中都展现出了强大的防守威慑力。

罗宾逊全面的表现帮助马刺以85-63完胜开拓者，并将马刺距离他们的首次进入NBA总决赛仅一步之遥。

在邓肯仅在第三节打了40秒的情况下，罗宾逊独自一人在第三节的得分就与开拓者相匹敌——都是8分。在邓肯离场的情况下，波特兰队仅得到6分，而圣安东尼奥队则得到了24分。

“当蒂姆不在场上时，我们的进攻会有很大的变化；这完全是不同的进攻方式，”罗宾逊在得到15分后说。“我知道我需要提供一些得分，如果不是得分，那就是球的移动，并且成为我们进攻的中心。”

除了承担他曾经习惯的第一选择的角色外，罗宾逊还一再将波特兰的投篮封盖。

“我的防守努力可能是我为这支球队带来的最重要的东西，”他说。“我知道没有7尺高的巨人（邓肯）在里面，我必须做到这一点。”

罗宾逊最终获得了1999年季后赛最高的7次盖帽。

那些他没有触及到的球，罗宾逊只是通过巡逻玫瑰花园的禁区来改变它们的轨迹。他帮助将波特兰队的投篮命中率限制在24.7%，这是球队在季后赛中的最低水平，也是马刺队对手的最低水平。

“他在第三节单枪匹马地统治了比赛，”马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说。“他让（阿尔维达斯）萨博尼斯(Arvydas Sabonis) 无法发挥进攻。他跑动得很好。他做出了侵略性的动作。当达蒙（斯塔德迈尔）(Damon Stoudamire) 几次突破我上篮时，即使他并没有盖帽，他也迫使他们投出高难度的投篮。那些家伙真的很难获得一个好的投篮机会，因为大卫看起来像是站在那里8英尺高。”

罗宾逊并没有在得分上领先球队——贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 的三分球狂潮已经做到了这一点——但在关键的第三节，他4投2中，四罚全中，帮助马刺队在进入第四节时取得了18分的领先优势。

罗宾逊在比赛还剩4分26秒时离场，当时马刺队领先26分。他还抢下了9个篮板并送出了5次助攻。

“大卫为我们做了他一整年都在做的事情，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“大卫是我们一切工作的基础。即使我们在进攻中经常把球传给蒂姆，但如果你真的算一算，你会发现大卫获得的触球次数几乎与他一样多。在防守端，他就像一个怪物。弱侧防守，无球防守，强侧防守，盖帽，篮板——我们真的从他那里汲取养分。”

当被问及如果在比赛开始前就知道邓肯只得到5分，他会认为球队会取得什么样的成绩时，罗宾逊回答说：“也许会赢，但现在是完胜。我们没有预料到这一点，尤其是蒂姆因为各种不同的原因被换下。

“但球队真的挺过来了。我们有一些球员站了出来。我们觉得即使他得分不多，我们仍然可以赢得比赛，但你绝对不会想到会取得完胜。”

点击查看原文：Admiral takes command - Just like old times, Robinson carries - S.A. to victory

Admiral takes command - Just like old times, Robinson carries - S.A. to victory

On a night when the present-day Spurs franchise player had the role of spectator, the man who held the franchise mantle for the better part of a decade took center stage again.

As he’s done for the bulk of his career, David Robinson carried San Antonio on Friday night against Portland in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Admiral took the offensive load in the absence of foul-plagued Tim Duncan in the third period and played defensive intimidator the entire game.

Robinson’s all-around performance keyed the 85-63 whitewash of the Trail Blazers and put the Spurs one victory from their first trip to the NBA Finals.

With Duncan on the bench for all but 40 seconds of the third quarter, Robinson matched the Blazers’ scoring output in the period - eight points - by himself. Portland only scored six points with Duncan out. San Antonio had 24.

“Our offense changes a lot when Tim is not on the game; it’s a whole different offense” said Robinson after scoring 15. “I knew I needed to provide some scoring, and if not the scoring so much, the movement of the ball and be the focal point of our offense.”

In addition to assuming his once-customary role of first option, Robinson swatted and swatted and swatted away Portland shots.

“My defensive effort is what I bring to this team probably more than anything,” he said. “And I knew without the big 7-footer in there (Duncan), I had to do that.”

Robinson finished with a 1999 playoff-high seven blocked shots.

Those he didn’t get a hand on, Robinson altered by just patrolling the Rose Garden’s unpainted paint. He helped hold Portland to 24.7 percent from the field, a franchise low in the playoffs and a low for a Spurs opponent.

“He really dominated the game in the third quarter single-handedly,” Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “He took (Arvydas) Sabonis out of his offense. He ran the court well. He made aggressive moves. When Damon (Stoudamire) beat me to the basket a couple of times, even though he didn’t block his shot, he really made them take tough shots. Those guys really had a hard time getting a good look at the basket, because David looked like he was 8- feet out there.”

Robinson didn’t lead the team in scoring - Jaren Jackson’s three- point barrage took care of that - but in the crucial third, he hit 2 of 4 from the field and all four of his free throws as the Spurs opened up an 18-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Robinson left with 4:26 left in the game and the Spurs up by 26. He also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists.

“David did what he’s done for us all year,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Dave is the foundation of everything we do. Even though we go to Tim a lot offensively, if you really counted, you’ll find David gets almost as many touches. Defensively, he’s just a monster. Weak-side defense, off-ball defense, power-forward guarding, blocking shots, rebounding - we really feed off him.”

Asked how he would have thought the team would do if he knew before the game Duncan would score only five points, Robinson answered: "Maybe a win, but now a blowout. We did not expect that, especially with Tim being taken out of the game for a lot of different reasons.

“But the team really came through. We’ve had guys step up. We feel if he doesn’t score a whole lot, we can still win the game, but there’s no way you expect a blowout.”

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Staff Reports

马刺笔记

他应该得到休息：蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 周五很享受在马刺板凳席上的时光，但这只是因为球队正在赢球。

邓肯因为犯规麻烦只打了 20 分钟，并且以 5 分创造了个人职业生涯的最低得分。

“蒂姆也是人，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie) 说。“卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 扛起了（爵士）。但重要的是，蒂姆可以承受一场糟糕的比赛，我们仍然可以赢 18 或 20 分。我说，‘你最好在周日为我们拿下 30 分。’

“他感觉很糟糕。蒂姆是一个竞争者。他没有失去冷静。他陷入了犯规麻烦，但你无能为力。

“你只能依靠其他球员。”

炒作过剩：大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 说马刺知道他们离创造球队历史只有一步之遥。他们只是不想被卷入其中。

“我认为让我们保持清醒的一件事是，圣安东尼奥的每个人都非常兴奋，”罗宾逊说。“他们都在谈论‘争夺总冠军！争夺总冠军！’

“他们从第一轮就开始谈论这件事了。第一轮可不会颁发总冠军戒指。”

埃利说马刺欢迎关注。

“这对一支小市场球队来说很好，”埃利说。“我们现在获得了大量的曝光。戴夫、蒂姆、像贾伦(Jaren) 这样的球员开始获得了他们应得的知名度。”

埃利也不介意马刺被描述为一支无聊的球队。

“如果我们赢得比赛，就算很无聊，那也无所谓。给我 15 场无聊的胜利，我无所谓，”埃利说。“如果那能让球队挂起一面锦旗，在我的手指上多一枚戒指，那也无所谓。我随时都愿意。”

冷静下来：艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 并不觉得波特兰在第三场比赛中的崩溃令人惊讶。

“在西部决赛中，当事情不按你的意愿发展时，你难免会感到沮丧，”约翰逊说。“这是一种正常的反应。

“我们也会感到沮丧。但也许我们不像他们那样表现出来。也许他们会通过获得技术犯规和互相指责来表现出来。但我们尽量避免这样做，因为我们认为这无助于我们的处境。”

目标锁定：马刺目前战绩为 10 胜 1 负，他们仍然有机会创造季后赛历史上最高的胜率。

1983 年的费城 76 人队以 12 胜 1 负的战绩创造了这一纪录（胜率 0.923）。自从 NBA 取消了季后赛首轮轮空后，还没有哪支球队在夺冠途中输掉少于两场比赛。

1989 年的底特律活塞队和 1991 年的芝加哥公牛队都取得了 15 胜 2 负的战绩。

没有借口：波特兰前锋布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant) 说他周五晚上患了支气管炎，但没有影响他的比赛。

“我感觉真的很好，”他说。“我只是需要开始投进那些短距离投篮，把球投过那些长臂。人们一直都在做这件事。”

艾弗里现在睡得很香：艾弗里·约翰逊说开拓者在圣安东尼奥的出色表现让他寝食难安。

“他们在阿拉莫穹顶的比赛让我们球迷激动不已，让我睡不着觉，”他说。“但他们在这里没有打出他们想要的比赛。” - 工作人员报道

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

He should be rested: Tim Duncan enjoyed his time on the Spurs’ bench Friday, but only because the team was winning.

