马刺1998-99赛季实录（780+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-20

细节与数据

银衣黑甲的男人们

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在NBA总决赛的前两场比赛中展现出令人眼花缭乱的发挥，成为了两队之间的关键区别。邓肯场均得到29分和15.5个篮板，对阵尼克斯队的表现十分抢眼。这些数据延续了他在季后赛中的得分提升（季后赛场均26.3分，常规赛场均21.7分）和篮板表现（季后赛场均13.0个，常规赛场均11.4个）。邓肯在季后赛的职业生涯篮板最高记录是14个，而本赛季他已经五次超越或持平了这个记录，其中四次是在最近的八场比赛中完成的。

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在对阵纽约队的比赛中表现挣扎，他只得到17分，18投7中（命中率38.8%），并且最近五罚四失。

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)在本赛季的季后赛场均得分15.1分，场均篮板9.2个，这将是他职业生涯的最低记录。在本赛季开始之前，罗宾逊在七个赛季的62场季后赛中场均得分23.4分，场均篮板12.1个。

马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)在总决赛的前两场比赛中出战75分钟，这是他本赛季仅有的两次连续出战超过70分钟的比赛。埃利在第二场比赛中对阵尼克斯队得到15分，创下他在季后赛的单场得分新高，也是他在本赛季季后赛的第二次得分上双。

艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的进攻效率在对阵尼克斯队的比赛中有所下降。他的场均得分和助攻分别为7.0分和6.5次，低于他在马刺队前三个系列赛中的场均得分14.1分和场均助攻7.5次。

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)的季后赛投篮命中率——投篮命中率20.8%，三分球命中率16.7%——继续走低。科尔的常规赛投篮命中率为39.1%，这是他在NBA的11个赛季中的最低纪录，他的三分球命中率为31.3%，也是他生涯的第二低纪录。

周五晚上的第二场比赛让贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)再次遭遇低迷。在本赛季的季后赛中，杰克逊在四场 Game 2 比赛中场均得到1分，投篮命中率仅为7%。而在其他10场季后赛中，他的场均得分是10.3分，投篮命中率为44.9%，三分球命中率为40.1%。

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)在对阵纽约队的比赛中的篮板表现相比之前两个季后赛系列赛有所下降。罗斯在对阵尼克斯队的前30分钟内只抢到3个篮板（按48分钟计算，场均4.8个篮板）。而在对阵湖人和开拓者的比赛中，罗斯在82分钟内抢到了22个篮板，按48分钟计算，场均12.9个篮板。

杰罗姆·柯西(Jerome Kersey)在第一场比赛中出战2分钟后，周五并没有上场。这是柯西在本赛季季后赛中的首次未进入轮换阵容，也是自从他因右小腿拉伤而缺席了常规赛最后三场比赛中的两场比赛之后的首次未进入轮换阵容。

威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)在总决赛的前两场比赛中都没有上场，这是本赛季他唯一一次在健康的情况下未能进入轮换阵容。珀杜在常规赛中曾两次掉出轮换阵容——赛季初因脚踝扭伤缺席了12场比赛，以及一次因鼻梁骨折缺席了一场比赛。

其他球员

拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)在总决赛中已经投出了46次球，这是自从他今年加入尼克斯队以来，他在任何两场比赛中投出的最多次数。

尽管膝盖受伤，拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)在周五的比赛中仍然出战了赛季最高的43分钟。但自从在对阵步行者的比赛中受伤以来，约翰逊的场均得分仅为5.0分，投篮命中率为20%，三分球命中率为14.2%。

在第一场比赛中得到季后赛最高的13分和16个篮板之后，科特·托马斯(Kurt Thomas)在第二场比赛中表现低迷，只得到2分和7个篮板。

克里斯·达德利(Chris Dudley)在最近五场季后赛中连续11次投篮不中。他在这89分钟的比赛中只得到3分。

阿兰·休斯顿(Allan Houston)在最近10场比赛中继续保持着良好的状态。在这段时间里，休斯顿的场均得分是18.8分，投篮命中率为43.1%，三分球命中率为25%，罚球命中率为84.9%。

查理·沃德(Charlie Ward)在对阵马刺队的比赛中的进攻效率有所提高。沃德在系列赛的前两场比赛中得到12分。而他在对阵步行者的六场比赛中只得到12分。

马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)在两场比赛中犯了11次犯规，这是尼克斯球员在常规赛或季后赛中连续两场比赛犯规次数最多的一次。

克里斯·柴尔德斯(Chris Childs)的投篮手感再次下降。柴尔德斯在对阵马刺队的比赛中投篮命中率为18.8%，而他在最近四场比赛中的投篮命中率为21.9%。他在常规赛中的投篮命中率为42.7%。

团队表现

马刺队在对阵尼克斯队的两场比赛中，一共抢到了9个进攻篮板。在第一场比赛开始之前，马刺队在12场季后赛中的9场比赛中至少抢到了9个进攻篮板。

马刺队在系列赛的两场比赛中，都将尼克斯队的投篮命中率限制在了40%以下。在季后赛中，对手的投篮命中率低于40%的比赛还有五场。马刺队在这六场比赛中取得了5胜1负的战绩。在常规赛中，马刺队以40.1%的防守投篮命中率排名联盟第一，并且在50场常规赛中将对手的投篮命中率限制在了40%以下的比赛有22场。包括季后赛在内，马刺队在对手投篮命中率低于40%的比赛中取得了27胜2负的战绩。

尼克斯队在两场比赛的96分钟里，一共领先了10分钟47秒。他们在第二场比赛中只领先了78秒，而且在两场比赛的下半场都没有领先过。

尼克斯队在对阵马刺队的八节比赛中，有六节比赛的得分低于20分。在第二场比赛中，他们在本赛季的任何一节比赛中都没有得到20分。

点击查看原文：Nuts & Bolts

Nuts & Bolts

Men in Silver & Black Tim Duncan’s scintillating play has been the difference in the first two games of the NBA Finals. Duncan is averaging 29 points and 15.5 rebounds per game against the Knicks. Those efforts continue his playoff scoring improvement (26.3 points in the postseason, 21.7 points in the regular season) and rebounding (13.0 vs. 11.4). Duncan’s career-rebounding high in the playoffs was 14 before this season. He has matched or bested that five times in the playoffs, four times in his last eight games.

Sean Elliott has struggled against New York, scoring 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting (38.8 percent) and has missed four out of his last five free throws.

David Robinson’s current playoff averages of 15.1 points and 9.2 rebounds would be the lowest of his career. Coming into this season, Robinson’s playoff average for 62 games over seven seasons was 23.4 points and 12.1 rebounds.

Mario Elie has put in 75 minutes in the first two games of the Finals, a back-to-back spell he has matched only once this season. Elie’s 15 points against the Knicks in Game 2 were his season-playoff high and his second double-figure scoring game of the postseason.

Avery Johnson’s offensive production has dipped against the Knicks. His averages of 7.0 points and 6.5 assists are down from his 14.1 points and 7.5 assists through the Spurs’ first three series.

Steve Kerr’s playoff shooting - 20.8 field-goal percentage, 16.7 on three-pointers - continues its downward spiral. Kerr’s regular- season shooting of 39.1 percent was the lowest in his 11-year NBA career and his three-point percentage of 31.3 percent was his second-lowest ever.

The Game 2 blues bit Jaren Jackson again Friday night. Jackson has averaged 1 point and connected on 7 percent of his field-goal attempts in four Game 2 performances this postseason. His averages for the Spurs’ other 10 playoff games: 10.3 points, 44.9 field-goal percentage and 40.1 three-point percentage.

Malik Rose’s rebounding has tailed off against New York compared to his last two playoff series. Rose has three rebounds in the first 30 minutes against the Knicks (4.8 boards per game prorated over 48 minutes.) Against the Lakers and Portland, Rose grabbed 22 boards in 82 minutes - that’s 12.9 rebounds per 48 minutes.

Jerome Kersey did not play Friday after seeing two minutes of action in Game 1. The benching was Kersey’s first of the playoffs and first since he was held out of two of the last three regular- season games with a strained right calf.

Will Perdue has not seen action in either of the first two games of the Finals, representing the only times he has been benched when healthy this season. Perdue was idle for two stretches during the regular season - 12 games with a sprained ankle early in the season and one game with a broken nose.

THE OTHER GUYS

Latrell Sprewell has hoisted 46 shots so far in the Finals, the most over any two-game period since he joined the Knicks this year.

Despite being hobbled by a knee injury, Larry Johnson put in a season-high 43 minutes Friday night. But since the injury occurred against Indiana, Johnson is averaging 5.0 points per game, hitting 20 percent from the field and 14.2 percent on three- pointers.

After producing a playoff-high 13 points and 16 rebounds in Game 1, Kurt Thomas slumped to two points and seven rebounds in Game 2.

Chris Dudley has missed 11 straight field-goal attempts over his last five playoff games. He has scored three points during that 89- minute period.

Allan Houston continued his strong play over the last 10 games. In that span, Houston is averaging 18.8 points from the field on 43.1- percent shooting, 25 percent from three-point range and 84.9 percent from the line.

Charlie Ward’s offensive production has improved against the Spurs. Ward has scored 12 points in the first two games of the series. He scored 12 points in the entire six-game Indiana series.

The 11 fouls committed by Marcus Camby are the most by a Knicks player in back-to-back games during the regular season or playoffs.

Chris Childs’ shooting touch was off again Friday. Childs is hitting 18.8 percent against the Spurs and 21.9 percent over his last four games. He shot 42.7 percent during the regular season.

THE TEAM GAME

The Spurs ave managed a combined nine offensive rebounds in two games against the Knicks. Before Game 1, the Spurs had grabbed at least that many offensive boards in nine of their 12 playoff games.

The Spurs have limited the Knicks to less than 40 percent shooing in both games of the series. Opponents have hit less than 40 percent five other times in the playoffs. San Antonio is 6-1 in those games. During the regular season, the Spurs led the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage (40.1 percent) and held opponents below 40 percent in 22 of the 50 regular-season games. Including the playoffs, the Spurs are 27-2 when foes fail to shoot 40 percent.

The Knicks have led for 10 minutes, 47 seconds in the 96 minutes of the first two games. New York led for 78 seconds in Game 2 and hasn’t been ahead in the second half of either game.

The Knicks have been held to less than 20 points in six of the eight quarters against the Spurs. In Game 2, they failed to score 20 points in any quarter for the first time all season. -Tim Griffin

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Barry Robinson

马刺：牛市中的蓝筹股

eBay、亚马逊(Amazon.com)、雅虎(Yahoo)和马刺。

那些购买股票和押注体育赛事的人，都知道这四个知名名字之间的联系——一年前都是很棒的买入机会，但如今的价格已经很高了。

不到一年的时间里，eBay的股价从8.75美元飙升至234美元，亚马逊(Amazon.com)从19.75美元涨至221.25美元，雅虎(Yahoo)则从27.83美元攀升至244美元。

一年前投资马刺可能没有那么丰厚，但对于那些有一点资金和很多胆量的人来说，仍然可以获得巨额利润。

赛季初，如果马刺夺冠，100美元的押注可以带来1200至1600美元的回报。4月下旬，100美元的押注可以带来300至500美元的回报。即使在上个月对阵湖人的第二轮系列赛期间，你也可以押注100美元，如果马刺夺冠就能赢得300美元。

今天，如果你想押注马刺夺冠，你可能需要抵押农场。为了赢得100美元，你必须下注2200美元。

另一方面，纽约尼克斯，或者说NBA中的康柏（Compaq）——他们的股票正朝着错误的方向发展。押注100美元尼克斯夺冠，如果他们真的赢了，你将赢得1600美元。

听起来很有吸引力，当然。但正如前马刺老板兼股票经纪人安吉洛·德罗索斯(Angelo Drossos)曾经说过的那样，“一分钱股票之所以便宜是有原因的。99%的时间里，投资一分钱股票都会亏钱。”

尼克斯现在就是一只廉价股票。

就像戴尔(Dell)一样，马刺已经从一分钱股票变成了蓝筹股。

“现在大部分的赌注都押在马刺身上，”拉斯维加斯职业博彩分析师托尼·萨利纳斯(Tony Salinas)说。“第三场比赛的赔率从2开盘，很快涨到了2.5，现在是3。押在马刺身上的资金正在推高赔率。”

“赛季开始前，马刺的赔率是12比1，在某些地方甚至更高。季后赛开始时，押注马刺的人不多，但随着他们开始获胜，赌注越来越多了，”萨利纳斯解释说，他指的是圣安东尼奥在季后赛中的12连胜。

在新拉雷多(Nuevo Laredo)的草坪俱乐部(Turf Club)，体育博彩是合法的，大部分赌注都押在马刺身上。“几乎所有人都在押注马刺，”草坪俱乐部(Turf Club)员工杰里·格雷罗(Jerry Guerrero)说。“我们有一些聪明人押注尼克斯，但我们的大多数客户，无论来自边境的哪一边，都在押注马刺。”

格雷罗说，在圣安东尼奥与纽约的两场对决中，草坪俱乐部(Turf Club)都挤满了人。“我们在总决赛期间举办了特别的促销活动和抽奖活动，送出马刺球衣、马克杯，甚至现金，”他说。

他说，大多数赌注金额都很小，但来自拉雷多的一位顾客在首场比赛中就押注了5000美元，马刺让9分。他赢了。

对于那些寻求廉价商品的人来说，在这个赛季从马刺身上获利已经太晚了。

但对于那些希望一年前买入eBay、亚马逊(Amazon.com)或雅虎(Yahoo)的人来说，请注意，拉斯维加斯目前将马刺的明年夺冠赔率列为5比1。现在押注400美元，你可能在2000年赢得2000美元。

- A.J. 的世界：马刺控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说，他可能比蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)更兴奋在NBA总决赛中比赛。

“蒂姆很兴奋，但这只是他在联盟的第二个赛季，”约翰逊说。“这是我的第11个赛季。我的视角完全不同。我知道让一支球队进入这个系列赛是多么困难。”

约翰逊也再次试图压制任何关于横扫的言论。

“你知道，我们的球迷有点天真，有点大胆，竟然谈论我们要横扫纽约，”他说。“我们所做的就是专注于为下一场比赛的第一节做好准备。”

点击查看原文：Spurs a blue chip stock in a bull market

Spurs a blue chip stock in a bull market

eBay, Amazon.com, Yahoo and the Spurs.

Those who buy stocks and bet on sports know the link between these four well-known names - great buys a year ago but premium prices today.

In less than a year, eBay’s stock soared from $8.75 to $234, Amazon.com went from $19.75 to $221.25 and Yahoo climbed from $27.83 to $244.

Investing in the Spurs a year ago wouldn’t have been quite as rewarding, but big profits were there for those with a little money and a lot of guts.