Duncan played only 20 minutes because of foul trouble and tied his career low with five points.

“Tim is human,” Mario Elie said. "Karl Malone carried (Utah). But it’s good that Tim can afford to have one bad game and we still win by 18 or 20. I said, ‘You better have 30 for us on Sunday.’

"He felt bad. Tim is a competitor. He didn’t lose his cool. He was in foul trouble, but there’s nothing you can do.

“You just have to depend on other guys.”

Overhyped: David Robinson said the Spurs know they are close to making franchise history. They just don’t want to get caught up in it.

“One of the things that I think has kept us in perspective is, that in San Antonio everybody is so excited,” Robinson said. "They’re all talking about ‘Race for the rings! Race for the rings!’

“They’ve been talking about that since the first round. They don’t give away rings in the first round.”

Elie said the Spurs welcome the attention.

“It’s good for a small-market team,” Elie said. “We’re getting a lot of exposure now. Dave, Tim, guys like Jaren (Jackson) are starting to get the notoriety they deserve.”

Elie also doesn’t mind the Spurs being portrayed as a boring team to watch.

“If we win dull, so be it. Give me 15 dull wins any day,” Elie said. “If that’s going to put a banner up, put another ring on my finger, so be it. I’ll take it any day.”

Calm down: Avery Johnson didn’t find Portland’s meltdown in Game 3 all that surprising.

“With what’s at stake in the Western Conference finals, when things don’t go your way, you are going to get a little frustrated,” Johnson said. "That’s a normal reaction.

“We get frustrated, too. But maybe we don’t show it sometimes the way they show it. Maybe they show it by getting technical fouls and getting on one another. But we try to not do that because we feel that doesn’t help our situation.”

In their sights: With a 10-1 record, the Spurs still have a shot at recording the highest winning percentage in the playoffs.

The 1983 Philadelphia 76ers hold the record (.923) after going 12-1. Since the NBA did away with first- round byes in the playoffs, no team has lost fewer than two games on its way to the championship.

The 1989 Detroit Pistons and 1991 Chicago Bulls both went 15-2.

No excuses: Portland forward Brian Grant said he was suffering from a bout with bronchitis Friday night but that it did not affect his game.

“I really felt all right,” he said. “I just have to start making those short shots, get the ball up over those long arms. People do it all the time.”

Avery sleeping now: Avery Johnson said the Blazers solid play in San Antonio made him restless.

“They cost me a lot of sleep, they had the fans on the edge of their seats,” he said of the close games in the Alamodome. “But they didn’t play the game they wanted to up here.” - Staff reports

By Staff Reports, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Johnny Ludden

像公牛一样奔跑 - 马刺横扫对手，在季后赛中展现统治力

这是一个敏感的话题，敏感到当地一家电视台报道称，玫瑰花园的清洁人员被禁止使用扫帚。

你可以用手捡起垃圾，或者用托盘把它铲起来。但是，扫地是禁止的。

当然，马刺队希望绕开这条小规定，即使他们不想谈论它。“我们不会坐下来，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说，“然后说我们要横扫某个球队。”

在比赛开始之前，可能没有人想到会将开拓者队扫地出门，但现在它成为了最主要的议题。如果他们在今晚的西部决赛第四场比赛中战胜波特兰，马刺队不仅将首次晋级NBA总决赛，他们还将创造联盟历史。

自1989年的洛杉矶湖人队以来，还没有一支球队能够同时横扫联盟半决赛和决赛。如果今天获胜，马刺队将在季后赛中取得10连胜，仅次于同一支湖人队取得的11连胜。

这支马刺队，仅仅三个月前还以6胜8负的战绩跌跌撞撞地开局，面临着主教练可能被解雇的处境，还经历了关于交易大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的讨论，现在突然变得像公牛队一样强大。马刺队并没有像迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)和芝加哥公牛队那样统治比赛，但41胜6负的战绩足以与历史上最伟大的球队相媲美。

“相似之处在于你是在客场取得胜利的，”史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)说，他曾是公牛队最后三支冠军球队的成员。“公牛队总是这样做。我们在他们的主场击败他们。

“有时我们会在主场挣扎，也许勉强赢球。另一支球队会因此而抱有一丝希望。他们会说，‘我们要回家了。我们能做到；我们差点就在芝加哥击败他们了。’

“然后我们将彻底击垮他们。”

马刺队今晚的目标是同样地对待波特兰，或者说，就像他们在星期五晚上对波特兰做的那样。在第三场比赛中，开拓者队创造了季后赛最低的19个投篮命中数，得分也是史上第二低，他们在争吵和指责声中崩溃了。

波特兰的使命现在已经明确：他们必须成为NBA历史上首支在七场四胜制比赛中从3比0落后中逆转的球队。

“我希望我们足够男子汉，有足够的自尊心和尊严，能够站出来全力以赴，”格雷格·安东尼(Greg Anthony)说。

开拓者队在星期五的下半场并没有拿出多少实力。他们在第三节结束时错失了9次投篮，并且开始在球场上互相指责。拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace)在第四节初期犯了一个不合时宜的技术犯规，然后在犯规离场后直接去了更衣室，而不是留在替补席上。

“我不理解这种状况的动态，”罗宾逊说。“他们在赛季中似乎都很开心。他们都打得很愉快。”

然而，现在是马刺队享受胜利的时刻。

“我最喜欢这支球队的特点是，我们有14个球员，他们真的很喜欢彼此，并且拥有共同的目标，那就是赢得比赛，”科尔说。“看到开拓者队发生的事情——关于上场时间的争端等等——这些事情在NBA经常发生，但在这里却不会，这让人耳目一新。”

马刺队的成功甚至让另一位经验丰富的季后赛球员感到惊讶。

“我们只输了一场比赛，这太不可思议了，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)说。“在我的休斯顿球队时期，我们在第一轮、第二轮和第三轮都输过几场比赛。我们现在势头正猛。我希望这种势头一直持续到我们取得15连胜。”

现在，马刺队保持着10连胜。但是罗宾逊提醒人们，不要过早地庆祝胜利。尤其是在面对一支实力强大且阵容深厚的波特兰队时。

还有一个原因。那支在1989年横扫进入NBA总决赛的湖人队？他们在总决赛中被底特律活塞队横扫出局。

今天的比赛

第四场比赛：马刺队@波特兰，下午5:30

系列赛：马刺队3比0领先

电视：NBC

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语：KCOR-AM 1350

点击查看原文：Running like the Bulls - Spurs after sweep in dominant playoff streak

Running like the Bulls - Spurs after sweep in dominant playoff streak

It is a sensitive topic here. So sensitive that, according to a local television station, the clean-up crew at the Rose Garden has been forbidden from using brooms.

You can pick up trash with your hands or scoop it up with a tray. Sweeping, however, is off-limits.

The Spurs, of course, would like to sidestep that little rule. Even if they don’t care to discuss it. “We don’t sit down,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “and say we’re going to go sweep somebody.”

The notion of brushing aside the Trail Blazers may not have come up before, but it’s front and center now. If they beat Portland tonight in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, not only will the Spurs reach their first NBA Finals, they also will whisk their way into league history.

No team since the 1989 Los Angeles Lakers has swept both the conference semifinals and finals. A victory today would give the Spurs a 10-game winning streak in the playoffs, second only to the 11 wins those same Lakers reeled off.

Those same Spurs, who only three months ago limped out of the gates at 6-8, faced the possible dismissal of their coach and endured talk of trading David Robinson, are suddenly looking very Bullsish. The Spurs don’t dominate games the way Michael Jordan and Chicago did, but going 41-6 should measure up with some of the greatest runs ever.

“The similarity is you do your damage on the road,” said Steve Kerr, who was a member of the Bulls’ last three championship teams. "That’s what the Bulls teams always did. We break people’s backs on their home floor.

"There were times when we would struggle at home, maybe pull out a win. The other team would then have some hope. They would be saying, ‘We’re going home. We can do it; we almost beat them in Chicago.’

“Then we would bury them.”

The Spurs are aiming to do the same to Portland tonight. Or the same thing they did to Portland Friday night. Held to a record- playoff low 19 field goals and the second-fewest points ever, the Trail Blazers imploded during Game 3 in a firestorm of bickering and finger-pointing.

Portland’s mission is now clearly defined: It has to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

“I hope we are men enough and have enough pride and dignity to come out and put forth an effort,” Greg Anthony said.

The Blazers didn’t put forth much of anything in the second half Friday. They missed nine shots to end the third quarter and started yelling at each other on the court. Rasheed Wallace picked up an ill-timed technical early in the fourth quarter, then went straight to the locker room instead of staying on the bench after he fouled out.

“I don’t understand the dynamics of that situation,” Robinson said. “They all seemed so happy during the season. They were all having a great time.”

The Spurs, however, are the ones enjoying themselves now.

“My favorite thing about this team is that we’ve got 14 guys who really like each other and they have the same goal and that’s just to win,” Kerr said. “Seeing what’s going on with the Blazers - playing time issues and stuff - that stuff happens in the NBA, but it doesn’t here and that’s very refreshing.”

The Spurs’ success has even surprised another of its playoff-tested veterans.

“It’s amazing that we’ve only lost one game,” Mario Elie said. “With my Houston teams, we lost a couple in the first, second and third rounds. We’re on an amazing roll right now. I hope it doesn’t stop until we get to 15.”

Right now, the Spurs remain at 10. But Robinson cautioned about counting victories too soon. Especially against a talented and deep Portland team.

There’s also another reason. Those '89 Lakers who swept their way into the NBA Finals? Detroit simply swept them out.

Today’s game

Game 4: Spurs @Portland, 5:30 p.m.

Series: Spurs lead 3-0

TV: NBC

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

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Jerry Briggs

“冲锋队”在第三场比赛后感到被证明是正确的

在西部决赛的前两场比赛中得分和篮板都被对手压制后，马刺队的“冲锋队”感受到了NBA季后赛的强烈聚光灯。这很热，也很不舒服。

在某种程度上，马刺队的替补球员感到他们被冤枉了。他们指出，波特兰开拓者队的替补球员通常得到大量的上场时间，所以他们应该得分更多。

然而，这些“冲锋队员”在周五的第三场比赛中回应了挑战，他们赢得了与或许是NBA中最深厚、最具天赋的替补阵容的较量。

他们的努力帮助马刺队在波特兰的主场轻松地以 85-63 获胜。这场胜利使马刺队距离首次进入NBA总决赛仅一步之遥。在今天下午 5:30 在玫瑰花园进行的第四场比赛开始之前，马刺队在七场四胜制的系列赛中以 3-0 领先开拓者队。

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)，这位给马刺队替补球员起了绰号的年轻大前锋，在周六接受媒体采访时谈到替补球员的表现时，感觉有点敏感。

“我想你们（记者）激励了我们，”罗斯说。“你们媒体都在说波特兰队是如何压制我们的。我并不是要贬低他们，因为他们确实拥有一个很棒的替补阵容。但他们在这群人中有一些潜在的首发球员。”

开拓者队拥有像沃尔特·威廉姆斯(Walt Williams)、格雷格·安东尼(Greg Anthony) 和吉姆·杰克逊(Jim Jackson) 这样的球员，他们在其他球队都担任过首发角色。另一方面，马刺队可能天赋不足，但他们也可能更适合与首发球员配合。

在第三场比赛中，马刺队的替补球员接过了首发大前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 的得分重任，邓肯表现不佳。由于犯规麻烦，邓肯仅得到 5 分，上场 20 分钟。

替补后卫贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 通过三分球 11 投 6 中，得到全队最高的 19 分，填补了邓肯的空缺。替补邓肯的威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue) 在过去几周中表现出色，上场 21 分钟，与大个子阿维达斯·萨博尼斯(Arvydas Sabonis) 进行了身体对抗。

总的来说，“冲锋队”以 35-18 超过开拓者队得分，以 19-8 超过开拓者队篮板。马刺队的替补球员扭转了前两场比赛的总数据，包括得分（开拓者队 49-15）和篮板（开拓者队 24-17）。

“我们认为我们可以帮助球队获胜，”罗斯说。“我们为球队提供赢得比赛所需的一切。在上一场比赛中，我们做了很多事情。我们从各个方面得到了帮助。我们从史蒂夫（科尔）那里得到了帮助。我们从 J.J. 那里得到了帮助，当然。杰罗姆（克西），我自己，以及威尔在防守和篮板方面都打出了非凡的比赛。威尔表现出色。”

杰克逊在出色表现之后受到了最多的关注，但他与罗斯的想法一致，认为珀杜的努力对于将太平洋赛区冠军开拓者队推向淘汰边缘至关重要。

“威尔太重要了，”杰克逊说。“他挺身而出。没错。他打得很强硬，利用了自己的体型，篮板球抢得非常出色。我们需要这样。有时候他没有机会做出贡献，但有时候——某些季后赛、某些对位、某些情况下——我们会在那里需要他。”

珀杜在防守位置上表现出色，有时与萨博尼斯和大前锋布莱恩·格兰特(Bryan Grant) 对位。这两个开拓者球员的合计投篮命中率为 14 投 2 中。

“威尔知道如果有人犯规麻烦，他必须与大个子萨博尼斯硬碰硬，”杰克逊说。“他明白这一点。我为他感到骄傲。他做得很好。”

马刺队的首发球员大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 和珀杜组成的内线组合让开拓者队十分头疼。开拓者队无法在内线突破这两个 7 英尺高的球员，而当他们在外线获得空位投篮机会时，他们通常会匆忙出手。

点击查看原文：'Bum Rush Crew' feels vindicated after Game 3

‘Bum Rush Crew’ feels vindicated after Game 3

Outscored and outrebounded in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs’ “Bum Rush Crew” felt the glaring spotlight of the NBA playoffs. It was hot, and it was uncomfortable.

In a way, Spurs bench players felt they were getting a bit of a bum rap. They pointed out that the Portland Trail Blazers’ reserves usually receive loads of playing time, so they should score more.

Nevertheless, the bum rushers responded to the challenge in Game 3 Friday when they won the battle with perhaps the deepest and most talented bench in the NBA.

Their efforts helped push the Spurs to an easy 85-63 win on Portland’s home court. And with the victory, the Spurs moved to within one win of a berth in their first NBA Championship series. The Spurs lead the Blazers 3-0 in the best-of-seven series going into Game 4 today at 5:30 p.m. at the Rose Garden.

Malik Rose, the Spurs young power forward who christened the team’s reserves with their nickname was feeling a bit touchy Saturday when the subject of bench play came up in interviews with the media.

“I guess you guys (reporters) motivated us,” Rose said. “You media guys were all talking about how Portland was outplaying us. Not taking anything away from them because, of course, they have a great bench. But they have a few potential starters in that group.”

The Blazers have players such as Walt Williams, Greg Anthony and Jim Jackson who have played starters’ roles on other teams. The Spurs, on the other hand, probably have less talent but they also probably mesh with the starters better.

Cohesiveness paid off in a big way in Game 3 when the Spurs reserves picked up the scoring for starting power forward Tim Duncan, who played poorly. Duncan was limited to five points and 20 minutes because of foul trouble.