At the beginning of the season, a $100 bet would have paid $1,200 to $1,600 if the Spurs win the title. In late April, a $100 bet would have paid $300 to $500. Even during the second-round series against the Lakers last month, you could have bet $100 to win $300 on the Spurs winning the title.

Today, if you want to bet on the Spurs winning the title, you might have to mortgage the farm. To win $100, you must wager $2,200.

The New York Knicks, on the other hand, or the Compaq of the NBA - their stock is headed in the wrong direction. Bet $100 on the Knicks to win the title and, if they do, you’ll pocket $1,600.

Sounds appealing, sure. But as Angelo Drossos, former Spurs owner and a stockbroker, used to say, “There’s a reason penny stocks are cheap. You’ll lose money 99 percent of the time investing in penny stocks.”

The Knicks are a cheap stock right now.

Like a Dell, the Spurs have gone from a penny stock to a blue chip.

“Most of the money being bet out here is on the Spurs now,” said Las Vegas professional handicapper Tony Salinas. “The line for Game 3 started at 2, went up a half real fast and is now 3. Money on the Spurs is pushing the line higher.”

“Before the season, the Spurs were 12-1, even better in some places. There wasn’t much betting on the Spurs at the start of the playoffs, but the action increased as they started winning,” explained Salinas, referring to San Antonio’s 12-game playoff winning streak.

In Nuevo Laredo’s Turf Club, where sports wagering is legal, most of the betting is on the Spurs. “Almost everyone is betting on the Spurs,” reported Turf Club employee Jerry Guerrero. “We have a few wise guys betting on the Knicks, but most of our customers, from both sides of the border, are betting the Spurs.”

Guerrero said the Turf Club has been packed for both S.A.-N.Y. games. “We’re having special promotions and raffles during the Finals, giving away Spurs shirts, mugs, even cash,” he said.

Most of the wagers are small to average, he said, but one customer from Laredo did bet $5,000 on the Spurs in the opening game, giving nine points. He won.

For bargain hunters, it’s too late to profit on the Spurs this season.

But for those who wish they had bought eBay, Amazon.com or Yahoo a year ago, be aware that Las Vegas currently lists the Spurs at 5-1 to win the title next year. Bet $400 now and you might win $2,000 in 2000.

- A.J.'s world: Spurs point guard Avery Johnson says he probably is a lot more excited than Tim Duncan about playing in the NBA Finals.

“Tim is excited, but this is just his second year in the league,” Johnson said. “This is my 11th season. I have an entirely different perspective. I know how difficult it is to get a team into this series.”

Johnson also again tried to put down any talk of a sweep.

“You know, our fans are a little naive, a little bold, to talk about us sweeping New York,” he said. “All we do is concentrate on getting ready for the first quarter of the next game.”

By Barry Robinson, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Johnny Ludden

寻求双赢——马刺队渴望在第三场比赛中表现更出色

他们最近50场比赛赢下了44场，其中包括季后赛中创纪录的连续12场胜利。自2月底以来，他们没有连续输过两场比赛，在过去的53天里只输过一次。在季后赛中，他们在客场几乎不可战胜。

鉴于马刺队距离总冠军只有两场胜利，或许更合适的问题不是他们能否夺冠，而是他们能否输掉比赛？马刺队能否在9天内输掉四场比赛？

“我现在就是看不出来，”马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)说。“这是一支专注的球队，一支自信的球队。我明白尼克斯队回到主场了，但我们似乎在客场的专注度更高。”

马刺队的球迷们当然期待他们带着奥布莱恩杯回到圣安东尼奥。在周五晚上的第二场比赛胜利后，在阿拉莫圆顶球馆的球迷们高喊“横扫！横扫！”。之后，球迷们拿着扫帚在市中心的街道上游行，汽车鸣笛庆祝，一直到凌晨。

“他们像比赛已经结束了一样狂欢，”纽约中锋马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)说。“……那个城市除了马刺队，什么都没有。他们认为比赛已经结束了。但一切都还远没有结束。”

即使他们的球迷不这么认为，马刺队自己却相信这一点。在今晚在麦迪逊广场花园进行的NBA总决赛第三场比赛开始之前，他们对2-0的领先优势感到满意。然而，马刺队对他们在这两场胜利中的表现并不十分满意。

“这有点奇怪。感觉我们好像没有赢得这两场比赛，”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说。“我的意思是，我们很高兴赢了，但我们并没有打得很好。我们希望有更好的表现。”

纽约队在本赛季的防守端排名第二，仅次于马刺队，他们在第二场比赛中对蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的防守做得更好，邓肯出现了四次失误，还有两次被判跳球。马刺队难以拉开防守，三分球仅12投2中。他们27个进球中只有6个来自14英尺之外。当然，区别在于尼克斯队投得更差。

“我认为我们还没有比他们好太多，我们只是投得更好，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“有时候很难控制。你知道，没有魔法药丸可以解决这个问题。

“如果他们出来投得更好，情况就完全不同了。”

马刺队并不介意以丑陋的方式获胜，但他们不介意在比赛中加入更多魅力。特别是，埃利奥特说，现在他们已经进入总决赛了。

“我们很多人都想向全国展示我们有多厉害，”埃利奥特说。“我们呆在圣安东尼奥，那里是美国第37大媒体市场？很多人不知道我们的实力。这是一个向所有人展示我们是一支优秀球队的绝佳舞台。”

没有人能否认马刺队在阿拉莫圆顶球馆之外的成功。今晚如果获胜将会是他们在客场的第七场连胜，这会追平了1995年休斯顿火箭队创造的NBA纪录。与火箭队、底特律活塞队和芝加哥公牛队的冠军球队一样，马刺队在客场出色地完成了自己的任务。

“当丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)还在的时候，我是他聊得来的少数几个人之一。他和我在路上花了很多时间谈论同样的事情，”艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说。“乔·杜马斯(Joe Dumars)是我的好朋友，我有机会多次跟他谈论过这个。他们说，不仅要赢，而且要赢得漂亮。”

而马刺队在季后赛中的获胜方式让对手感到沮丧。马刺队并没有逃离对手，而是在必要时将其击退。他们在西部半决赛对洛杉矶湖人的两场客场比赛中都做到了这一点，然后在对波特兰的西部决赛中再次做到了这一点。

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)说，马刺队没有太多谈论他们最近的连胜，但他希望尼克斯队能考虑一下。纽约队主教练杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)则希望相反。

“对我们来说，问题是，‘我们是在试图避免被横扫，还是在试图赢得系列赛？’”范甘迪说。“如果我们只是试图避免被横扫，当我们的决心在今天这种紧张的情况下受到考验时，我们将没有决心克服困难。如果我们仍然相信我们能做到这一点，那么我认为这种心态将极大地帮助我们赢得比赛。

“这就是我们需要重新回到系列赛的关键，我们需要一场胜利。”

两支球队在输掉前两场比赛后卷土重来，赢得了NBA总决赛。尼克斯队助理教练唐·凯西(Don Casey)是其中之一的成员。当时还是新秀的凯西在1969年的波士顿凯尔特人队并没有打很多比赛，但他还记得球队在前往洛杉矶参加第七场比赛时的情景。

“他们挂满了气球，堆满了箱箱的香槟，”凯西说。“他们认为，‘这几乎是自动的。我们赢定了。’

“事实并非如此。气球还在，香槟也还在箱子里。”

马刺队还没准备好把香槟放进冰柜里。但鉴于他们的成功，这个问题值得反复问。认为马刺队会输掉接下来的五场比赛中的四场，这合理吗？

“不，”埃利奥特说。“不完全是。但我想你永远不能说永远不会。”

第三场比赛

今天：马刺队@尼克斯队，晚上8点

系列赛：马刺队2-0领先

电视：NBC

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语，KCOR-AM 1350

点击查看原文：Seeking win-win game - Spurs want better showing in Game 3

Seeking win-win game - Spurs want better showing in Game 3

They have won 44 of their last 50 games, including an NBA-record 12 straight in the playoffs. They haven’t lost back-to-back games since the end of February and have tasted defeat just once in the past 53 days. In the postseason, they have been simply unbeatable on the road.

So with the Spurs now two victories shy of a championship, perhaps the more appropriate question is not whether they can go on to win the title, but rather, can they somehow lose it? Can the Spurs somehow lose four times in nine days?

“I just can’t see it right now,” Mario Elie said. “This is a focused team, a confident team. I understand the Knicks are back home, but our focus seems to be better on the road.”

The Spurs’ faithful certainly expect them to return to San Antonio carrying the Larry O’Brien trophy. The entertaining Alamodome crowd chanted “Sweep! Sweep!” during the Game 2 victory Friday night. Afterward, fans roamed the downtown streets with brooms as cars honked in celebration well into the early morning.

“They were partying like it was over,” New York center Marcus Camby said. “… There’s nothing going on in that town but the Spurs anyway. They think it’s over. It’s far from over.”

Even if their fans don’t believe the same, the Spurs themselves do. Heading into Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight at Madison Square Garden, they are pleased with their 2-0 lead. The Spurs are not, however, overly thrilled with the way they have played in those two wins.

“The attitude is kind of funny. It’s almost like we didn’t win the two,” Sean Elliott said. “I mean we’re happy that we won, but we didn’t play well. We would have liked a better performance.”

New York, which finished second behind the Spurs in field-goal defense this season, did a better job in Game 2 of clamping down on Tim Duncan, who had four turnovers and was tied up two other times. The Spurs struggled to spread the defense, making only 2 of 12 three-pointers. Only six of their 27 baskets came from outside 14 feet. The difference, of course, was the Knicks shot worse.

“I don’t think we’ve necessarily played a whole lot better than them; we’ve shot better,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Sometimes that’s hard to control. You know, there’s no magic pill for that.

“They come out and shoot better, it’s a different story.”

The Spurs have no complaints about winning ugly, but they wouldn’t mind putting a little more charisma in their game. Especially, Elliott said, now that they’re in the Finals.

“A lot of us want to show the country how good we are,” Elliott said. “We sit out there in San Antonio which is, what, the 37th media market in the country? A lot of people don’t see what we’re all about. This is a great stage to show everybody we’re a great team.”

No one can argue the Spurs’ success away from the Alamodome. A victory tonight would be their seventh straight on the road, tying the NBA record set by the 1995 Houston Rockets. In much the same way as the Rockets’, Detroit Pistons’ and Chicago Bulls’ championship teams did, the Spurs have taken care of their business away from home.

“When Dennis (Rodman) was here, I was one of the few guys he talked to. And he and I spent time on the road talking about that same thing,” Avery Johnson said. “Joe Dumars is my homeboy and I had the chance to talk to him on several occasions about that. They say it’s very important not to just win, but how you win.”

And it’s how the Spurs have won in the playoffs that has frustrated opponents. Instead of running away from teams, the Spurs have merely turned them back when necessary. They did it in both road wins over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, then did it again in the conference finals against Portland.

Steve Kerr said the Spurs have not talked much about their recent run, but hopes the Knicks are thinking about it. New York coach Jeff Van Gundy wishes just the opposite.

"For us, the question is, ‘Are we trying to avoid getting swept? Or are we trying to win the series?’ " Van Gundy said. "If we’re trying to just avoid getting swept, when our resolve is tested (today) in a tight situation, we’re not going to have the determination to get through it. If we still believe in our heart that we can do this, then I believe that mindset will go a long way toward helping us get a win.

“That’s what we need to get back in the series, we need one win.”

Two teams have come back to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games. Knicks assistant coach Don Casey was a member of one of them. Then a rookie, Casey didn’t play much for the 1969 Boston Celtics, but he remembers the scene when the team arrived in Los Angeles to face the Lakers in Game 7.

“They had balloons up and they had cases upon cases of champagne all stacked up,” Casey said. "They thought, ‘It’s almost automatic. We got this.’

“It wasn’t. The balloons stayed up and the champagne stayed in boxes.”

The Spurs have held off putting the bubbly on ice. But given their success, the question bears repeating. Is it reasonable to think the Spurs will lose four of the next five?

“No,” Elliott said. “Not really. But I guess you can never say never.”

Game 3

Today: Spurs @Knicks, 8 p.m.

Series: Spurs lead 2-0

TV: NBC

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

Online: hoopsnews.com

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Glenn Rogers

尼克斯可能调整后场阵容 - 马刺对此并不担心

尼克斯面临着在 NBA 总决赛中被横扫的巨大威胁，他们正在被推向做出重大轮换调整的境地。

主要是让得分后卫拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)和艾伦·休斯顿(Allan Houston)一起在后场打球。

一些纽约媒体坚持认为，这种改变是马刺防守实力所迫，是尼克斯避免尴尬，防止马刺在第四场或第五场比赛后在麦迪逊广场花园球馆跳舞的必要条件。

这种策略将导致艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)陷入不利的局面，并迫使肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)忙于防守拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)，拉里·约翰逊将移至小前锋位置。

主教练杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)表示这有可能发生，尽管他说两人不会在后场首发。

斯普雷维尔说他希望看到这种情况。休斯顿说，如果这种改变没有被夸大，它不会造成严重的干扰。

马刺表示，他们已经做好准备应对这种情况，以及范甘迪或球员们可能想到的任何其他改变。

“我们并不害怕那种阵容，”艾弗里·约翰逊在马刺在麦迪逊广场花园球馆的训练之前说道。“当我们打奥兰多时，我不得不面对便士(便士·哈达威(Penny Hardaway))。我们有优秀的防守球员，他们知道如何夹击，如何协防。我们可以采取措施来应对他们的动作。

“基本上，我们知道，当帕特(尤因(Pat Ewing))坐在替补席上时，球最终会落到斯普雷维尔或休斯顿手中，”约翰逊说。

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)，尼克斯的首席折磨者，表示圣安东尼奥不会屈服于任何重大改变的压力。

“我们不会因为任何人而改变太多，”他说。“如果他们使用大个子阵容，我们会做出一些调整，但我们不会改变我们的阵容。我们会以不同的方式攻击他们，当他们在低位进攻我们其他三个球员时，我们会更加努力。”

埃利奥特说，如果斯普雷维尔决定在低位进攻约翰逊，然后被包夹，被迫将球传出去，那么这种变化只会减少外线得分手的数量。

“如果我最终对上拉里·约翰逊，当情况出现时，我会尝试把他带到篮下，”埃利奥特说，并指出受伤的膝盖影响了约翰逊的横向移动能力。

“在进攻端，如果他们尝试这种轮换，我们仍然能够获得很多投篮机会，”埃利奥特说。

马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)表示，新的后场组合不会给尼克斯带来什么振奋人心的变化。

“我们从一开始就为这种可能性做好了准备，甚至在系列赛开始之前，”罗斯说。“这种改变会损害他们的比赛。如果斯普雷维尔控球时间太多，其他球员就会站在那里无所事事。这将真正损害他们的比赛。”

贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)说，这种改变不会持续很长时间。

“这只会减缓他们的速度，”他说，指的是缺少查理·沃德(Charlie Ward)或克里斯·柴尔德斯(Chris Childs)会影响运球推进。 “从某种意义上说，他们会陷入我们的圈套。这会告诉我们他们试图在半场进攻中取得一些成绩，而我们在半场防守方面打得很好。

“也许这是一个好兆头，他们必须考虑这些事情，”他说。“我们知道要怎么打。我们可以打大个子阵容或小个子阵容，打快球或打慢球。我们已经讨论过他们可能抛出的每一种可能的阵容组合。”

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)说，任何这样的改变都会降低尼克斯强硬防守的有效性。

“沃德和柴尔德斯给持球者施加了很大的压力，”科尔谈到尼克斯的控球后卫时说。“拉特雷尔和艾伦做不到这一点。”

点击查看原文：Knicks may realign backcourt - Spurs unfazed at the prospect

Knicks may realign backcourt - Spurs unfazed at the prospect

The Knicks, facing the ominous threat of being swept in the NBA Finals, are being nudged into the realm of major rotation changes.

Mainly, playing scorers Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston together in the backcourt.

Some in the New York media insist the change is mandated by the Spurs’ defensive power, a must if the Knickerbockers are to avoid embarrassing themselves and permitting the Spurs to dance on the floor of Madison Square Garden after Game 4 or Game 5.

The ploy would figure to create a mismatch for Avery Johnson and force Sean Elliott to stay busy with Larry Johnson, who would move to small forward.

Coach Jeff Van Gundy says it’s a possibility, although he said the pair wouldn’t start in the backcourt.

Sprewell says he’d like to see it. Houston said the change would not be a serious distraction if it wasn’t made into a major deal.

The Spurs say they are more than ready for it or any other alteration that might pop into the heads of Van Gundy or the players.

“We’re not in fear of that lineup,” Avery Johnson said prior to the Spurs’ practice at Madison Square Garden. "I had to go against Penny (Hardaway) when we played Orlando. We’ve got good defensive players who know how to trap, how to double-team if I need any help. We can do things to counter their moves.

“Basically, we know that with Pat (Ewing) on the bench, the ball eventually is going to land in the hands of Sprewell or Houston,” Johnson said.

Tim Duncan, the Knicks’ prime tormentor, says San Antonio won’t be pressured into making any major changes.

“We won’t change much for anybody,” he said. “If they go big, we’ll make some adjustments but we won’t change our lineup at all. We’ll just come at them differently, hustle a little more when they’re on the block if they post-up our other three guys.”

Elliott said the move would simply reduce the number of perimeter scorers if Sprewell decides to post-up Johnson and then be double-teamed and forced to pitch the ball back out.

“If I wind up on Larry Johnson, I’ll try to take him to the basket when the situation arises,” Elliott said, noting that the injured knee has taken away lateral mobility from Johnson.

“Offensively, we’re still going to get a lot of looks if they try that rotation,” Elliott said.

Malik Rose says a new back- court combo wouldn’t provide much of a jazzy jolt for the Knicks.

“We’ve prepared for that possibility from the beginning, even before the series started,” Rose said. “That move would hurt their game. If Sprewell has the ball too much, the other guys are left standing around. It would really hurt their game.”

Jaren Jackson said the move wouldn’t last long.

“That will only slow them down,” he said, referring to the absence of Charlie Ward or Chris Childs to get the ball up the floor. "In a sense, they would be playing into our hands. It would tell us that they are trying to get something done in the halfcourt and we play pretty good defense there.

“Maybe it’s a good sign that they have to think about such things,” he said. “We know how we’re going to play. We can play big or small, fast or slow. We’ve gone over every possible matchup they can throw at us.”

Steve Kerr said any such change will reduce the effectiveness of the Knicks’ tough defense.

“Ward and Childs put a lot of pressure on the ball,” Kerr said of the Knicks’ point guards. “Latrell and Allan wouldn’t be able to do that.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Buck Harvey

致文尼：总决赛告别信

他们会给文尼·德尔内格罗寄一张明信片，而且不会带有任何讽刺意味。他们会告诉他，真遗憾他在马刺待了六年，而且他一走，他们就来了。

他们会告诉他这些以及更多的东西——如果他们觉得他不会把明信片扔进垃圾桶的话。自德尔内格罗离开马刺后，他就没有再和任何人说过话。在这个赛季中一个字都没说过，现在也没有说，尽管在取得成功后，或许他的朋友会打电话来表示祝贺。

所以现在球员们更容易说出他们有多想念德尔内格罗，意识到他是变得个人化的那个人，不用担心到哪里购买那张明信片才能看到纽约市天际线的绝美景色。就像大卫·罗宾逊周日所说的，在没有被问及他的前队友时，“我很高兴文尼在身边，但你找来像马里奥这样的家伙……”

每个人现在都可以看到另一面。在连续三轮比赛中，马刺不得不防守出色的得分侧翼。马刺本来可以让德尔内格罗像之前对付格伦·莱斯或科比·布莱恩特、以赛亚·莱德或拉希德·华莱士那样全力对付阿兰·休斯顿或拉特雷尔·斯普雷威尔，但现在他们用马里奥·埃利取代了他。

听听一个从未和德尔内格罗一起打过球的人怎么说吧。听听客观公正的史蒂夫·科尔怎么说：“我认为这是现在和过去马刺之间的最大区别。你的二号位和三号位都有高大强壮的防守球员。这是以前所缺乏的东西。”

埃利负责一个侧翼，肖恩·艾利奥特负责另一个侧翼，贾伦·杰克逊从替补席上站起来填补空缺。在他们身后再增加两个七尺中锋，还有什么更好的方法来对抗休斯顿-斯普雷威尔组合？还有什么更好的方法可以在麦迪逊广场花园为今晚的比赛做准备，而不是让一个土生土长的纽约人准备好反击？

马刺预计尼克斯队在第一节主场比赛中会很激动，就像之前的森林狼队、湖人队和开拓者队一样。马刺的应对方式比德尔内格罗的中距离跳投更加稳固。他们的对策是防守。

没有人能像埃利那样做到这一点。在第一场比赛的第一个暂停时，埃利来到板凳席上吐口水、出汗、咒骂。他认为莱斯试图太多地空位投篮，而莱德则试图太多地上篮。他认为休斯顿是他最难对付的人，不仅因为他同时做到了这两点，还因为尼克斯队都在找他。

所以埃利在帮助到来之前不断地撕扯和碰撞。埃利打球的方式与德尔内格罗截然不同。

德尔内格罗更喜欢高尔夫而不是健身房，喜欢投篮而不是阻止投篮，喜欢站着而不是扑球。他的紧迫感也不强。有一次在和迈克尔·乔丹一起打低水平篮球时，德尔内格罗问道：“额，你能参加我的慈善高尔夫锦标赛吗？”

了解乔丹的人都知道，他肯定在内心笑了；他已经把这家伙捏在手里了。所以当马刺队在停摆后环顾四周，审视他们的选择时——当他们看到埃利在休斯顿是自由球员时——他们权衡了金钱、能力和可能的季后赛对阵。

私下里，德尔内格罗对此感到不满。公开场合，德尔内格罗在《快报新闻》上发表的一封信中对马刺队的组织提出了好意。

然后德尔内格罗写道，当马刺另辟蹊径时，他们只是做出了一个篮球决定。不管他是否真心诚意——不管他是因为感到尴尬而感到不满还是只是避开——这在今晚都无关紧要。

当马刺在另一个客场对阵另一组得分手时，他们有埃利，而且机会更大。这难道不值得写封信回家吗？

点击查看原文：Yo, Vinny: A farewell in the Finals

Yo, Vinny: A farewell in the Finals

They would send a postcard to Vinny Del Negro, and they wouldn’t be sarcastic. They would tell him it’s a shame he put in six years with the Spurs and, as soon as he’s gone, they’re here.

They would tell him this and more - if they thought he wouldn’t toss the postcard in the trash. Del Negro hasn’t talked to any of the Spurs since he left them. Not a word during the season, not a word now when, in the wake of this success, a friend might have called just to offer congratulations.

So now it’s easier for the players to say how little they miss Del Negro, to realize he was the one who got personal, to not worry about where to buy that postcard featuring a nifty view of the New York City skyline. As David Robinson said Sunday, without being asked about his former teammate, “I loved having Vinny around, but you take a guy like Mario …”

Everyone can see the other side now. In three consecutive series the Spurs have had to defend tough, scoring wings. Instead of Del Negro scrambling to keep up with first Glen Rice or Kobe Bryant, then Isaiah Rider or Rasheed Wallace and now Allan Houston or Latrell Sprewell, the Spurs plug in Mario Elie.

Listen to someone who never played with Del Negro. Listen to an objective Steve Kerr say: “I think that’s the big difference between the Spurs now and in the past. You’ve got big, strong defenders at the two and three spots. That’s something that was lacking before.”

Elie takes one wing, Sean Elliott the other and Jaren Jackson comes off the bench to fill in. Add a couple of seven-footers behind them, and is there a better way to counter Houston-Sprewell? Is there a better way to go into tonight, with Madison Square Garden ready to roar, than with a native New Yorker ready to roar back?

The Spurs expect the Knicks to be emotional in this first, home quarter, just as the Timberwolves, Lakers and Blazers were before. The Spurs counter with something far sturdier than Del Negro’s mid- range jumper. They counter with defense.

No one brings that as Elie does. At the first timeout of Game 1, Elie came to the bench spitting, sweating, swearing. He thinks Rice tried to spot up too much and Rider tried to post up too much. He thinks Houston is his toughest draw because not only does he do both, but also because the Knicks look for him to.

So Elie claws and bumps until help arrives. Elie plays, specifically, as Del Negro never did.

Del Negro prefers golf to the gym, shooting instead of trying to stop shooting, standing instead of diving. He also never had much urgency. In a dead-ball moment once with Michael Jordan, Del Negro asked, uh, could you play in my charity golf tournament?

Knowing MJ, he probably laughed inside; he had this guy where he wanted him. So when the Spurs looked around after the lockout and reviewed their options - when they saw Elie free in Houston - they weighed money and skills and possible playoff matchups.

Privately, Del Negro took it personally. Publicly, in a letter printed in the Express-News, Del Negro said nice things about the Spurs organization.

Then Del Negro wrote the Spurs had merely made a basketball decision when they went in a different direction. No matter if he meant it - no matter if he’s bitter or just staying out of the way because he feels awkward - it’s irrelevant tonight.

When the Spurs head into another road arena against another set of scorers, they’ve got Elie and a better chance. Isn’t that worth writing home about?

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21

他们怎么说

一些体育专栏作家对NBA总决赛中马刺队和尼克斯队的看法：

• 佩里·A·法雷尔(Perry A. Farrell)，骑士报：杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)教练已经通过打进总决赛获得了丰厚的收入，但他的处境非常不利，如果这场系列赛在周三的第四场比赛后还没有结束，那么到周五，尼克斯队肯定会被淘汰出NBA总决赛。

圣安东尼奥阿拉莫圆顶体育场记分牌上的信息写着：“圣安东尼奥，一座干净的城市，我们定期打扫。”

这条信息是针对范甘迪和他的团队的。

这场系列赛让人想起1988-89赛季洛杉矶湖人队和底特律活塞队的总决赛，当时拜伦·斯科特(Byron Scott)和魔术师约翰逊(Magic Johnson)由于伤病，大部分比赛都穿着便装观看比赛，最终活塞队以四比零战胜了湖人队。

范甘迪队中最好的内线球员，7英尺高的中锋帕特里克·尤因(Patrick Ewing)因阿基里斯腱部分撕裂，只能穿着便装。

前锋拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)正在与右膝扭伤作斗争。

马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)的股四头肌疼痛。

克里斯·达德利(Chris Dudley)的肘部肿胀，而且天赋有限。

尼克斯队还缺乏团队凝聚力。

拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)和坎比从圣安东尼奥的比赛结束后，乘坐豪华轿车返回酒店，而不是乘坐球队大巴。

与此同时，马刺队的双塔，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)一直在封盖投篮。即使他们没有封盖尼克斯队的上篮，他们也已经进入到纽约球员的脑海中。

• 威廉·C·罗登(William C. Rhoden)，纽约时报：尼克斯队又一次落后于形势。在总决赛中两场两位数的失利，让尼克斯队以0比2落后于马刺队。

上一次他的球队处于这种境地时，杰夫·范甘迪面对帕特里克·尤因的伤缺和印第安纳步行者的强势崛起，他屈服了，让拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔进入首发阵容。斯普雷维尔在替补席上展现了活力，但范甘迪承认，他在比赛开始时需要这种活力。

现在面对更高大、更强壮的马刺队，范甘迪的尼克斯队需要他们所能争取到的所有活力。答案很明确：范甘迪必须让马库斯·坎比首发。这是拼图的最后一块，也是新尼克斯队灵活性的最终演变。

也许我高估了坎比；也许他只能在篮下飞来飞去，补进漏掉的投篮，也许我们只看到了他能力的一点点。他有足够的天赋和多功能性，可以让马刺队的内线球员忙上一个晚上或两个晚上——或者三个晚上。在这个时候，以0比2落后，让坎比替补出场就像让赛车之王赛秘(Secretariat)拉一辆牛奶车。

但教练似乎又一次陷入了忠诚的困境；他放不下。

• 布莱恩·海曼(Brian Heyman)，威彻斯特新闻报：故事的最后一章似乎已经写好，对于纽约尼克斯队来说这是一个不愉快的结局，这已经不是马刺队是否会赢得NBA总决赛的问题，而是什么时候的问题。

这是因为这件事的规模似乎太大了。马刺队在主场以两位数的优势赢得了第一场和第二场比赛，这让他们取得了连续12场季后赛胜利的记录，并且在最近50场比赛中取得了44胜6负的战绩。

现在系列赛将移师麦迪逊广场花园，接下来两场比赛将在那里进行，如果需要的话，第三场比赛也会在那里进行。马刺队将在周一晚上带着他们在季后赛中客场6战全胜的战绩参加第三场比赛。

那么，尼克斯队——本来就是没有帕特里克·尤因的弱旅——究竟如何才能在接下来的五场比赛中四次战胜这支球队，并最终夺冠呢？

杰夫·范甘迪教练对此有一个想法。

“我认为我们最主要的问题是：我们是想避免被横扫，还是相信我们能赢得系列赛？”他在周日训练前说。

“对我来说，这至关重要。如果我们只是想避免被横扫，当我们的决心在明天紧张的局面中受到考验时，我们就没有足够的决心来克服它。”

点击查看原文：What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

A sampling of what some sports columnists are saying about the Spurs and Knicks in the NBA Finals: - Perry A. Farrell, Knight Ridder Newspapers: His financial windfall is already in place by reaching the Finals, but the deck is so stacked against Coach Jeff Van Gundy that if this series isn’t over following Wednesday’s Game 4, then surely by Friday the Knicks will be knocked out of the NBA Finals.

A message on the Alamodome scoreboard read: “San Antonio. A clean city. We sweep regularly.”