Reserve guard Jaren Jackson helped filled the void by firing in a team-high 19 points on six-of-11 three-point shooting. Will Perdue, subbing for Duncan, turned in his best playoff performance in a couple of weeks with 21 minutes, filled with banging and bumping against big Arvydas Sabonis.

In all, the “Bum Rush Crew” outscored the Blazers 35-18 and outrebounded them 19-8. Spurs reserves turned around the combined numbers from the first two games of the series, including scoring (49-15 Blazers) and rebounding (24-17 Blazers).

“We feel we can help our team win,” Rose said. “We give the team whatever is needed to win. In the last game, it was a lot of stuff. We got it from all angles. We got it from Steve (Kerr). We got it from J.J., of course. Jerome (Kersey), myself, and Will had a phenomenal game defensively and rebounding wise. Will played great.”

Jackson received most of the attention after his lights-out shooting performance, but he echoed Rose that Perdue’s effort proved critical in sending the Pacific Division champion Blazers to within one loss of elimination.

“Will was big,” Jackson said. “He came through. Yes, indeed. He played strong, used his size and he rebounded incredibly. We need that. There are times when he doesn’t get opportunities to contribute but there are times - certain playoffs, certain matchups, certain situations - when we’re going to need him out there.”

Perdue played solid position defense, matched up at times against Sabonis and forward Bryan Grant. Combined, the two Blazers went two- for-14 from the field.

“Will knows he’s got to get in there and bang with big Sabonis if someone’s in foul trouble,” Jackson said. “He understands that. I’m proud of him. He did a good job.”

Spurs starter David Robinson and Perdue presented an inside force that gave the Blazers absolute fits. The Blazers couldn’t get anything in the paint against the two 7-footers and when they did get an open shot on the perimeter, they usually rushed it.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Carlos Guerra

马刺队创造历史，两方争论不休

“马刺队怎么样？”

在经历了开局的缓慢后，圣安东尼奥的马刺队似乎正准备在今天结束一场不同寻常的双杀，从而首次进入NBA的巅峰时刻。

不出所料，与这个缩短赛季初期的喧嚣不同，现在似乎没有人再要求将波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的头颅献祭。

然而，令人惊讶的是，尽管至少有一位广播脱口秀主持人无耻地为马刺队加油，以及一位国家网络评论员发表了无知的评论，但圣安东尼奥市民中并没有突然出现大规模的呼吁，要求纳税人为新的球馆买单。

在研究了其他NBA城市建造新球馆的经验后，我可以告诉你，圣安东尼奥与过去五年中面临这个问题的大多数城市并没有太大区别。

反对由纳税人资助的球馆的人可以分为两大类：那些不想将税款花在这种事上或几乎任何其他事上的人，以及那些认为如果要花费公共资金，应该首先满足比新的体育设施更重要的需求的人。

支持用税款建造新球馆的人可以归纳为三类。

人数最多的是那些认为马刺队是圣安东尼奥不可或缺的社区资源，不能失去的球迷和其他人士。

另一群人——其中包括各种文化活动的推广者和支持者，他们会使用新的设施——认为，自从城市无情地拆除了半球节竞技场(HemisFair Arena)后，我们就需要一个比阿拉莫穹顶(Alamodome)小、比市政礼堂(Municipal Auditorium)或弗里曼体育馆(Freeman Coliseum)大的场馆。

最小的——也许是最有权势的——想要一个由税收资助的球馆的支持者群体是马刺队的老板以及潜在的开发商和建设者。

现任马刺队老板比他们的前任更坦诚地表达了他们的愿望和需求，这是一个令人耳目一新的变化。

彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)已经非常直接地说明了马刺队想要新场馆的原因。他说，他们并不是为了“更好的座位”，而是为了“更大的收入来源”，或者更多他认为球队“为了在未来长期保持NBA竞争力”而需要的资金。

霍尔特一再表示，这个所有者团队并不乐意出售马刺队，但他们也并没有把所有的钱都投入到一个长期亏损的球队中。因此，有意或无意地，马刺队可能离开的阴影始终存在。

在我最近的一篇专栏文章中，我指出圣安东尼奥球迷一直是NBA中最支持的球迷。根据《体育商业日报》(Sports Business Daily)的数据，今年马刺队的25场常规赛主场比赛吸引了527357名球迷，超过了所有其他西部联盟球队。每场平均21094人的观众人数占球场容量的103%，之所以能够实现，是因为阿拉莫穹顶的屋顶座位在五场比赛中被开放使用。

新的球馆能够为所有者带来的“更大的收入来源”包括停车收入、更高的餐饮收入比例，以及更多、更具市场价值的包厢和俱乐部座位。

但马刺队老板的愿望有多现实？星期二，我将更详细地探讨这些问题。

在此期间：马刺队加油！

点击查看原文：Spurs march into history as two sides argue

Spurs march into history as two sides argue

How 'bout them Spurs?

After a very slow start, San Antonio’s own are looking at finishing off an unusual double sweep today to go into the NBA big time for the first time.

It isn’t surprising that, unlike the roars prevalent at the beginning of this abbreviated season, no one seems to be screaming for Pop’s head on a platter these days.

What is surprising, however, is that in spite of the shameless cheerleading of at least one radio talk show host and the ill-informed comments of a national network commentator, no huge groundswell of San Antonians has suddenly developed that is calling for taxpayers to pay for a new arena.

After researching other NBA cities’ experience with building new arenas, I can tell you San Antonio is not much different from most cities that have faced this issue in the last five years.

Two broad categories of people oppose a taxpayer-funded arena: Those who don’t want taxes spent for this or virtually anything else, and those who believe that if public money is to be expended, it should first meet needs that are more important than a new sports facility.

Proponents of spending tax money for a new arena can be lumped into three groups.

Most numerous are the fans and others who believe the Spurs are a valuable community resource that San Antonio cannot afford to lose.

Another conglomeration - which includes promoters and supporters of various cultural activities that would use a new facility - believes that since the city unceremoniously demolished the HemisFair Arena, we have needed a venue that is smaller than the Alamodome and larger than Municipal Auditorium or Freeman Coliseum.

The smallest - and perhaps the most powerful - group of proponents who want a tax-funded arena is the Spurs owners and the potential developers and builders of such a facility.

Current Spurs owners have been far more open about their wants and needs than were their predecessors, which is a refreshing change.

Peter Holt has been quite direct about why the Spurs want new digs. They’re not out “for better seats,” he has said, but for “greater revenue streams,” or more money that he says the team needs “to remain competitive in the NBA in the long term.”

This ownership group, Holt repeatedly has said, doesn’t relish

the idea of selling the Spurs, but they didn’t sink all that money to buy into a perennial loss, either. So, intentionally or otherwise, the specter of the Spurs’ possible departure has been kept alive.

In a recent column, I noted that San Antonio fans have been among the NBA’s most supportive. According to Sports Business Daily, 527,357 fans attended the Spurs’ 25 regular-season home games this year, beating out all other Western Conference teams. The 21,094 per-game average is 103 percent of capacity, possible only because the Alamodome’s rafter seats were opened for five games.

The “greater revenue streams” a new arena would provide owners are parking revenues, a greater percentage of concessions revenues and more - as well as more marketable - sky box suites and club seats.

But how realistic are the Spurs’ owners wishes? Tuesday, I’ll delve into these issues in greater detail.

In the meantime: Go, Spurs, go!

By Carlos Guerra, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Dan Cook

本杰明对马刺队的赞美

这真是难以置信的景象，本杰明·P·布罗德欣德(Benjamin P. Broadhind)紧紧地穿着印有“Go Spurs”的T恤。T恤的尺寸至少要大四个码，中间部分也应该再加10英寸的布料。

我差点认不出他了。当我们的路径交汇时，他正从北星购物中心的鲁比餐厅(Luby’s Cafeteria)入口走过。这本身就很不寻常，因为他甚至没有停下来看一眼墙上的菜单。

“今天你似乎很赶时间，布罗德欣德先生。你是在赶着去收赌注吗？”

“不，我是在赶着去赢赌注。费格森胖子(Fatty Ferguson)，一个我在纽约的老相识，跟我打赌说他能在10天内减掉的体重比我多。”

“是什么导致了这场赌局，本杰明？”

“我多年没见过他了，他说他担心我认不出他，因为他减了30磅。”

“所以呢？”

“所以我告诉他，‘只要看看你身后，你就会找到这30磅，外加10磅。’这让他很生气，也导致了我们的赌局。所以我正在节食和训练——算是吧。”

本杰明点燃了一根半截的雪茄，带着它继续他的散步，我便跟在他身后。

“你对现在的马刺队有什么看法，布罗德欣德先生？”

“孩子，他们介于优秀和棒极了之间。直到上周五晚上，我仍然有一些严重的怀疑。波特兰可不是什么弱旅，但在第三场比赛的第三节，我担心波特兰的人可能会报警。马刺队疯狂地进攻，抢断他们的传球，夺走了他们仅剩的一点点信心和自豪，并在他们的主场将他们击败。如果这是一场拳击比赛，裁判会在第四节早期就终止比赛。我印象深刻。”

“但你认为马刺队现在能夺冠，获得他们第一个NBA冠军吗？”

“孩子，在任何一场用大球进行的比赛中，都没有太多稳操胜券的事，但现在我会说，马刺队比酒鬼的内裤还要强壮。他们可以用三分手雨般地进攻击溃你，也可以用扣篮和防守把你打到死。告诉你，孩子，这支马刺队的一切都融合在一起了。我只是为他们的老板，彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)感到有点难过。”

“为什么你会为他感到难过？”

“好吧，我一辈子都没见过一个百万富翁，他不需要额外的一百万。马刺队的这些连胜对他来说很花钱。如果马刺队在洛杉矶输掉了一场比赛，他们就可以回家再赚取一百万的票房。现在，今天下午他们在波特兰也面临着同样的情况。”

“我理解。但我认为彼得不会抱怨。”

本杰明停下了追寻更轻盈身躯的脚步，我尝试了另一个话题。

“你认为为什么现在有那么多人愿意花国王的赎金来聘请菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)执教他们的球队？我听说湖人和尼克斯都在追求他。”

“只有一个原因，孩子。NBA老板之间散布着大量的愚蠢。杰克逊在芝加哥取得了巨大的成功，但如果没有迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)，他可能连西区 YMCA 联赛都赢不了。没有乔丹的杰克逊就像没有安迪的阿莫斯…就像没有朱丽叶的罗密欧…或者，无论那个跟罗密欧约会的女人是谁。但我并不责怪杰克逊。如果那些疯子想往他的桶里倒更多钱，他不拿个更大的桶等着，那他就是疯了。”

“我明白你的意思，布罗德欣德先生。”

这位老人对我笑了笑，然后以稍微快一点的速度沿着购物中心走下去。他的“Go Spurs”T恤被拉得紧紧的，上面沾满了汗水。

点击查看原文：Benjamin has high praise for Spurs

Benjamin has high praise for Spurs

It was a rather incredible sight, Benjamin P. Broadhind tightly wrapped in a “Go Spurs” T-shirt. The T part needed to be four sizes larger and the middle section could have used another 10 inches of thread.

I almost didn’t recognize him. When our paths crossed, he was walking past the entrance to Luby’s Cafeteria in the North Star Mall. That in itself was unusual since he didn’t even pause to peek at the wall menu.

“You seem to be in a hurry today, Mr. Broadhind. Are you rushing to collect on a bet?”

“Naw, I’m rushin’ to win a bet. Fatty Ferguson, an old acquaintance from New York, bet me a bunch that he could lose more weight then I could in a 10- day period.”

“What brought that on, Benjamin?”

“I hadn’t seen him in years and he said he was afraid I wouldn’t recognize him because he’d lost 30 pounds.”

“So?”

“So I tole him, ‘Just look behind you and you’ll find all 30 of them pounds plus 10 more.’ It made him mad and it led to our bet. So I’m on a diet and in trainin’ - sort of.”

Benjamin fired up a half-used cigar to accompany him on his walk so I tagged along.

“What do you think of the Spurs now, Mr. Broadhind?”

“Son, they’re somewhere between outstandin’ and awesome. I still had a few serious doubts until Friday night. Portland ain’t no pussycat, but in the third quarter of that third game I was afraid somebody in Portland might call Crime Stoppers. The Spurs went wild and mugged 'em, stole their passes, robbed 'em of what little confidence and pride they had left and blew 'em away in their own arena. If it had been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped it early in the fourth. I was impressed.”

“But do you think the Spurs will win it all now, get their first NBA title?”

“Son, there ain’t too many cinches in any game played with a big ball, but right now I’d say that the Spurs are stronger than a wino’s underwear. They can beat ya with showers of three- pointers or they can peck ya to death with dunks and defense. I’m tellin’ you, boy, it’s all come together for this Spurs team. I just feel a little sorry for the owner, Peter Holt.”

"Why in the world would you feel sorry for him?

“Well, I ain’t never in my life met a millionaire that couldn’t use an extra million. These sweeps by the Spurs are costin’ him. If the Spurs had lost just one game in Los Angeles, they would have come back home for another million-dollar gate. Now it’s the same situation in Portland this afternoon.”

“I understand. But I don’t think that Peter is complaining.”

Benjamin paused in his pursuit of a lighter frame so I tried another topic.

“Why do you suppose so many now want to pay Phil Jackson a king’s ransom to coach their teams? I hear both the Lakers and Knicks are after him.”

“Just one reason, boy. There’s a big bunch of stupidity scattered among the NBA owners. Jackson had a great run in Chicago but without Michael Jordan he might not win the Westside YMCA League. Jackson without Jordan is like Amos without Andy … like Romeo without, uh, Juliet, or whoever that woman was that Romeo dated. But I don’t blame Jackson. If them nutcakes want to pour more millions into his bucket, he’d be crazy not to get a bigger bucket and wait.”

“I see your point, Mr. Broadhind.”

The old gent tossed me a mild smile and moved on down the mall at a slightly faster pace. His Go Spurs T- shirt was stretched thin and wet with sweat.

By Dan Cook, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Tim Price

马刺对开拓者：关键点

银黑军团
蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 在第三场比赛中休息了 28 分钟。在之前对阵波特兰的比赛中，他只被替换下场过两分钟，而在圣安东尼奥的前 10 场季后赛比赛中，他总共被替换下场了 40 分钟。

• 邓肯在周五比赛中仅得 5 分，创下季后赛生涯新低。这也是他本赛季的最低得分，他的 7 次投篮也创下了赛季新低。在周五之前，圣安东尼奥的 6 场季后赛比赛（全部获胜）中，邓肯场均得到 26.7 分，11 个篮板和 3 个盖帽。

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 的 15 分是他连续第 11 场得分上双的比赛。他是本赛季马刺队中唯一一位在每场季后赛中得分上双的球员。

• 罗宾逊的罚球命中率在季后赛的每一轮比赛中都有所提高。他周五的 9 投 10 中，使他在西部决赛中的罚球命中率达到 82.4%。罗宾逊在半决赛对阵湖人的比赛中罚球命中率为 73.1%，在首轮对阵明尼苏达的比赛中罚球命中率为 65.4%。

• 罗宾逊在对阵森林狼的 4 场比赛中有 3 场篮板球上双，他在最近的 7 场比赛中每场比赛都至少抢下 10 个篮板球。

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 继续着他的火热手感。在对阵波特兰的三场比赛中，埃利奥特的投篮命中率为 57.7%，三分球命中率为 50%，包括最近两场比赛中三分球命中率达到 70%。他在前两轮季后赛中，投篮命中率为 36%，三分球命中率为 44.4%。

• 埃利奥特的得分从对阵明尼苏达的场均 12 分提高到对阵湖人的场均 13.8 分，以及对阵波特兰的场均 14.7 分。

艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 在周五的比赛中，投篮表现回暖，13 投 7 中。约翰逊在前两场比赛中的投篮命中率仅为 31%。他还在季后赛中第一次送出盖帽。到目前为止，在对阵波特兰的比赛中，约翰逊主要依靠外线投篮，而不是突破上篮。