The message was meant for Van Gundy and his crew.

This series is reminiscent of the 1988-89 Finals between Los Angeles and Detroit when Byron Scott and Magic Johnson watched most of the series in street clothes with injuries as the Pistons won in four.

Van Gundy’s best inside player, 7- foot center Patrick Ewing is in street clothes with a partial tear in his Achilles tendon.

Forward Larry Johnson is battling a sprained right knee.

Marcus Camby has a sore quadriceps.

Chris Dudley has a swollen elbow and limited talent.

The Knicks also lack team unity.

Latrell Sprewell and Camby took a limousine from games in San Antonio back to the hotel instead of making the trek on the team bus.

Meanwhile, the Spurs’ twin towers, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, keep swatting away shots. And even when they don’t block a Knicks lay-up attempt, they’re in the heads of the New York players.

- William C. Rhoden, The New York Times: Once again, the Knicks find themselves behind the eight ball. A pair of double-digit losses to San Antonio in the championship series has put the Knicks down by two games to none.

The last time his team was in this position, Jeff Van Gundy, faced with the loss of Patrick Ewing and the surging Indiana Pacers, relented and put Latrell Sprewell in the starting lineup. Sprewell had been a spark off the bench, but Van Gundy conceded that he needed a spark at the beginning of the game.

Now against the taller, stronger Spurs, Van Gundy’s Knicks need all the sparks they can muster. The answer is clear: Van Gundy has to start Marcus Camby. This is the final piece of the puzzle, the final evolution to the new, flexible Knicks.

Maybe I’m overestimating Camby; maybe all he can do is fly around the basket and tip in missed shots, or maybe we have seen just a hint of what he can do. He is talented enough and versatile enough to keep the Spurs’ post players occupied for an evening or two - or three. At this juncture, down by 2-0, playing Camby off the bench is like having Secretariat pull a milk wagon.

But the coach seems caught once again in the throes of loyalty; he can’t let go.

- Brian Heyman, Westchester Journal News: The last chapter of the story appears to be already written, an unhappy ending for the New York Knicks, that it’s not a matter of if the San Antonio Spurs will win the NBA Finals, but when.

That’s because the magnitude of the thing just seems so overwhelming. The Spurs won Games 1 and 2 by double digits in their house to give them a record 12 straight playoff victories and a record of 44-6 over their last 50 games.

Now the series moves into Madison Square Garden, where the next two are scheduled, three if necessary. The Spurs will show up Monday night for Game 3 with a perfect 6-0 mark on the road in the postseason.

So how in the world are the Knicks, the underdogs to begin with minus Patrick Ewing, going to beat this team four times in the next five games and walk off with first prize?

Coach Jeff Van Gundy has an idea how they can start.

“I think for us the main question is: Are we trying to avoid getting swept or do we believe we can win the series?” he said before practice Sunday.

“To me, that’s critical. If we’re trying to just avoid getting swept, when our resolve is tested tomorrow during a tight situation, we’re not going to have the determination to get through it.”

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Jeanne Russell

向老爹致敬：夫妇以他们最喜欢的马刺队球员的名字为节日里出生的第一个孩子命名

一个月前，黛博拉·维勒加斯(Deborah Villegas)和小恩里克·维勒加斯(Enrique Villegas Jr.)刚刚建好了他们的新家。他们最喜欢的球队，马刺队，开始赢得比赛。然后，这支来自圣安东尼奥的篮球队开始展现出NBA冠军的风采。

黛博拉感觉到自己的好运即将到来。

她肚子里的胎动更增强了她的这种直觉。在父亲节的头20分钟里，她生下了一个女婴，比预产期提前了两周。

黛博拉和恩里克给他们的女儿取名为艾弗里(Avery)，以纪念他们最喜欢的马刺队球员。

“我们想，也许她会像‘小将军’一样充满激情，”恩里克解释说，为什么他们选择埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)作为他们女儿的名字。

他很快补充道：“这并不是要贬低大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 、蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)或队里的其他任何人。”

也可以说，“大卫”和“蒂姆”都不是适合女孩的名字。

黛博拉喜欢埃弗里·约翰逊的宗教信仰，而恩里克喜欢他路易斯安那州的口音。

小艾弗里的到来打断了周五晚上NBA总决赛第二场的比赛。在近4万名球迷挤满阿拉莫穹顶体育馆，马刺队击败纽约尼克斯队几个小时前，黛博拉和恩里克赶往了克里斯图斯圣罗莎医疗中心。

因此，这对篮球迷新父母很高兴从医院工作人员那里赢得了一套马刺队的球票。

如果马刺队没有在纽约赢得总冠军并在圣安东尼奥继续比赛，维勒加斯夫妇将获得第六场比赛的门票。

如果马刺队在客场获胜，维勒加斯夫妇将获得明年第一场主场比赛的门票。

医院工作人员还为父亲节的第一位父亲准备了一套生存工具包：用来隔绝哭声的耳塞，一本关于如何做父亲的书，以及用来在深夜喂奶时保持清醒的浓咖啡。

维勒加斯送给熟睡的孩子一个马刺队郊狼毛绒玩具。

黛博拉发现了一件让她开心的礼物。

“哦，你看，手套，这样你就可以洗碗了，”她对她笑容满面的丈夫说。

他们两岁的儿子约书亚(Joshua)对气球比对他的新妹妹更感兴趣。也许他感到无聊是因为他已经经历过这一切：约书亚出生在7月4日。

点击查看原文：Go Dad Go: Couple name holiday's first baby in honor of their favorite Spur

Go Dad Go: Couple name holiday’s first baby in honor of their favorite Spur

A month ago, Deborah and Enrique Villegas Jr. finished building their new home. Their favorite team, the Spurs, started winning. Then San Antonio’s basketball team started to resemble NBA champs.

Deborah Villegas sensed her luck was on the rise.

Her gut feeling was abetted by a kick inside her belly. In the first 20 minutes of Father’s Day, she gave birth to a baby girl, who arrived two weeks before she was due.

Deborah and Enrique Villegas named their baby Avery to honor their favorite Spur.

“We thought maybe she’d be as fiery as the Little General,” Enrique Villegas said, explaining why they chose Avery Johnson as the namesake for their baby girl.

He quickly qualified: “Not to diminish David Robinson or Tim Duncan or anyone else on the team.”

It could also be said that neither “David” nor “Tim” jumps out as a name for a girl.

Deborah liked Avery Johnson’s religious devotion and Enrique liked his Louisiana drawl.

Little Avery’s impending arrival interrupted Friday night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Hours before almost 40,000 people rocked the Alamodome and the Spurs defeated the New York Knicks, Deborah and Enrique Villegas rushed to Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center.

So the new parents, both basketball fans, were thrilled to win a set of Spurs tickets from the hospital staff.

If the Spurs don’t win it all in New York and come back to play in San Antonio, the Villegases will get tickets to Game 6.

If the Spurs win on the road, the Villegas will get tickets to next year’s first home game.

Staff members also presented Father’s Day’s first father with a survival kit: earplugs to keep out the wails, a book on fathering and strong coffee to stay awake for late night feedings.

Villegas offered a stuffed Spurs coyote to his sleeping child.

Deborah Villegas discovered a gift that made her smile.

“Oh, look, gloves so you can do the dishes,” she told her beaming husband.

Their 2-year-old son, Joshua, was more taken with the balloons than with his new sister. Perhaps he was bored because he’s been through it all before: Joshua was born on the Fourth of July.

By Jeanne Russell, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Tim Price

约翰逊今晚可以测试膝盖和脾气

尼克斯前锋拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)承认，他在与马刺队的总决赛第一场比赛中，扭伤的膝盖给他带来了困扰。

但他不会用伤病作为他在第二场比赛中12投2中的借口。他还说，这不会影响他今晚在麦迪逊广场花园进行的第三场比赛。

他的膝盖感觉好多了。

“毫无疑问，”约翰逊在周日早上在花园球场练习外线投篮后说道。“我的治疗进展顺利。我将能够做一些我受伤后一直无法做到的事情，一些我一直在犹豫的事情。”

约翰逊周日犹豫的一件事就是与媒体交谈，因此他和尼克斯队都被NBA罚款25000美元。约翰逊没有与媒体进行完整的30分钟交流。当联盟的媒体联络员要求他开始媒体见面会时，他还对这位官员使用了粗俗的语言。

“我一点也不在乎，”约翰逊告诉她。

（这是季后赛中约翰逊和尼克斯队第二次被罚款。在6月4日和5日对阵印第安纳的东部决赛中，由于约翰逊两次未能出现在媒体面前，他们也被联盟罚款10000美元。）

自从系列赛在周三的阿拉莫穹顶体育馆进行第一场比赛以来，约翰逊第一次有机会让他的膝盖从比赛中休息两天。在周五的第二场比赛中输球后，尼克斯队周六没有训练，他们在周日进行了相对轻松的训练。

尼克斯队主教练杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)正在寻找第三个人来帮助球队得分。拉特里尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)和艾伦·休斯顿(Allan Houston)在第一场比赛中都得到19分，带领尼克斯队得分。在第二场比赛中，他们是唯一得分上双的尼克斯球员。

所以，也许约翰逊是那个需要站出来的人，因为他声称自己感觉好多了。他将获得机会。

围绕尼克斯队的大部分谈论都集中在范甘迪调整阵容的想法上。预计范甘迪将在比赛中同时安排斯普雷维尔和休斯顿出任两个后卫位置。

尽管范甘迪说他不打算将此作为首发阵容的一部分，但他不会否认斯普雷维尔和休斯顿可能会在比赛的某个时间点组成双人组。

理论上，这显然会给尼克斯队在半场球场上对马刺队造成错位。在可能的阵容搭配中，6尺5寸的斯普雷维尔和6尺6寸的休斯顿可能会面对5尺11寸的艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)和6尺5寸的马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)。如果尼克斯队在这些位置上没有绝对的身高优势，他们确实拥有速度优势。

但这会改变其他阵容搭配，特别是那些影响约翰逊的阵容搭配。

“这与蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)有关，”范甘迪说。“无论谁在场上，他们都会让（约翰逊）防守他。他们像大多数球队一样，让邓肯防守拉里——用大个子防守拉里。

“我认为蒂姆·邓肯在NBA中要么是最佳防守球员，要么是第二好的防守球员。而他们之间存在巨大的身高差距。”

但随着斯普雷维尔从他的小前锋位置（第三号位）转到后场，埃利特可能不得不去防守约翰逊的第三号位。

没有提到可能的改变，约翰逊做出了承诺。

“如果一个三号位球员防守我，我会更有效，”他说。“我一直都说，我认为我不是一个三分射手。”

所以，在第二场比赛中投出7个三分球的约翰逊，可能会尝试让埃利特更靠近篮筐。埃利特身高6尺8寸，比约翰逊高一英寸。但他体重220磅。约翰逊看起来比节目中列出的235磅要大得多。

如果埃利特指望马刺队的大个子球员大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)或蒂姆·邓肯的帮助，尼克斯队认为他们可能会找到一种方法来应对这种情况，并为约翰逊创造空间。

“如果我们只是让五个人站着观看，他们更容易防守，”尼克斯队替补控球后卫克里斯·柴尔德斯(Chris Childs)说。“他们的大个子球员并没有真正地防守任何人。他们只是防守他们认为我们得分点所在的区域。

“如果我们能将球左右移动，我认为我们可以更有效。”

点击查看原文：Johnson can test knee, temperment tonight

Johnson can test knee, temperment tonight

Knicks forward Larry Johnson admitted that his sprained knee bothered him in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the Spurs.

But he won’t use the injury as an excuse for his 2-of-12 shooting night in Game 2. And he said it shouldn’t bother him in Game 3 tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The knee is better.

“No question,” Johnson said after practicing his outside shot Sunday morning on the floor of the Garden. “My treatments are going fine. I’ll be able to do some things that I haven’t been able to do since I got hurt, things that I’ve been hesitant to do.”

One thing Johnson was hesitant do Sunday was to speak with the media, and he and the Knicks each were fined $25,000 by the NBA. Johnson failed to participate for a full 30 minutes with the media. He also directed harsh language toward a media relations official with the league when she requested that he start the media session.

“I don’t give a big rat’s ass,” Johnson told her.

(This is the second series this postseason that Johnson and the Knicks were fined. They were also fined $10,000 by the league during the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana because Johnson twice failed to make himself available to the media following practices on June 4 and 5.)

Since the series got started with Game 1 on Wednesday at the Alamodome, Johnson is getting his first opportunity to give the knee a two-day rest from game action. After losing in Game 2 Friday, the Knicks didn’t practice Saturday and they had a relatively light workout Sunday.

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy is looking for a third person to help the team’s scoring load. Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston each had 19 points to lead the Knicks in Game 1. In Game 2, they were the only Knicks to score in double figures.

So maybe Johnson is the guy to step it up since he claims he’s feeling better. He’s going to get his chance.

Most of the talk centering around the Knicks is Van Gundy’s thoughts of tinkering with the lineup. Van Gundy is expected to have Sprewell and Houston on the floor at the same time in both guard positions.

Though Van Gundy said he’s not going to use that as part of the starting lineup, he won’t deny that Sprewell and Houston could form a tandem at some point in the game.

The obvious thing it does for the Knicks - theoretically - is give them a mismatch over the Spurs in half of the court. In the possible matchups, the 6-foot-5 Sprewell and 6-6 Houston could be faced by 5-11 Avery Johnson and 6-5 Mario Elie. If the Knicks don’t have a definite size advantage over Elie at those spots, they do have a quickness advantage.

But it causes changes in other matchups - namely the ones affecting Johnson.

“It has to do with Tim Duncan,” Van Gundy said. "That’s who they play on (Johnson) regardless of who’s been out on the floor. They play Duncan on Larry like most teams do - big on Larry.

“I think Tim Duncan was either first- or second-team all defense (in the NBA). And there’s a huge size differential there.”

But with Sprewell swinging away from his small forward spot - the No. 3 position - and going to the backcourt, Elliott might have to guard Johnson at 3.

Without mentioning the possible change, Johnson made a pledge.

“I’ll be more effective if a 3-man is guarding me,” he said. “I’ve been saying all along that I don’t think I’m a three-point shooter.”

So Johnson, who attempted seven three-pointers in Game 2, might try to take Elliott closer to the basket. Elliott is an inch taller at 6-8. But he weighs 220. Johnson looks much bigger than the 235 pounds he’s listed at in the program.

If Elliott is counting on help from Spurs big men David Robinson or Tim Duncan, the Knicks think they might find a way to combat that and create a crease for Johnson.

“It’s easier for them to defend if we’re just having five guys standing and watching,” Knicks reserve point guard Chris Childs said. "Their big guys aren’t really playing anybody. They’re just playing the area where they feel our scores are going to be in.

“If we can move the ball side to side, I think we can be more effective.”

By Tim Price, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Staff Reports

NBA总决赛笔记

埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)表示膝盖疼痛问题没问题
肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在第三节还剩2.5秒时，带球突破底线准备上篮，被拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)犯规，导致右膝受伤。埃利奥特赛后表示膝盖疼痛，但周日已无大碍。

“（马刺队训练师）威尔（塞维宁）过去两天一直在治疗，”埃利奥特说道，“感觉好多了。我会没事的。”

• 小城邓肯：埃利奥特表示，如果马刺队大前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)想要获得迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)职业生涯中所获得的一切荣誉，他就必须做出改变。

“我不确定他是否在正确的市场，”埃利奥特说道，并补充说，如果邓肯在芝加哥、纽约或洛杉矶打球，他会在乔丹所掌控的国际舞台上得到关注。

但是，如果邓肯真的离开圣安东尼奥，芝加哥、纽约或洛杉矶似乎并不在他的考虑范围内。

“我不是一个喜欢大城市的人，”邓肯在周日麦迪逊广场花园的训练结束后说道。“我来自一个小岛（美属维尔京群岛圣托马斯岛）。我在温斯顿-塞勒姆（北卡罗来纳州，维克森林大学）上大学，并在圣安东尼奥开始了我的职业生涯。

“（纽约）是一个很棒的城市——很有趣。我不知道我是否能在那里长期居住。” - 球队报道

系列赛一览

（马刺队以2-0领先七场四胜制）

时间 对阵 亮点

第一场 6月16日 马刺队89，尼克斯队77 邓肯：33分，16个篮板

第二场 6月18日 马刺队80，尼克斯队67 邓肯：25分，15个篮板

时间 地点 电视台/广播电台

第三场 今天晚上8点 纽约 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

第四场 星期三晚上8点 纽约 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

*第五场 星期五晚上8点 纽约 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

*第六场 6月27日下午6:30 阿拉莫穹顶 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

*第七场 6月29日晚上8点 阿拉莫穹顶 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

*：如果需要

点击查看原文：NBA Finals Notes

NBA Finals Notes

Elliott says sore knee will be OK Sean Elliott hit his right knee when he drove baseline for a lay-in and Larry Johnson fouled him with 2.5 seconds left in the third quarter of Game 2. Elliott said his knee was sore after the game, but was fine Sunday.

“(Spurs trainer) Will (Sevening) has worked on it the past two days,” Elliott said. “It feels a lot better. I’ll be fine.”

- Small-city Duncan: If Spurs power forward Tim Duncan ever wants all the accolades that Michael Jordan enjoyed in his career, he’ll have to make a change according to Elliott.

“I don’t think maybe he’s in the right market,” Elliott said, adding that Duncan would be noticed on the international level Jordan commanded if he played in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles.

But if Duncan ever leaves San Antonio, it doesn’t sound like Chicago, New York or Los Angeles is on the list.

“I’m not a big-city guy,” Duncan said after Sunday’s practice at Madison Square Garden. "I come from a small island (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands). I went to Winston- Salem (N.C., and Wake Forest) for college, started in San Antonio for my professional career.

“(New York) is a great city - a lot of fun. I don’t know if I could live here for any extended period of time.” - Staff Reports

Series at a glance

(Spurs lead best-of-seven 2-0)

When Outcome Highlight

Game 1 June 16 @Spurs 89, Knicks 77 Duncan: 33 pts., 16 reb.

Game 2 June 18 @Spurs 80, Knicks 67 Duncan: 25 pts., 15 reb.

When Where TVRadio

Game 3 8 p.m. today New York NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

Game 4 8 p.m. Wednesday New YorkNBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x-Game 5 8 p.m. Friday New YorkNBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x-Game 6 6:30 p.m. June 27 Alamodome NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x-Game 7 8 p.m. June 29 Alamodome NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x: if necessary

By Staff Reports, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Arthur Garcia

只有一位公交车司机给出了简单的智慧

想要找出尼克斯队在NBA总决赛前两场比赛中遇到的问题的根源？没必要去找那些老生常谈的嫌疑人。

当然，杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)和拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)会根据他们在圣安东尼奥遭遇的两场令人沮丧的失利提出自己的想法。而作为世界传媒之都，更不用说世界各地的媒体，都迫切渴望对每一次换人、伤病和运球进行分析和过度解读。

但智慧并不一定来自亿万富翁或ESPN的麦克风。有时候，它可能来自一位……公交车司机。这位周日将媒体从麦迪逊花园广场送往训练场和训练场送回的司机，很好地概括了纽约军队的困境。

“尼克斯队不往内线突破，”他说。司机接着解释了尼克斯队为何选择在球场外围传球，拒绝挑战大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的内线。

甚至范甘迪也多少同意这一点。尽管纽约后卫在周五的第二场比赛中试图更多地往内线突破，但他们几乎没有挑战圣安东尼奥的双塔。尼克斯队实力削弱的前线也未能施加太多压力。

马刺队将纽约队的进攻引向罗宾逊和邓肯，在两场比赛中，这对组合总共盖了14次帽，而且两人都没有陷入犯规困扰。

结果？纽约队在本系列赛中只获得了31次罚球机会。马刺队在每场比赛中至少都获得了31次罚球机会。

“面对这两个7尺巨人并不容易，但我们仍然必须挑战他们，”斯普雷维尔说，他在第二场比赛中获得了10次罚球机会，而第一场比赛中一次罚球机会都没有。“我们必须努力做到这一点。”

几记圣安东尼奥队的封盖紧随纽约后卫的突破而来，罗宾逊或邓肯，或者两人同时，都会滑过来协防。尼克斯队希望今晚在第三场比赛中继续往篮下突破，但他们不能让马刺队的内线球员在禁区内自由游走。

“你不能仅仅每次都冲向篮筐就能获得罚球机会，”阿兰·休斯顿(Allan Houston)说。“其中一部分是通过移动防守，进攻他们的外线球员，并将球传到内线。所以，并不是说每次都要试图在罗宾逊和邓肯面前扣篮。你可以通过其他方式制造犯规。”

休斯顿的首发后场搭档查理·沃德(Charlie Ward)还没有获得罚球机会，在本系列赛中只出手了9次。他承认，在突破马刺队后卫后发现邓肯或罗宾逊正在等待，这会让人感到沮丧。

“这可能会让人沮丧，”沃德说。“我只能告诉我们的球员们，要尽可能地强硬地打球，因为你越强硬，就越有机会让他们陷入犯规困扰。我们必须继续这样做，强硬地进攻，希望一切顺利。”

与休斯顿一样，马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)表示，尼克斯队需要更好地传球，迫使邓肯和罗宾逊离开位置。纽约队的前线，主要是拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)和坎比，也需要成为更大的得分威胁。如果纽约队能够让邓肯和罗宾逊失去平衡，并且需要伸手去够球，那么威尔·珀迪(Will Perdue)可能不得不脱掉他的运动服。

“我们不能在进攻端停滞不前，”坎比说。“球必须左右来回传，让他们的内线球员动起来。我们必须增加更多移动，让他们对我们的行动做出反应。”

范甘迪在系列赛前说，为了赢得比赛，纽约队需要在三个方面做到接近——篮板球、内线得分和罚球次数。到目前为止，尼克斯队在篮板球方面占据上风，并在得分方面相对接近。

但获得罚球机会却很困难。

“在这样一支球队面前，我们如何获得罚球机会要困难得多，因为他们有出色的封盖和禁区威慑力，这是显而易见的，”范甘迪说。“但我们必须找到一种方法来获得罚球机会。”

也许他可以问问那位公交车司机。

点击查看原文：Only the bus driver offers simple words of wisdom

Only the bus driver offers simple words of wisdom

Want to pin down the Knicks’ problems in the first two games of the NBA Finals? No need to go to the usual group of suspects.

Sure, Jeff Van Gundy and Latrell Sprewell have their thoughts, born from two frustrating losses in San Antonio. And the media capital of the world, not to mention the media of the world, is ever eager to breakdown and over-analyze every substitution, injury and dribble.

But wisdom doesn’t have to come from a multimillionaire or an ESPN mike. Sometimes it can come from, oh, a bus driver. The guy herding the media to and from practice Sunday at Madison Square Garden summed up the plight of the New York troops quite nicely.

“The Knicks don’t go inside,” he said. The driver preceded to explain how the Knicks settle for passing the ball on the perimeter, refusing to challenge to the David Robinson-Tim Duncan interior.

Even Van Gundy had to agree with that somewhat. While New York guards did try to go inside more in Game 2 Friday, they hardly challenged San Antonio’s Twin Towers. The Knicks’ depleted frontline also has failed to apply much pressure.

The Spurs are funneling New York’s charge toward Robinson and Duncan, and through two games the duo has 14 blocks and neither has found himself in foul trouble.

The result? New York has only 31 free throws in the series. The Spurs have gone to the charity stripe at least 31 times in each game.

“It’s not easy going up against those two 7-footers, but we still have to challenge them,” said Sprewell, who had 10 foul shots in Game 2 after not having one the first game. “We’re going to have to work that.”

Several San Antonio blocks followed drives by New York guards, with Robinson or Duncan, or both, sliding over to help. The Knicks want to continue going to the hoop tonight in Game 3, but they can’t allow the Spurs’ big men to roam the paint freely.

“You don’t create foul shots by just going to the basket every time,” said Allan Houston. “Some of it is by moving the defense, attacking their perimeter guys and getting the ball in the post a little bit. So it is not about trying to dunk on David Robinson and Tim Duncan every time. You can create fouls in other ways.”

Houston’s starting backcourt partner Charlie Ward hasn’t gone to the line and has attempted just nine shots in the series. He admitted the mental strain in beating Spurs guards off the dribble only to find Duncan or Robinson in wait.

“It can be frustrating,” Ward said. “All I can tell our guys is to make plays and go to the hoop as strong as possible because the more you go, the more opportunities you have to get them in foul trouble. We have to continue to do that, go strong and hope for the best.”

Like Houston, Marcus Camby said the Knicks need to do a better job of passing the ball, forcing Duncan and Robinson out of position. New York’s frontline, mainly Larry Johnson and Camby, also needs to become more of a scoring threat. If New York can get Duncan and Robinson off balance and reaching, Will Perdue may have to take off his sweats.

“We just can’t be stagnant on offense,” Camby said. “The ball has to swing side to side to get their big guys moving. We definitely have to get more movement and have them react to what we do.”

Van Gundy said before the series for New York to win, it needed to be close in three areas - rebounding, points in the paint and free- throw attempts. So far, the Knicks have won the rebounding battle and are relatively close in scoring.

But getting to the line has proved difficult.

“How we earn our way there is a little more difficult against this team because of their great shot- blocking lane intimidation presence, obviously,” Van Gundy said. “But we’ve got to find a way to get there.”

Maybe he can ask the bus driver.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-21, By Arthur Garcia

NBA 年轻人需要指引，而非批评

如果你问许多在 NBA 总决赛现场的媒体人士，联盟最大的问题是什么，他们最终都会归结为一件事——年轻球员。

失控的合同？贪婪的年轻球员，最典型的例子是凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett)。球场上的自私？需要关怀的年轻球员，比如科比·布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)。低得分比赛？基础不扎实的年轻球员。看看 90 年代的 NBA 选秀。

但这一切真的是“X 世代”之后球员的错吗？一位前球员、现任总经理兼播音员可不这么认为。NBC 演播室分析师伊赛亚·托马斯(Isiah Thomas) 坚信，联盟的许多弊病可以通过借鉴不久前的经验来解决。

“现在的联盟有很多年轻球员渴望领导力，而我们却袖手旁观，不去帮助他们，反而去批评他们，”托马斯周日说。“我刚进入联盟的时候，有很多指导和教导。比赛中有一种精神，而现在已经不再教导了。”

托马斯职业生涯全部效力于底特律活塞队，并在 1989 年和 1990 年赢得总冠军。他也是 80 年代初进入 NBA 的早期球员，在印第安纳大学只待了两年。但他表示，当时的联盟对待年轻球员的方式与现在不同。

托马斯在职业生涯早期与当时的马刺队后卫乔治·格文(George Gervin) 在一起度过了几个夏天，一起训练，但更重要的是，学习比赛。

“他传授经验，”托马斯谈到他与“冰人”格文的时光说。“现在已经没有这样的事情了。”

托马斯将责任推到了老将球员、教练和管理层身上，要求他们主动接触年轻球员。像查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley) 和卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone) 这样的老牌球星在媒体上批评了联盟中的阿伦·艾弗森(Allen Iverson) 等球员，但托马斯坚持认为这是错误的做法。

“他们应该做的是帮助他们，”他说。“我给艾弗森打过电话，写过信。你应该撸起袖子，和孩子们谈谈。”

现效力于尼克斯的马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby) 表示，他与托马斯在多伦多时期就开始了糟糕的经历，那时托马斯离开了总经理职位。达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire) 也出于同样的原因想要离开猛龙队。

尽管人们对 NBA 年轻球员有很多批评，但托马斯和联盟中许多人一样，并没有发现马刺队前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 有什么过错。

“他的性情非常令人耳目一新，”他说。“他的态度——我得分后，没有自我表现。这就是篮球。”

- 尼克斯队该怎么办？: 托马斯和他的 NBC 同事，史蒂夫·“快嘴”·琼斯(Steve “Snapper” Jones) 都表示，如果尼克斯队想在系列赛中反败为胜，他们需要做最明显的事情——得分。

“他们必须找到方法，不是为了更好地防守，因为他们已经做得相当不错了，他们必须得分，”琼斯说，他正在为 NBA.com 进行网络直播，并在 MSNBC 上进行赛后分析。“而他们还没有找到任何进攻节奏。”

托马斯表示，尼克斯队应该向圣安东尼奥学习。

“他们必须迫使对方在内线进行防守，而不是外线，”他说。“就像马刺队用邓肯和罗宾逊这对双塔，他们必须在后场派出斯普雷维尔和休斯顿这对双塔，尝试在后场制造与圣安东尼奥在前场相同的错位。

“你已经落后 2 比 0，而且还将圣安东尼奥的得分限制在了 89 分和 80 分，所以你必须得分。如果你能得分，你就有机会赢球。”

两人都承认，尼克斯队面临着艰苦的战斗。琼斯指出，尽管马刺队没有表现得特别好，但他们总能找到获胜的方法。

“他们的自信心非常强大，他们觉得总能找到获胜的方式，”他说。“这就是他们的赛季如此特别的原因。”

点击查看原文：NBA's youth needs guidance, not criticism

NBA’s youth needs guidance, not criticism

If you ask many of the media types here for the NBA Finals what’s the biggest problem in the league, invariably it can all be boiled down to one thing - young players.

Out of control contracts? Young greedy players, most often personified by Kevin Garnett. Selfishness on the court? Young needy players, aka Kobe Bryant. Low scoring games? Young fundamentally-unsound players. See NBA drafts of the 1990s.