• 这位圣安东尼奥的控球后卫在前三场比赛中只获得了一次罚球机会，最近两场比赛更是没有罚球机会。在马刺队之前的 8 场季后赛比赛中，约翰逊场均罚球 4 次。

贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 在 4 场比赛中第二次创下球队季后赛单场 6 个三分球的纪录。在周五晚上爆发之前，杰克逊场均 2.5 分，投篮命中率为 16.7%，而且在对阵开拓者的 6 次三分球投篮全部失手。

• 杰克逊在最近的 5 场比赛中有 3 场得分至少 19 分。这位来自乔治城大学的球员在 1999 年常规赛中只有一场比赛得分达到这个数字。

邓肯和罗宾逊早早犯规，让威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue) 在周五晚上获得了 21 分钟的上场时间。珀杜在他之前的 4 场比赛中总共上场 23 分钟，在季后赛中每 3 分钟能抢到 1 个篮板球。

马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie) 在对阵波特兰的比赛中，得分提高到场均 8.3 分。在马刺队之前的 8 场季后赛比赛中，埃利的场均得分是 6.3 分。

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose) 在对阵开拓者的 27 分钟里，已经犯规 11 次。按照这个速度，罗斯将在不到 15 分钟的时间里被罚出场外。

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr) 在第三场比赛中投进了 2 个球，5 投 2 中。这两个球结束了他在季后赛中 12 投 0 中的低迷状态。

团队表现

圣安东尼奥在第三场比赛中，从替补席上获得了巨大的提升。他们在前两场比赛中的投篮命中率只有 16.1%，9 个三分球全部失手，而且被波特兰的替补球员以 47-15 的比分压制。

周五晚上，马刺队的替补球员总共在 91 分钟的时间里，投进了 14 个三分球中的 7 个，得到了 35 分。开拓者的替补球员在 77 分钟里得到了 18 分，11 个三分球只命中了 2 个。

周五，圣安东尼奥在系列赛中首次篮板球压制了波特兰…马刺队的周边投手连续第三场比赛提升了他们的命中率。他们在三分线外投出了 18 投 8 中。

在最近的 5 场比赛中，有 4 场比赛将对手的投篮命中率限制在 40% 以下，圣安东尼奥队将波特兰队彻底压制。开拓者队在投篮命中率仅为 24.7%，三分球命中率为 21.4% 的情况下，仅仅得到 63 分，创造了球队季后赛单场得分的新低。

其他球员

拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace) 在最近的 3 场比赛中第二次吃到技术犯规，这也是他在最近的 10 场季后赛比赛中第 7 次吃到技术犯规。毋庸置疑，他在 1999 年季后赛中技术犯规数位居联盟第一。

• 华莱士在对阵马刺队的比赛中，场均得分达到 21 分，高于他在对阵爵士队的场均 12 分和对阵太阳队的场均 13.7 分。

布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant) 在前 6 场季后赛比赛中得分都上双，但在最近的 6 场比赛中却遭遇了严重的滑坡。格兰特在对阵太阳的 3 场比赛和对阵爵士的 3 场比赛中，场均得到 19.3 分，投篮命中率为 64.7%。从那以后，格兰特的场均得分降至 7.5 分，投篮命中率降至 34.1%，并且因为卡尔·马龙的肘击缝了 6 针。

沃尔特·威廉姆斯(Walt Williams) 在第一场比赛中差点帮助波特兰队逆转局势，但在第三场比赛中却连续第二场比赛表现不佳。威廉姆斯最近 13 次投篮失误了 11 次，包括连续 6 个三分球不中。

圣安东尼奥队严密的内线防守继续压制着波特兰队的中锋阿维达斯·萨博尼斯(Arvydas Sabonis)，他在系列赛中的投篮命中率仅为 30%。萨博尼斯在开拓者队获胜的 7 场季后赛比赛中场均得到 10.1 个篮板球，而在他们输掉的 5 场比赛中场均得到 7.2 个篮板球。

达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire) 在对阵圣安东尼奥的比赛中，投篮命中率只有 27.3%，随着季后赛的进行，他的表现也越来越糟糕。他在首轮对阵爵士队的比赛中投篮命中率为 34.5%，对阵太阳队的比赛中投篮命中率为 42.9%。

在波特兰队的前 9 场季后赛比赛中，伊赛亚·莱德(Isaiah Rider) 场均得到 19.6 分，但在对阵马刺队的比赛中，他的场均得分降至 8.7 分，投篮命中率为 34.5%。

点击查看原文：Spurs vs. Blazers: The Nuts & Bolts

Spurs vs. Blazers: The Nuts & Bolts

Men in Silver & Black Tim Duncan rested for 28 minutes during Game 3. He had been benched for only two minutes in the previous two games of the Portland series and a combined 40 minutes during San Antonio’s 10 playoff games.

-Duncan’s five points in Friday’s game was a career playoff low. It was also his lowest output this season, as were his seven shots from the field. In San Antonio’s six previous playoff games before Friday - all victories - Duncan averaged 26.7 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

David Robinson’s 15-point performance was his 11th straight double-figure scoring game. He is the only Spur to score in double figures in each playoff game this season.

-Robinson’s foul shooting has improved in each round of the playoffs. His 9-for-10 outing Friday boosts him to 82.4 percent in the Western Conference finals. Robinson hit 73.1 percent in the semifinals against the Lakers and 65.4 percent in the first round against Minnesota.

-After posting double-figure rebounding totals in three of the Spurs’ four games against the Timberwolves, Robinson has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in each of the last seven games.

Sean Elliott continues his hot shooting. Through three games against Portland, Elliott is hitting 57.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, including 70 percent from behind the arc in his last two games. He has hit 36 percent afield and 44.4 percent from three-point range in the first two playoff series.

-Elliott’s scoring has improved from 12 points per game against Minnesota to 13.8 points against the Lakers and 14.7 points against Portland.

Avery Johnson’s shooting woes turned around Friday with a 7-for- 13 showing. Johnson clanged away at a 31 percent clip in the first two games of the series. He also blocked his first shot of the postseason. Johnson has relied on outside shooting rather than driving to the basket so far against Portland.

-The S.A. point guard has only one free-throw attempt in the first three games of the West finals, none in the last two games. Johnson averaged four foul shots per game in the Spurs’ previous eight playoff games.

Jaren Jackson matched the franchise playoff record of six three- pointers for the second time in four games. Before his breakout performance Friday night, Jackson averaged 2.5 points, was shooting 16.7 percent from the field and had missed all six of his three-point tries against the Trail Blazers.

-Jackson has scored at least 19 points in three of his last five games. The Georgetown product reached that total in one game during the 1999 regular season.

An early rash of fouls on Duncan and Robinson provided Will Perdue with 21 minutes of floor time Friday night. Perdue, who had played 23 minutes in his previous four games, is averaging one rebound per three minutes of action in the playoffs.

Mario Elie has improved his scoring average against Portland to 8.3 points per game. Elie averaged 6.3 points in the Spurs’ previous eight playoff outings.

Malik Rose has picked up 11 fouls in 27 minutes against the Blazers. At that rate, Rose would foul out of a game in less than 15 minutes of play.

Steve Kerr hit two field goals in Game 3, finishing 2 of 5 afield. Those buckets ended an 0-for-12 slump in the playoffs.

The team game

San Antonio received a huge lift in Game 3 from its bench, which was shooting a combined 16.1 percent through two games, had missed all nine three-pointers and had been outscored by its Portland counterparts 47-15.

Spurs reserves combined to hit 7 of 14 three-pointers and score 35 points in 91 minutes Friday night. The Blazers bench mustered 18 points in 77 minutes, and hit 2 of 11 treys.

San Antonio outrebounded Portland for the first time in the series Friday … The Spurs’ perimeter shooters improved their aim for the third straight game. They hit 8 of 18 shots from behind the arc.

After limiting opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in four of its last five games, San Antonio stopped Portland cold. The Blazers hit 24.7 percent from the field and 21.4 percent on three-pointers on their way to a franchise playoff-low 63 points.

The other guys

Rasheed Wallace picked up a technical foul for the second time in three games and the seventh time in his last 10 playoff games. Needless to say, he leads all NBA players in technicals during the 1999 playoffs.