But is it entirely the fault of the post- Gen Xers? One former player turned general manager turned broadcaster doesn’t think so. NBC studio analyst Isiah Thomas is convinced many of the league’s ills could be cured with a look to the not-so-distant past.

“This is a league right now with younger players crying out for leadership and we sit back and, instead of helping them, we criticize,” Thomas said Sunday. “When I came into the league, there was a lot of mentoring, a lot of teaching. There was a spiritualness to the game that is not being taught anymore.”

Thomas spent his entire career with the Detroit Pistons, winning championships in '89 and '90. He too was an early entry to the NBA in the early '80s, having spent just two years at Indiana. But he said the league was different then in how it treated younger players.

Thomas spent the summers early in his career with then-Spurs guard George Gervin working on his game, but more importantly, learning the game.

“He was passing the knowledge,” Thomas said of his time with the Iceman. “That doesn’t happen anymore.”

Thomas placed the burden on veteran players, coaches and management to reach out to younger players. Established stars like Charles Barkley and Karl Malone have ripped the Allen Iversons of the league in the media, but Thomas insists that’s the wrong way to go.

“What they should do is help them,” he said. “I’ve called Iverson, written him letters. You roll up your sleeves and talk to the kids.”

Current Knick Marcus Camby said the situation for him started to sour in Toronto with Thomas’ departure from the GM post. Damon Stoudamire wanted out of the Raptors organization for the same reason.

Though there’s much criticism of the NBA’s youth, Thomas, like so many others in and around the league, finds little fault with Spurs forward Tim Duncan.

“His temperament is very refreshing,” he said. “His attitude - there’s no look at me after I score. It’s basketball.”

- What can the Knicks do?: Thomas and fellow NBC analyst Steve “Snapper” Jones both say New York needs to do the obvious, score, if it has any chance of coming back in the series.

“They have to find a way, not to defend better because they’ve done a pretty good job of defending, they’ve got to score,” said Jones, who’s doing cybercasting for NBA.com and post game work on MSNBC. “And they haven’t gotten themselves in any offensive rhythm.”

Thomas said the Knicks should take a page from San Antonio’s book.

“They have to force perimeter play against the interior play,” he said. "Like the Spurs going with twin towers in Duncan and Robinson, they have to go with twin towers in the backcourt of Sprewell and Houston, and try to create the same mismatches in the backcourt that San Antonio has up front.

“You’re down 2-0 and you’ve held San Antonio to 89 and 80 points, so you’ve got to score. If you can score, you have a shot a winning.”

Both concede it’s an uphill battle for the Knicks. Jones pointed out that even though the Spurs haven’t played particularly well, they manage to pull games out.

“Their confidence is such, that they feel they’ll find some way to win a game,” he said. “That’s what is making the season special for them.”

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Johnny Ludden

重返地球 - 休斯敦领军的尼克斯赢得第三场 - 马刺的横扫梦想破灭

蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)耸了耸肩。距离纽约将马刺送入13场比赛以来的首败已经过去了半个小时，如果邓肯感到沮丧，他并没有表现出来。

当一位记者想知道为什么他在第四节挂了一个甜甜圈时，邓肯平静地列出了原因。纽约不允许他进入禁区。他错失了通常能进的球。拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)的防守。

“这只是一场糟糕的比赛，”邓肯说，平淡地结束了他的回答。

一场糟糕的比赛，艾伦·休斯敦(Allen Houston)狂砍34分。一场糟糕的比赛，马刺出现了20次失误。一场糟糕的比赛，邓肯在关键时刻找不到篮筐。一场糟糕的比赛，马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)甚至没有留在场上足够长的时间来听到麦迪逊广场花园的球迷嘲讽地喊着，“埃利太烂了！”

如果周一确实是“那些夜晚”之一，那么对于马刺来说，这是一个他们在这季后赛中极少经历过的夜晚。他们在第三场比赛中以89-81落败，这是自5月11日森林狼战胜他们以来的第一场败仗，这跨越了41天。

但这并不需要参考。

“我们还记得那是什么感觉，”贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)说。“感觉并不好。”

是的，周一晚上，不会有邓肯的制胜勾手。不会有肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)的“阵亡将士纪念日奇迹”。不会有杰克逊的爆发。不会有逆转。

尼克斯每当马刺试图反扑时，他们都会把马刺推回去。当然，这让圣安东尼奥的一些扫帚制造商感到失望。

“我不知道今晚应该怎么称呼这种情况，”大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说，他是马刺队中得分最高的球员，得到25分。“我们队绝对讨厌输球。输球的时候，我们总是把它当作个人恩怨。输球后，我们总是会做出回应。”

在阿拉莫穹顶输掉前两场比赛后，纽约做出了回应。尼克斯教练杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)指出了两处问题：纽约既不能投篮，也无法获得罚球机会。周一，休斯敦做到了这两点。

他24投10中，罚球12罚全中。当邓肯在第三节还剩3分35秒时将比分扳平，休斯敦在时间即将用完时投进了一个三分球。当埃利奥特投进自己的三分球，将纽约的领先优势缩小到81-77，还剩3分13秒时，休斯敦在篮下投进了一个19英尺的跳投。

“他是个讨厌鬼，”马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。

休斯敦说：“我希望成为一个讨厌鬼，并且势不可挡。”

有时，休斯敦的确做到了。NBA官员今天将举行会议，讨论如何提高得分。他们或许想邀请休斯敦。他让埃利在比赛初期就因4秒内犯规2次而下场，他也因此吃到一次技术犯规。杰克逊替换了埃利，但他很快就也犯了2次犯规。

休斯敦和拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)分别得到24分，他们通过投篮或在进攻中造成犯规的方式伤害了马刺。

“他们没有像往常一样冲向篮筐，”罗宾逊说。“他们作为一个跳投型球队获得了大量的罚球机会（30次）。这有点不寻常。你通常不会看到这样的情况。”

尽管他们并没有将失利归咎于裁判的判罚，但在球场上，马刺队对判罚感到沮丧。波波维奇也吃到了一次技术犯规，埃利只打了26分钟，整晚都在对裁判大喊大叫。

“这将是一次有趣的沉默之旅，”埃利说，他这次的返乡之旅并不顺利。“我知道这支球队输球的时候是什么样子。”

尼克斯试图成为第三支在总决赛中从0-2落后的情况下反败为胜的球队，他们不需要任何人来告诉他们输球意味着什么。

“做你的功课，”科特·托马斯(Kurt Thomas)说。“我们知道没有球队能够从0-3落后中翻盘。”

马刺似乎仍然有机会再次上演逆转。但是马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)，他首发出场替换了克里斯·达德利(Chris Dudley)，他在上半场的比赛中都遇到了犯规麻烦，他帮助尼克斯在第四节抢下了6个进攻篮板球。

与此同时，邓肯最终得到20分，他在最后一节的4次投篮全部偏出，还因为走步被吹了一次违例。

“我没有意识到他没有得分，”范甘迪说。“我认为当你防守一个伟大的球员时——毫无疑问，邓肯是NBA最好的球员——你会尽力防守，我认为拉里做到了。与此同时，我认为邓肯可能错过了一些他通常能进的球。”

让花园球场19763名观众兴奋的是，休斯敦却做到了。马刺从未领先，他们一次又一次地追上比分，但休斯敦或斯普雷维尔都会将他们拉回来。

“我认为比赛中我们五、六次追上比分，”波波维奇说。“这整年都是我们球队的关键。我们一直坚持打球，尤其是在客场。

“每次我们追上比分，打平或领先，似乎都会发生一些事情。我们会犯走步犯规，或者球场上会发生一些事情，导致我们无法翻盘。所以我觉得我们坚持得很好，一直在反扑，一直在反扑，这很好。

“但我们无法翻过那座山。”

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NBA总决赛

（马刺2-1领先，七场四胜制）

第三场比赛：@尼克斯 89，马刺 81

亮点：尼克斯在首节以32-21领先，但在前三节只以65-62领先……马刺从未领先，只在第三节以58-58打平……艾伦·休斯敦为圣安东尼奥贡献34分，拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔贡献24分，拉里·约翰逊贡献16分；尼克斯的其他球员合计贡献15分……大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯合计贡献45分；其他马刺球员得分均未超过10分……马刺出现20次失误，只造成10次失误……马刺的NBA季后赛12连胜纪录就此终结……尼克斯的投篮命中率为39.7%，创下本系列赛新高。

第四场比赛：周三晚上8点 @麦迪逊广场花园

第五场比赛：周五晚上8点 @麦迪逊广场花园

第六场比赛（6月27日 @阿拉莫穹顶）和第七场比赛（6月29日 @阿拉莫穹顶），如有必要。

电视：NBA

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语，KCOR-AM 1350

内部

蒂姆-伯：在第一和第二场比赛中对尼克斯造成巨大破坏后，蒂姆·邓肯在第三场比赛中表现更加平凡，尤其是在第四节没有得分的情况下/第2S页。

裁判吹哨：马刺，特别是马里奥·埃利，对裁判的判罚提出质疑，虽然声音很小，但很明显/第2S页。

细分：第二场比赛的盒装、笔记等/第4S页。

休斯敦击败马刺：不，不是火箭。尼克斯后卫艾伦·休斯敦势不可挡，尤其是在关键时刻/第6S页。

这次不行：尼克斯在第四节顶住了马刺的每一次反扑，最终拉开了差距/第7S页。

他们怎么说：来自不同作者对第三场比赛的观点/第7S页。

点击查看原文：Back to Earth - Houston-led Knicks win Game 3 - Spurs' sweep dreams swept away

Back to Earth - Houston-led Knicks win Game 3 - Spurs’ sweep dreams swept away

Tim Duncan shrugged. It was half an hour after New York had handed the Spurs their first loss in 13 games and if Duncan was frustrated, it didn’t show.

When a reporter wanted to know why he had hung up a doughnut in the fourth quarter, Duncan calmly ticked off the reasons. New York wouldn’t let him get to the middle of the lane. He missed shots he normally makes. Larry Johnson’s defense.

“It was just one of those nights,” Duncan said, matter-of-factly ending his answer.

One of those nights when Allen Houston poured in 34 points. When the Spurs committed 20 turnovers. When Duncan couldn’t find the basket in crunch time. When Mario Elie couldn’t even stay on the court long enough to hear the Madison Square Garden crowd mockingly yell, “Elie sucks!”

If Monday was indeed one of those nights, it was one the Spurs - who had yet to lose on the road - had experienced so infrequently this postseason. The 89-81 loss in Game 3 was the Spurs’ first since Minnesota beat them on May 11, a span of 41 days.

Not that they needed a point of reference.

“We remember how it was,” Jaren Jackson said. “It’s not a good feeling.”

No, on Monday night there would be no game-winning hook shot from Duncan. No Sean Elliott “Memorial Day Miracle.” No explosion from Jackson. No comeback.

The Knicks simply pushed the Spurs back every time they closed, disappointing, of course, several broom manufacturers back in San Antonio.

“I don’t know what you would call this tonight,” said David Robinson, who led the Spurs with 25 points. “Our team absolutely hates to lose. We take it personally when we lose. We always respond when we lose, always.”

New York answered its wake-up call after dropping the first two games at the Alamodome. Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy had pointed out two problem areas in the losses: New York neither could shoot nor get to the free-throw line. Houston did both Monday.

He made 10 of 24 shots and all 12 of his free-throw attempts. When Duncan tied the game with 3:35 left in the third quarter, Houston drained a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. When Elliott hit his own three to cut New York’s lead to 81-77 with 3:13 left, Houston knocked down a 19-footer above the key.

“He was a pain in the neck,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Said Houston: “I hope to be a pain in the neck and unstoppable.”

At times, Houston was that. NBA officials are meeting today to discuss ways to increase scoring. They might want to invite Houston. He sent Elie, who also picked up a technical along the way, to the bench early in the game with two fouls in four seconds. Jackson replaced Elie only to quickly earn two fouls of his own.

Houston and Latrell Sprewell, who added 24 points, hurt the Spurs by pulling up or drawing contact on their way to the basket.

“They weren’t bringing it to the rim as much,” Robinson said. “They got to the line a lot (30 times) as a jump-shooting team. That’s a little unusual. You don’t usually see that.”

Though they did not blame the loss on the officiating, on the court the Spurs looked frustrated with the calls. Popovich picked up a technical of his own and Elie, limited to only 26 minutes, barked at the officials throughout the night.

“It’s going to be interesting how quiet it is on the bus,” said Elie, who had a less-than-stellar homecoming. “I know how this team is when we lose.”

The Knicks, who are trying to become only the third team to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals, needed no one to tell them what a loss would have meant.

“Do your homework,” Kurt Thomas said. “We know no team had come back from 3-0.”

The Spurs still looked in position to pull out another comeback. But Marcus Camby, who started in place of Chris Dudley and found himself in foul trouble early in both halves, helped the Knicks pull down six offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Duncan, who finished with 20 points, missed all four of his shots in the final quarter and was whistled once for traveling.

“I didn’t realize he didn’t score,” Van Gundy said. “I think again when you’re defending a great player - and certainly Duncan is the best player in the NBA - you try to play great defense and I think Larry did. At that same time, I think Duncan probably missed some shots that he normally could make.”

Much to the thrill of the Garden crowd of 19,763, Houston, however, didn’t. The Spurs, who never led, closed time and again, only to have Houston or Sprewell push them back.

“I thought there were five or six times in the game we climbed back into it,” Popovich said. "That’s been a key note for our team all year. We just keep playing, especially on the road.

"Every time we climbed back, tied or took the lead, it seemed like something happened. We were traveling or something occurred on the court where we couldn’t get over the hump. So I thought we hung in really well and kept coming back, kept coming back, which was great.

“But we could never get over that hump.”

Expressnews.com is exchanging links for news coverage and forums with the New York Times, New Jersey Online, Newsday, New York Daily News, the New York Post and WNBC-TV. See expressnews.com for complete Spurs coverage, including slide shows, locker-room audio and forums.

NBA FINALS

(Spurs lead best-of-seven 2-1)

Game 3: @Knicks 89, Spurs 81

Highlights: Knicks led 32-21 after first quarter, but only 65-62 through three … Spurs never led, tying the game only at 58-58 in the third period … Allan Houston scorched S.A. for 34 points, with Latrell Sprewell adding 24 and Larry Johnson 16; the rest of the Knicks totaled 15 … David Robinson and Tim Duncan combined for 45 points; no other Spur had more than 10 … Spurs committed 20 turnovers, forcing only 10 … Spurs’ NBA-record 12-game postseason winning streak came to an end … Knicks hit a series- best 39.7 percent from the field.

Game 4: 8 p.m. Wednesday @Madison Square Garden.

Game 5: 8 p.m. Friday @Madison Square Garden. Games 6 (June 27 @Alamodome) and 7 (June 29 @Alamodome) if necessary.

TV: NBA

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

INSIDE

Tim-ber: After wreaking havoc on the Knicks in Games 1 and 2, Tim Duncan is more mortal in Game 3, particularly in a scoreless fourth quarter/Page 2S.