-Wallace’s scoring average of 21 points per game against the Spurs is up from 12 points per game against Utah and 13.7 points a game against Phoenix.

After scoring in double figures in his first six playoff games, Brian Grant has suffered a severe reversal of fortune in his last six games. Grant averaged 19.3 points per game and hit 64.7 percent in three games against Phoenix and three against Utah. Since then, Grant has averaged 7.5 points, shot 34.1 percent and picked up six stitches courtesy of a Karl Malone elbow.

After nearly leading a Portland comeback in Game 1, Walt Williams struggled for the second straight outing in Game 3. Williams has missed 11 of his last 13 shots, including six straight three-pointers.

San Antonio’s grinding interior defense continues to stymie Portland center Arvydas Sabonis, who is shooting 30 percent from the field in the series. Sabonis is averaging 10.1 rebounds in the Blazers’ seven playoff wins and 7.2 rebounds in their five losses.

Damon Stoudamire is shooting 27.3 percent from the field against San Antonio, another downward spiral as the playoffs progress. He knocked home 34.5 percent against Utah and 42.9 percent against Phoenix in the first round.

After averaging 19.6 points in Portland’s first nine playoff games, Isaiah Rider is averaging 8.7 points and shooting 34.5 percent against the Spurs. -Tim Griffin

By Tim Price, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Johnny Ludden

霍尔特称波波维奇将获得续约

马刺队主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)周六表示，他已开始讨论续约主教练兼总经理格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的合同。

霍尔特和波波维奇在季后赛早些时候进行了交谈，但波波维奇表示他更愿意等到赛季结束再敲定新合同。

“我告诉他，我们可以今天、明天或任何他想要的时候签字，”霍尔特说。“波波说他想等等。

“我之所以把决定权交给他，是因为我希望他专注于带领我们夺冠。”

波波维奇目前为期三年的合同将在下赛季结束后到期。他今年的年薪为110万美元，明年预计将达到120万美元。

霍尔特表示，他尚未与波波维奇讨论续约的财务条款。

“我只告诉他，这不会是菲尔·杰克逊想要的600万或700万美元，”霍尔特说。

波波维奇在赛季开始阶段球队6胜8负，一度让他的帅位岌岌可危，但最终带领马刺队距离首次进入NBA总决赛仅差一场胜利。他于1994-95赛季担任总经理，并在1996年12月10日鲍勃·希尔被解雇后接任主教练。

波波维奇不愿对谈判发表评论，他在1996-97赛季结束后获得了新的为期三年的合同。

“我想让波波回来，”霍尔特说。“我认为他做得很好，我希望这支球队保持稳定。

“波波已经知道我的想法了。他也告诉我，他希望尽快完成这件事。”

霍尔特和波波维奇之前也讨论过兼任总经理和主教练的辛苦。

“波波曾经说过，‘没有人应该永远兼任这两个职位，’”霍尔特说。“但我们还没有讨论过具体的时间框架。”

点击查看原文：Holt says Popovich will get contract extrension

Holt says Popovich will get contract extrension

Spurs chairman Peter Holt said Saturday he has begun discussions about extending the contract of Coach and General Manager Gregg Popovich.

Holt and Popovich talked earlier in the playoffs, but Popovich said he preferred to wait until the end of the season before finalizing a new deal.

“I told him we could do it today, tomorrow or whenever he wanted,” Holt said. "Pop said he wanted to wait.

“The reason I left the ball in his court is I want him focused on bringing us a championship.”

Popovich’s current three-year contract will expire after next season. He earned $1.1 million this year and is scheduled to make $1.2 million next season.

Holt said he has yet to discuss financial terms of the extension with Popovich.

“The only thing I told him is it ain’t going to be the $6 million or $7 million Phil Jackson wants,” Holt said.

After a 6-8 start which placed his job in jeopardy, Popovich has guided the Spurs within one win of their first berth in the NBA Finals. He took over as general manager prior to the 1994-95 season, then added coaching duties when Bob Hill was fired in on Dec. 10, 1996.

Popovich, who did not want to comment on the negotiations, was given a new three- year contract after the 1996-97 season.

“I want to bring Pop back,” Holt said. "I think he’s doing a great job and I want stability on this basketball team.

“Pop already knows how I feel. And he told me he also wants to get something done.”

Holt and Popovich also have spoken in the past about the rigors of serving as both general manager and coach.

“At one time Pop said, ‘Nobody should do both these jobs forever,’” Holt said. “But we haven’t gotten to the point where we’ve discussed a time frame for that.”

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Arthur Garcia

A.J. 势在必行

尽管艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)还没有在对决中占据上风，但他的跳投却回来了。

约翰逊在前三场比赛中对波特兰的对手达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)造成了很大的麻烦，如果马刺队今天在玫瑰花园球馆获胜，他们将完成对开拓者队的四连胜，这将是一个不可思议的结果。

“他打得很好，”斯塔德迈尔在周五马刺队以 85-63 大胜后谈到约翰逊时说，“他投进了一些关键球。看起来他像是肩负重任。马刺队看起来像是肩负重任。”

这不像过去那个斯塔德迈尔。当斯塔德迈尔在多伦多被摆上交易台时，这位开拓者队矮小的控球后卫曾对圣安东尼奥的矮小控球后卫说出过一句如今臭名昭著的话。斯塔德迈尔说，马刺队不可能在约翰逊带队的情况下赢得冠军。

这现在会激励约翰逊吗？绝对会。他谈论过这件事吗？

“从未，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)说道，他是约翰逊的先发后场搭档，“艾弗里在联盟效力了 11 年，那家伙还是个年轻球员。你应该在球场上说话。”

虽然约翰逊是否会私下谈论斯塔德迈尔的话尚存争议——私下里球员们说他确实会——但约翰逊无疑是在球场上说话了。在西部决赛的前两场比赛中，他的跳投挣扎，但在第三场比赛中，约翰逊在控球后卫的对位中占据了统治地位。

他 13 投 7 中，得到 14 分，送出 8 次助攻，仅有 1 次失误。正如季后赛中一直发生的那样，约翰逊和其他马刺队外线球员在蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson)遭到包夹的情况下获得了空位投篮机会。

与他们在圣安东尼奥的第一场和第二场不同，约翰逊在那两场比赛中 29 投仅 9 中，但在波特兰，他找到了篮筐。

“我们的内线球员吸引了太多注意力，他们必须有所付出，”约翰逊说，他在季后赛场均得到 14 分，比常规赛场均高出 4 分，“你不能一对一防守我们的内线球员。没有人能做到这一点，所以他们放开了我，我们很幸运地投进了几个球。当我手感不好的时候，我就传给贾伦(杰克逊)(Jaren Jackson)或肖恩(埃利奥特)(Sean Elliott)，他们投进了球。”

约翰逊在周五的表现让人想起他在第一轮对阵明尼苏达的比赛。约翰逊在对阵森林狼队的四场比赛中投篮命中率为 59.3%（54 投 32 中）。

然而，斯塔德迈尔在第三场比赛中可能打出了他在季后赛中最糟糕的一场比赛，他 12 投 1 中，仅送出 3 次助攻。

斯塔德迈尔似乎激发了约翰逊的最佳状态，这可以追溯到马刺队在常规赛中对阵太平洋赛区冠军的战绩为 3-1。约翰逊场均得到 15.5 分，7.5 次助攻，投篮命中率为 53%，所有数据都高于他的全赛季平均水平。斯塔德迈尔的数字分别是 10.3 分，4.8 次助攻，投篮命中率为 35%，所有数据都下降了。

约翰逊和马刺队还没有证明斯塔德迈尔是错的，但他们拥有冠军球队的风范。即使是斯塔德迈尔也必须承认这一点。

点击查看原文：A.J. is out to prove a point

A.J. is out to prove a point

Though the back-and-forth showdown hasn’t developed for Avery Johnson, at least his jumper returned.

Johnson’s done a number on Portland counterpart Damon Stoudamire through the first three games of the Western Conference finals and a Spurs victory today at the Rose Garden would complete an unlikely four-game sweep over the Trail Blazers.