Whistle blowers: The Spurs, particularly Mario Elie, quietly but obviously questioned the officiating/Page 2S.

Breakdown: Game 2 box, notes and more/Page 4S.

Houston beats Spurs: No, not the Rockets. Knicks guard Allan Houston was unstoppable, particularly in the clutch/Page 6S.

Not this time: The Knicks weathered every Spurs threat in the fourth quarter and eventually pulled away/Page 7S.

What they’re saying: Snippets from various writers’ takes on Game 3/Page 7S.

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Glenn Rogers

大苹果反击 - 马刺知道他们必须重整旗鼓来结束总决赛

马刺在媒体到来时对裁判的执法几乎没有提及，但他们对周一晚上在麦迪逊广场花园的哨声并不十分欣赏。

他们离开球场，沿着走廊前往更衣室时，并不像被打败的队伍。他们似乎处于冷静和接受的模式，已经为第四场比赛做好了准备。

“这就是主场优势的定义，”一位马刺球员在球队进入更衣室时说道。

“不会再有五对八的比赛了，”另一位球员说，指的是由三名裁判组成的裁判组。

“那真是一个不错的裁判组，”另一位球员笑着说。

自从第二场比赛输给明尼苏达后，马刺就没有输过比赛，取得了连续 12 场胜利。他们本来准备给尼克斯致命一击，在七场四胜制的 NBA 总决赛中取得 3-0 的领先优势。

然而，麻烦从一开始就出现了。

马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)，准备为 22 位亲朋好友上演一场精彩的表演，却遇到了麻烦。他在第一次持球时传球失误，并出现了失误。他在前两分钟内吃到两次犯规，并因对第二次吹罚大声抗议而被判技术犯规。

“第二次吹罚明显有问题，”埃利说。“我在家乡，我的家人都在。我买了很多票（22 张）。现在我想他们应该能看到第三场和第四场了。这要花我不少钱。”

埃利只打了 26 分钟，有 5 次犯规，得到 6 分。他错失了两个空位三分球。他在防守艾伦·休斯顿(Allan Houston) 时遇到了严重问题，后者最终以 34 分带领尼克斯取得胜利。

有一次，休斯顿绕过埃利，沿着底线冲向大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 和篮筐，埃利从后面犯规。

那是他的第三次犯规。埃利也不喜欢那个吹罚。他咬着牙，皱着眉头，举起双臂，向花园屋顶和篮球之神呼吁，然后回到板凳席。

贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 上场防守休斯顿，却很快就吃到两次犯规。

“我敢肯定那些吹罚不够标准，但我们必须适应，而我们没有做到，”杰克逊说。“当我吃到两次犯规时，我应该从中吸取教训。我们不能把这场失利归咎于任何人，只有我们自己，并向尼克斯表示祝贺。他们整晚都很强势。”

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 在防守拉特雷尔·斯普雷威尔(Latrell Sprewell) 和休斯顿时运气不佳。他们继续得分，而埃利奥特却无法进入状态。

“我在投篮时很焦虑，我必须冷静下来，”埃利奥特在得到 7 分（9 投 3 中）后说。埃利奥特在早期的投篮中犹豫不决，直到比赛后期才找到接球就投的节奏。

埃利奥特曾投中的一个三分球被裁判取消了，裁判迪克·巴维塔(Dick Bavetta) 推翻了罗尼·纳恩(Ronnie Nunn) 的判罚，说投篮是在对科特·托马斯(Kurt Thomas) 犯规后才投出。

“我不知道当时发生了什么，”埃利奥特说。

马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 也一样。他表达了自己的意见，并被判技术犯规。

“我想告诉你我对（裁判的执法）的真实感受，但我们不能把失利归咎于此，”波波维奇在被问及吹罚时笑着说。“他们比我们打得更好。我们只是被打败了。

“他们打得很有侵略性。他们有很多球员协防，封锁了突破路线。他们设置了强硬的掩护，不像（克里斯）·达德利(Chris Dudley) 和（拉里）·约翰逊(Larry Johnson) 是枕头。”

埃利奥特说他确实得到了空位投篮机会，但就是投不进。

“这场失利感觉不一样。我们已经很久没有输球了，”他说。“但我们从来没有想过这场比赛会是一场轻松的胜利。现在我们有点沮丧，但我们绝对没有放弃。”

点击查看原文：Big Apple Bites Back - Spurs know they must regroup to finish Finals

Big Apple Bites Back - Spurs know they must regroup to finish Finals

The Spurs said little about the officiating when the media arrived, but they weren’t overly appreciative of the whistle-blowing Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

They didn’t look like a beaten crew as they left the floor and followed the corridor to their locker room after falling to the Knicks 89-81. They appeared to be in a calm and accepting mode, already set for Game 4.

“That’s the definition of home court,” said one Spur to nobody in particular as the team filed into the locker room.

“There won’t be any more five-against-eight games,” said another, referring to the three-man officiating crew.

“That was some crew,” said still another, with a smile.

The Spurs hadn’t lost a game since the loss to Minnesota in Game 2, reeling off 12 straight victories. They had been poised to put the death blow on the Knicks and get up 3-0 in this best-of-seven NBA Finals.

Instead, trouble loomed from the outset.

Mario Elie, ready to turn in a showtime performance for 22 relatives and friends, ran into immediate problems. He bobbled a pass and turned the ball over on his first possession. He picked up two fouls in the first two minutes and drew a technical foul for barking about the second whistle.

“The second call was obviously questionable,” Elie said. “I’m home and I was in front of my family. I rustled up a lot of tickets (22). Now I guess they get to see Games 3 and 4. That will cost me a pretty penny.”

Elie, who played only 26 minutes, had five fouls and six points. He missed two open three-pointers. He had serious problems trying to guard Allan Houston, who wound up pushing the Knicks to victory with 34 points.

At one point, Houston stepped around Elie, sped down the baseline toward David Robinson and the basket, and Elie fouled him from behind.

That was personal No. 3. Elie didn’t like that call, either. He chomped, grimaced, raised his arms and, in an appeal to the Garden roof and basketball gods, returned to the bench.

Jaren Jackson came in to handle Houston and found himself with two quick fouls.

“I’m quite sure the calls weren’t up to par, but we have to adjust to that and we didn’t,” Jackson said. “When I picked up two fouls, I should have learned from that. We can’t be blaming this loss on anybody but ourselves and give credit to the Knicks. They were aggressive all night.”

Sean Elliott had little luck trying to guard Latrell Sprewell and then Houston. They continued to score, and Elliott couldn’t get his game going.

“I was anxious with my shots, I just have to settle down,” Elliott said after his seven-point showing on 3-of-9 shooting. Elliott hesitated on his early shots, not getting into a catch-and-fire rhythm until late in the game.

He had one three-pointer taken away when referee Dick Bavetta overruled Ronnie Nunn, saying the shot was made after a foul already had been called on Kurt Thomas.

“I didn’t know what was going on there,” Elliott said.

Neither did Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. He expressed his opinion and was hit with a technical.

“I’d like to tell you how I really feel about it (the officiating), but we can’t be blaming the loss on that,” Popovich said after smiling when asked about the calls. "They played a lot better than we did. We just took a beating.

“They played a strong defense. They had a lot of guys collapsing and they closed the lanes. They set hard screens, it’s not like (Chris) Dudley and (Larry) Johnson are pillows.”

Elliott said he did get open looks at the basket but just couldn’t put the shots down.

“The loss feels different. We haven’t had one for a while,” he said. “But we never thought this was going to be a cakewalk. We’re a little down now, but we’re certainly not out.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Johnny Ludden

重返地球 - 休斯顿带领尼克斯赢得总决赛首胜

大苹果城已经五年没有在麦迪逊广场花园举办 NBA 总决赛了。艾伦·休斯顿(Allan Houston)让这场等待变得值得。

休斯顿得到 34 分，带领纽约在周一晚上以 89-81 战胜了马刺队，现场有 19,763 名球迷观战，其中包括前尼克斯前锋查尔斯·奥克利(Charles Oakley)和费城控球后卫阿伦·艾弗森(Allen Iverson)。

纽约的胜利终结了马刺队创纪录的 12 连胜，也结束了他们连续第三次横扫系列赛的念头。尼克斯可以在周三晚上的第四场比赛中获胜，将总决赛比分扳平。

纽约主教练杰夫·范甘迪(Jeff Van Gundy)在总决赛中做出了他第一个重大调整，用马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)取代了克里斯·达德利(Chris Dudley)担任中锋。然而，坎比很快因为犯规问题回到了替补席上。他在第一节比赛开始不到 6 分钟就吃到第二个犯规，然后在第三节比赛初期，他和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)在一次双人犯规中，坎比撞向了罗宾逊，罗宾逊推开了他，两人都获得了技术犯规。马刺队保留了球权，罗宾逊在 10 秒钟后很快让坎比获得了第四次犯规。

坎比回归后，在休斯顿投篮不中后，他完成了一记扣篮，将尼克斯队的比分拉开到 69-62，当时比赛还剩 11 分 05 秒。休斯顿将领先优势扩大到 10 分，当时比赛还剩约 6 分钟。马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)随后完成了一次突破上篮加罚。罗宾逊也完成了一次打三分。当肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在比赛还剩 3 分 11 秒时投进一个三分球时，马刺队将比分追到 81-77。

这仅仅给了休斯顿一个提高个人数据的的机会。他在罚球线附近跳投得分，随后坎比转身投篮再得两分，尼克斯队在比赛还剩不到两分钟时将比分拉开到 85-77。

马刺队在第三节比赛初期将第一节比赛的 14 分落后缩小到 2 分，但他们只能眼睁睁地看着休斯顿连续得到 7 分，最后一记得分是一个跳投三分球。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在第三节比赛还剩 3 分 35 秒时，在底线转身出手，完成了一记 6 英尺的擦板球得分，将比分追平。

尼克斯队不需要很长时间来表达他们对重返麦迪逊广场花园的喜悦。在周三的比赛中，他们没有在一个单节比赛中得到超过 19 分，但在第三场比赛的开始阶段，他们就给马刺队灌下了 32 分。

休斯顿在本节比赛中得到 13 分，他早早地开始发力，在 4 秒钟内让埃利吃到两次犯规，埃利还因为他的行为获得了技术犯规，并被换下场。贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)替补上场，却在第四节比赛还剩 4 分 40 秒时也领到了两次犯规。

这迫使安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)与艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)搭档出场。丹尼尔斯在前两场比赛中只出场了 4 分钟，却投进了两个三分球。第二个三分球回应了克里斯·柴尔德斯(Chris Childs)的一个三分球，并将尼克斯队的领先优势缩小到 32-21，第一节比赛结束。

马刺队在第二节比赛中依靠邓肯和罗宾逊的发挥将比分追回。邓肯在本节比赛中得到 10 分，包括两次三加一。在邓肯被柴尔德斯抢断后，丹尼尔斯抢断并传球给快下的邓肯。然而，查理·沃德(Charlie Ward)在篮筐下撞向了邓肯，将原本轻松的扣篮变成了二加一，将纽约队的领先优势缩小到 42-38，当时比赛还剩 5 分 11 秒。

马刺队利用尼克斯队连续三次失误，将比分追到只差 2 分，然后带着 49-46 的比分进入中场休息。

NBA 总决赛

（马刺队以 2-1 领先于 7 场 4 胜制系列赛）

第三场比赛：@尼克斯 89，马刺 81

亮点：尼克斯队在第一节比赛结束后以 32-21 领先 … 马刺队没有领先过，只在第三节比赛中将比分追平到 58-58 … 艾伦·休斯顿得到 34 分，带领尼克斯队战胜了马刺队；拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)得到 24 分 … 马刺队出现了 18 次失误，造成 10 次失误。

第四场比赛：周三晚上 8 点 @麦迪逊广场花园，纽约

电视：NBA

广播：WOAI-AM 1200；西班牙语，KCOR-AM 1350

系列赛概览

（马刺队以 2-1 领先于 7 场 4 胜制系列赛）

比赛时间 比赛结果 亮点

第一场比赛 6 月 16 日 @马刺 89，尼克斯 77 邓肯：33 分，16 个篮板

第二场比赛 6 月 18 日 @马刺 80，尼克斯 67 邓肯：25 分，15 个篮板

第三场比赛 周一 @尼克斯 89，马刺 81 尼克斯队的休斯顿得到 34 分

比赛时间 比赛地点 电视 广播

第四场比赛 周三晚上 8 点 纽约 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

第五场比赛 周五晚上 8 点 纽约 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

x-第六场比赛 6 月 27 日 下午 6:30 阿拉莫穹顶 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

x-第七场比赛 6 月 29 日 晚上 8 点 阿拉莫穹顶 NBC WOAI-AM；KCOR-AM

x：如果需要

点击查看原文：Back to Earth - Houston fires Knicks to first Finals win

Back to Earth - Houston fires Knicks to first Finals win

The Big Apple had waited five years for the NBA Finals to return to Madison Square Garden. Allan Houston made it worth the wait.

Houston scored 34 points to lead New York to a 89-81 victory over the Spurs Monday night in front of 19,763 fans, including former Knicks forward Charles Oakley and Philadelphia point guard Allen Iverson.

New York’s win ended the Spurs’ NBA-record 12-game winning streak, also ending any thoughts of a third straight series sweep. The Knicks can tie the Finals at two victories apiece with a win in Game 4 Wednesday night.

New York coach Jeff Van Gundy made his first major adjustment of the Finals, starting Marcus Camby in place of Chris Dudley at center. Camby, however, quickly returned to the bench in foul trouble. He drew his second foul less than six minutes into the opening quarter, then picked up his third on a double foul with David Robinson early in the third quarter. Camby leaned into Robinson, who pushed him away, earning both players technicals. The Spurs retained possession and Robinson quickly picked up Camby’s fourth foul 10 seconds later.

Camby returned to follow Houston’s miss with a dunk that put the Knicks up 69-62 with 11:05 left in the game. Houston pushed the lead to 10 with about six minutes left. Mario Elie followed with a runner and a free throw. Robinson added a three-point play of his own. And when Sean Elliott drained a three-pointer with 3:11 left, the Spurs had closed to 81-77.

That merely gave Houston the chance to pad his stats. He pulled up above the free-throw line for two points, then Camby added two more on a turnaround to give the Knicks an 85-77 lead with a little more than two minutes left.

The Spurs had trimmed a 14-point first-quarter deficit to two early in the third only to watch Houston score seven straight points, that last coming on a pull-up three-pointer. Tim Duncan tied the game when he spun baseline for a six-foot bank shot with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

The Knicks didn’t need long to show their appreciation for returning to the Garden. After not scoring more than 19 points in a quarter Wednesday, New York hung 32 points on the Spurs to open Game 3.