“He’s playing well,” said Stoudamire of Johnson after Friday’s 85-63 Spurs romp. “He hit some crucial shots. He looks like he’s on a mission. The Spurs look like they’re on a mission.”

That doesn’t sound like the Stoudamire of the not-so-distant past. The Trial Blazer’s diminutive point guard uttered a now-infamous statement about San Antonio’s diminutive point guard back when Stoudamire dangled on the trading-block in Toronto. Stoudamire said the Spurs couldn’t win a championship with Johnson running the show.

Does that motivate Johnson now? Most definitely. Does he talk about it?

“Never,” said Mario Elie, Johnson’s starting backcourt mate. “Avery has been in the league 11 years, that guy is a young player. You do your talking on the court.”

While it’s debatable whether Johnson ever brings up Stoudamire’s words - privately, players say he does - Johnson clearly has done his talking on the court. After struggling with his jumper in the first two games of the West finals, Johnson dominated the point guard matchup in Game 3.

He canned 7-of-13 from the field for 14 points, dished out eight assists and had only one turnover. As has been the case in the playoffs, Johnson and other Spurs on the perimeter had open looks off double- teams on Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

Unlike Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, where Johnson made just nine of 29 shots, he found the net in Portland.

“Our big guys draw so much attention, they’ve got to give up something,” said Johnson, who’s 14- point playoff scoring average is up more than four points from the regular season. “You can’t play our big guys one-on-one. Nobody’s done it all year, so they came off me and we’re fortunate to make some shots. When I didn’t have it, I swung it to Jaren (Jackson) or Sean (Elliott) and they made shots.”

Johnson’s performance Friday resembled his play during the first round against Minnesota. Johnson shot 59.3 percent (32 of 54) in four games against the Timberwolves.

Stoudamire, however, had possibly his worst game of the Blazers’ playoff run in Game 3, missing all but one of 12 shots and passing for just three assists.

Stoudamire seems to bring out the best in Johnson and it goes back to the Spurs’ 3-1 regular season mark against the Pacific Division champions. Johnson averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 assists and shot 53 percent vs. the Blazers - all up over his full-season averages. Stoudamire’s numbers were 10.3 points, 4.8 assists and 35 percent shooting - all down.

Johnson and the Spurs still haven’t proven Stoudamire wrong, but they have the look of a championship club. Even Stoudamire has to agree.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-06, By Glenn Rogers

波特兰寻求赦免 - 开拓者坚称他们尚未走到最后

即将踏上最后一步的人，总是希望电话会在最后一刻响起，带来赦免的消息。

开拓者也是如此。

波特兰队在周五晚上彻底乱了套，他们希望篮球之神能施以恩典，让他们在周日下午以某种姿态重新登场。

开拓者目前在西部决赛中以 0-3 落后，从如此大的劣势中反败为胜尚属前例。

“是你们，媒体，一直说我们不可能赢得这个系列赛，”前锋布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant)在周六下午的媒体见面会上说道，“你们一直说这已经结束了，但事实并非如此。”

这些话很勇敢。

开拓者周五的表现糟糕透顶，以至于球迷们在第三节结束后纷纷起立鼓噪，并开始退场。看着心爱的球队在 NBA 季后赛中仅仅命中 19 球，再狂热的球迷也会失去信心。

格兰特对比赛的看法却不同。

“他们并没有压制我们，”他说，“问题是我们没有投进球，而他们投进了。”

此外，波特兰队未能抓住机会，而马刺队的蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson)则在半场因犯规困扰，邓肯在第二节开场仅 40 秒就因犯规 4 次被罚下场，这本是他们绝佳的反攻时机。

开拓者队在场上也表现得十分躁动，他们没有对马刺队而是对他们自己、裁判和自己的教练大发雷霆。

“不，更衣室里没有发生任何指责（赛后），”伊赛亚·莱德(Isaiah Rider)说，“我们没有内讧。”

但莱德还是暗示，他不介意看到球更多地传到他低位的位置。

戴蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)在周五灾难发生前一天抱怨自己的上场时间，引发了争议。球员们坚称，这种幼稚的爆发不会影响他们的比赛。

斯塔德迈尔在玫瑰花园被介绍时遭到了嘘声。

“我也会嘘戴蒙，”斯塔德迈尔说道，冷静地面对媒体，“我的时机确实不对。但这并不是导致结果的原因，说这是原因只会掩盖马刺队的实力。

“我的手感完全不对，”他谈到自己 12 投 1 中的表现时说道，“球队今年没有发生过指责，现在也不会开始。现在，我们很放松，我们知道我们可以放手一搏。”

他们已经没有可以失去的东西了，除了面子、尊严和整个系列赛。

邓利维(Dunleavy)背靠着球馆的墙壁，从他那永远备用的安慰方案包里寻找解决方案。

“有时候压力会转移到主队身上，让他们变得紧张，”他谈到队员们错失空篮时说道，“此外，圣安东尼奥是一支防守非常强的球队。”

“马刺队已经经历了我们正在经历的一切，”他说，指的是圣安东尼奥多年来在季后赛中苦战失利的经历，“这对我们来说是一段新的经历，我们还没有他们那种精神韧性。”

斯塔德迈尔的言论是否影响了球队的士气？

“真的不知道，”邓利维说，“但如果真的有影响，也不代表会影响下一场比赛。”

点击查看原文：Portland looking for pardon - Blazers insist they are not on last walk

Portland looking for pardon - Blazers insist they are not on last walk

The fellow scheduled to take that final walk always hopes that the phone will ring with the last-minute pardon.

Same with the Trail Blazers.

Portland, a team in utter disarray Friday night, hopes the governor of good basketball will grant some dispensation and allow the appearance of a team in some array Sunday afternoon.

The Blazers are in a 0-3 hole in these Western Conference Finals and a comeback from such a deficit has yet to be recorded.

“It’s you guys, the media, who keep saying that it’s impossible for us to win this series,” forward Brian Grant said during the media session Saturday afternoon. “You guys keep talking as though it’s all over. It’s not.”

Brave words.

The Blazers were horrible enough Friday to encourage fans to rain down boos and head for the exits after the third quarter. Watching your beloveds hit an NBA-playoff low 19 field goals will discourage the most ardent follower.

Grant didn’t see the game quite that way.

“It’s not as though they beat us down,” he said. “It was more of a question of our not hitting our shots and them hitting theirs.”

That, plus Portland failing to take advantage of golden opportunities presented when the Spurs’ David Robinson and Tim Duncan were handcuffed by foul trouble in the first half and Duncan going back to the bench with four fouls within 40 seconds of the start of the second half.

The Blazers also were a rabid bunch on the floor, barking not at the Spurs but at themselves, the officials and their own coach.

“No, there was no finger pointing in the lockerroom (after the game),” said Isaiah Rider. “We’re not breaking down internally.”

But Rider still intimated he wouldn’t mind seeing the ball coming to him in the low post a little more often.

Damon Stoudamire created a swirl of controversy when he whined about playing time the day before the Friday debacle. The players insisted that that childish outburst did not affect their game.

Stoudamire was booed when introduced at the Rose Garden.

“I would have booed Damon, too,” Stoudamire said, stoically facing the media. "The timing was certainly wrong. But that didn’t cause what happened, saying it did just takes a lot away from the Spurs.

“I just couldn’t get it going at all,” he said of his 1-for-12 shooting. There hasn’t been any finger pointing on this team all year and it won’t start now. Right now, we’re pretty loose, we know we can play like we have nothing to lose."

Nothing to lose but face, pride and the series.

Dunleavy, his back literally to the wall of the gym, dug into his always handy bag of soothing solutions.

“Sometimes pressure switches to the home team and you tighten up,” he said of his players’ botched open shots. Plus, San Antonio is a very strong defensive team.

“The Spurs already have been through what we’re going through,” he said of San Antonio’s years of battling and losing in playoff wars. “This is a new experience for us, we don’t have their mental toughness yet.”

Did Stoudamire’s comments affect the mood of the team?

“Don’t know, really,” said Dunleavy. “But, if they did, it doesn’t mean that it has to carry over to the next game.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News