Houston, who had 13 points in the quarter, went to work early, drawing two fouls in four seconds on Elie, who also picked up a technical on his way to the bench. Jaren Jackson replaced Elie only to earn two fouls of his own with 4:40 left in the quarter.

That pressed Antonio Daniels into action alongside Avery Johnson. Daniels, who had played all of four minutes in the first two games, buried a pair of three-pointers. The second one answered a three-pointer by Chris Childs and cut the Knicks lead to 32-21 at the end of the first quarter.

The Spurs climbed back behind Duncan and Robinson in the second quarter. Duncan had 10 points in the quarter, including a pair of three-point plays. After Duncan was stripped by Childs, Daniels came up with a steal and found Duncan ahead on the break. Charlie Ward, however, slammed into Duncan at the rim, turning an easy dunk into a three-point play that trimmed New York’s lead to 42-38 with 5:11 left.

The Spurs, taking advantage of three straight turnovers by the Knicks, got as close as two before going into the locker room at halftime down 49-46.

NBA Finals

(Spurs lead best-of-seven 2-1)

Game 3: @Knicks 89, Spurs 81

Highlights: Knicks led 32-21 after first quarter … Spurs never led, tying the game only at 58-58 in the third period … Allan Houston scorched S.A. for 34 points; Latrell Sprewell added 24 … Spurs committed 18 turnovers, forced 10.

Game 4: 8 p.m. Wednesday @Madison Square Garden, New York

TV: NBA

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

Series at a glance

(Spurs lead best-of-seven series 2-1)

When Outcome Highlight

Game 1 June 16 @Spurs 89, Knicks 77 Duncan: 33 pts., 16 reb.

Game 2 June 18 @Spurs 80, Knicks 67 Duncan: 25 pts., 15 reb.

Game 3 Monday @Knicks 89, Spurs 81 Knicks’ Houston scores 34

When Where TVRadio

Game 4 8 p.m. Wednesday New YorkNBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

Game 5 8 p.m. Friday New York NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x-Game 6 6:30 p.m. June 27 Alamodome NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x-Game 7 8 p.m. June 29 Alamodome NBC WOAI-AM; KCOR-AM

x: if necessary

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Cindy Tumiel

充满热情的球迷让球馆沸腾

周一晚上 8 点刚过，炒作机器全面启动。

阿拉莫圆顶球馆灯光熄灭，聚光灯开始在人群中扫射，烟火爆鸣。

银色舞者们冲进球场，伴随着摇滚音乐扭动身体，并鼓励观众站起来。

球迷们做出了回应。

他们挥舞着旗帜和标语，做起了“人浪”，尖叫着，跺着脚，直到球馆的混凝土墙壁都开始颤抖。这是圣安东尼奥在马刺队比赛中所期望的一切。

只是缺少了一样东西。马刺队无处可寻。

主队距离这里约 1500 英里，正在麦迪逊广场花园打 NBA 总决赛第三场，对手是纽约尼克斯队。

在他们的主场，大约 8500 名忠实球迷聚集在巨型记分牌前，观看 NBC 对比赛的转播，享受着彼此的陪伴，并制造着足够的噪音，也许可以传到远在纽约大苹果的马刺球员耳中。

“无论他们在哪里比赛，我们都必须支持他们，” 克里克·史密斯 (Cricket Smith) 说，她与丈夫凯文 (Kevin) 一起来到球馆。“是的，我们可以在家里观看比赛，但我们不会被这么多马刺球迷包围。”

维罗妮卡·萨尔德利奇 (Veronica Sardelich) 也表达了相同的感受。她给 3 岁的女儿安妮萨 (Anissa) 穿上了小型马刺队球衣，戴上了白色发带，从波蒂特 (Poteet) 开车过来，陪同的是从贝城 (Bay City) 来的侄女詹妮弗·萨尔德利奇 (Jennifer Sardelich)。

“他们不在家比赛也没关系，”维罗妮卡·萨尔德利奇说。“我告诉詹妮弗，‘我们可以待在家里，也可以来这里，为他们加油。’”

下午 5 点 30 分，球迷们开始在球馆外排队，距离比赛开始还有 2.5 个小时，距离球馆大门开放还有 30 分钟。门票是免费的，对许多人来说，这是他们在冠军赛期间进入球馆的唯一机会。

少年大卫·埃尔南德斯 (David Hernandez)、杰西卡·埃尔南德斯 (Jessica Hernandez)、拉米罗·罗德里格斯 (Ramiro Rodriguez) 和布兰登·哈特利布 (Brandon Hartlieb) 从维多利亚法院 (Victoria Courts) 走过来，那里是一个位于圆顶球馆对面，隔着 37 号州际公路的公共住房项目。他们在前排坐下，几乎正对着巨型记分牌。

“我们只是想坐在最前面观看比赛，”大卫·埃尔南德斯说。

瑞秋·卡尔比略 (Rachel Calbillo) 和萨巴斯·卡尔比略 (Sabas Calbillo) 带着 5 岁的儿子埃里克 (Eric) 和 9 岁的儿子萨巴斯 (Sabas) 来到阿拉莫圆顶球馆。这对住在杰斐逊街区的夫妇很少带孩子们参加比赛。

“这是他们最接近决赛，真正进入球馆的机会，”瑞秋·卡尔比略指着儿子们说。

儿子萨巴斯说他喜欢马刺队互相配合的方式。

“他们组建了一支团队，他们不互相争吵，也不互相吼叫，”他说。

埃里克被活动的更华丽一面所吸引。

“他们有银色舞者，”他兴奋地说。

赛前最大的欢呼声之一是送给鲁比·冈萨雷斯 (Ruby Gonzales) 和黛安娜·冈萨雷斯 (Diana Gonzales) 的，她们是姐妹，也是贝基定制皮纳塔 (Becky’s Custom Pinatas) 的合伙人，这是她们家族的生意。她们带着一个巨大的皮纳塔，上面是马刺队球星蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 的复制品。一个较小的形象从邓肯的肩膀上倒挂着，是尼克斯队球员拉特雷尔·斯普雷韦尔 (Latrell Sprewell) 的复制品。

“因为他整个比赛都像个孩子一样，”鲁比·冈萨雷斯说。

她们预计将在她们计划的冠军赛后派对上对这个皮纳塔进行测试。城里任何想要类似复制品的人都要做好支付约 60 美元的准备。除了邓肯。

“我们会送给他一个。只要他摆姿势拍照，并拥抱我们，”黛安娜·冈萨雷斯说。

在沃尔夫球场，在威奇托游骑兵队 (Wichita Wranglers) 和圣安东尼奥传教士队 (San Antonio Missions) 的双重赛第二场比赛中，球和击球似乎并没有引起太多关注。

那是因为传教士队带来了一个 16 英尺乘 12 英尺的 Daktronics 视频屏幕来播放马刺队的比赛。

巧合的是，当艾弗里·约翰逊 (Avery Johnson) 在上半场最后时刻为马刺队投进一球，将球队距离尼克斯队仅差 2 分时，传教士队的指定击球手托尼·莫塔 (Tony Mota) 正好在右外野墙上击出二垒打。

莫塔可能会争辩说，欢呼声是为了他的击球，但当时许多球迷都在看着大屏幕。

其中一位是圣安东尼奥人比尔·霍尔沙克 (Bill Horschak)，他带着马刺队帽子和马刺队精神来到球场。他并不知道球场会有视频屏幕，但当他在一个包厢里看到它时，他很高兴。

“如果我的包厢里没有电视，我会自己带一个，”霍尔沙克说。“无论如何，我都要看比赛。”

撰稿人李·谢德 (Lee Scheide) 参与了这篇报道。

点击查看原文：Fans filled with spirit have the dome rocking

Fans filled with spirit have the dome rocking

The hype machine swung into full gear a few minutes after 8 p.m. Monday.

The Alamodome faded to black. Spotlights began waving through the crowd. Pyrotechnics boomed.

The Silver Dancers dashed onto the court, gyrating to rock music and egging the crowd to its feet.

Fans responded.

They shook their banners and signs. They did “the wave.” They screamed and stomped their feet until the concrete walls of the stadium shook. It was everything San Antonio has come to expect at a Spurs game.

Except for one thing. The Spurs were nowhere in sight.

The home team was some 1,500 miles away, playing in Madison Square Garden in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.

Back on their home court, about 8,500 loyal fans gathered around the Jumbotron scoreboard to watch the NBC telecast of the game, engage in camaraderie and make enough noise, maybe, to be heard by Spurs players far away in the Big Apple.

“We’ve got to support them, no matter where they play,” said Cricket Smith, who came with husband Kevin to the dome. “Yes, we could watch them at home, but we wouldn’t be surrounded by this many Spurs fans.”

Veronica Sardelich expressed the same sentiment. She dressed daughter Anissa, 3, in a tiny Spurs jersey and white hair bows and drove in from Poteet with niece Jennifer Sardelich, who’s visiting from Bay City.

“It doesn’t matter that they’re not playing here,” Veronica Sardelich said. “I told Jennifer, ‘We can sit at home or we can come over here and really cheer them on.’”

Fans began lining up outside the dome around 5:30 p.m., 21/2 hours before the game and 30 minutes before doors to the facility opened. Tickets were free and, for many, represented the only real chance to get inside the dome during the championship event.

Teen-agers David Hernandez, Jessica Hernandez, Ramiro Rodriguez and Brandon Hartlieb walked over from Victoria Courts, a public housing project across Interstate 37 from the dome. They took seats in the front row, almost directly in front of the Jumbotron.

“We just wanted to watch them front and center,” David Hernandez said.

Rachel and Sabas Calbillo were able to bring sons Eric, 5, and Sabas, 9, to the Alamodome. A family outing to a game is rare for the couple who live in the Jefferson neighborhood.

“This is the closest they’re going to get to the Finals, to actually being in the dome,” Rachel Calbillo said, motioning to her sons.

Son Sabas said he likes the way the Spurs work together.

“They have put together a team. They don’t fight or yell at each other,” he said.

Eric was drawn to the flashier aspects of the event.

“They have the Silver Dancers,” he exclaimed.

Some of the biggest pregame cheers went to Ruby and Diana Gonzales, sisters and partners in Becky’s Custom Pinatas, the family business. They came toting a giant pinata replica of Spurs star Tim Duncan. A smaller figure hung-upside down from Duncan’s shoulder, crafted in the image of Knicks player Latrell Sprewell.

“Because he’s been such a baby through the whole thing,” Ruby Gonzales said.

They expect to put the pinata to its test at a post-championship party they are planning. Anyone in the city who wants a similar replica should be prepared to pay about $60. Except maybe Duncan.

“We’ll give him one. As long as he poses for pictures and gives us a hug,” Diana Gonzales said.

Over at Wolff Stadium, balls and strikes seemed to garner less attention during the second game of a doubleheader between the Wichita Wranglers and San Antonio Missions.

That’s because the Missions brought in a 16-by-12 Daktronics Video Board to show the Spurs game.

Coincidentally, as Avery Johnson was hitting the final Spurs’ basket of the first half to pull the team within two of the Knicks, Missions designated hitter Tony Mota was ripping a double off the right-field wall.

Mota may argue that the cheers were for his hit, but many of the fans were looking toward the big screen at the time.

One of those was San Antonian Bill Horschak, who came to the game wearing his Spurs cap on his head and his Spurs pride on his sleeve. He didn’t know the video board was going to be at the game, but he was happy when he saw it from one of the suites.

“If they didn’t have a television in the box I was sitting in, I would have brought one with me,” Horschak said. “One way or the other, I was going to be able to watch the game.”

Staff Writer Lee Scheide contributed to this report.

By Cindy Tumiel, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Tim Griffin

马刺冲击总冠军收视率下降

前两场比赛的电视收视率大幅下降，尽管纽约是美国最大的媒体市场。

第二场比赛的过夜收视率比上赛季芝加哥对阵犹他州的第二场比赛下降了 44%。周五的第二场比赛比 1994 年总决赛休斯顿对阵纽约的第二场比赛下降了 21%，那场比赛在O·J·辛普森因谋杀指控被捕前不久，被洛杉矶警方追捕的事件打断。

NBA 总裁大卫·斯特恩(David Stern)表示，他不担心收视率下降，称去年迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)的最后一次季后赛表现提升了收视率。

“这对我来说并不令人担忧，”斯特恩说。“现实情况是，在去年的总决赛中，尤其是，人们收看比赛是为了见证一位史上最伟大的天才的最后舞蹈，所以我们预计随着季后赛的进行，收视率会大幅下降。”

马刺后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)对收视率下滑有一个现成的解释。

“当迈克尔·乔丹离开时，电视收视率肯定会下降，”约翰逊说。“无论如何，它都会下降。”

另一个原因可能是 NBA 停摆带来的挥之不去的情绪，导致赛季缩短到 50 场比赛。

“我认为人们已经原谅我们，但我认为他们没有忘记，”约翰逊说。“但与此同时，联盟今年在很多方面都强势回归。在很多方面，我们仍在追赶。

“现在是一个新的联盟。迈克尔走了，所以这是一个新的联盟，一个新的时代，随着我们进入新的千年。”

• 角色扮演：马刺后卫史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)对为什么大多数优秀球队都有在整个职业篮球界都知名的角色球员给出了一个简单的解释。

“我认为，你赢得比赛就会展现出所有好的东西，”科尔说。“有很多在糟糕的球队中担任角色球员的家伙，但没有人关心他们。当你获胜时，你会得到很多曝光。”

• 幸运之旅：科尔说，他经常从亚利桑那大学和芝加哥公牛队的队友朱德·布赫勒(Jud Buechler)那里听到关于他与马刺队一起重返总决赛的消息。

“他简直不敢相信，”科尔笑着说。“我竟然又回到了总决赛。太神奇了。”

科尔将在 1997 年和 1998 年成为芝加哥的两支夺冠球队的成员后，努力争夺他的第三个总冠军。（翻译注：1996年的总冠军成员也有科尔啊，此处原文有误）

“我几乎每天都在想这件事，”科尔说。“我知道我有多幸运。我想这是一种命运的安排，或者我知道如何选择球队。”

• 表达的艺术：尼克斯前锋马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)拥有联盟中最华丽的纹身之一，在他的右臂上部刻着两个汉字。

坎比说，上面的纹身意思是“我爱我的家人”，另一个意思是“努力成为最好”。

这位前马萨诸塞州的明星还在他的左臂上有一个更传统的纹身。它展示了一个篮球穿过篮筐，上面写着他的名字：Mr. Camby。

• 球队老脾气？老将马刺后卫马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)给他的球队带来了独特的领导力和态度，这是他的队友们所说的。

“如果这支球队有七个小矮人，他会是脾气暴躁的，”马刺前锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)说。

• AJ 的方式：艾弗里·约翰逊在比赛前屏蔽了大多数干扰。他在周一投篮训练时说，他不知道纽约前锋拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)在周日的训练中被罚款。

“昨天 LJ 发生了什么事？”约翰逊问道。“这表明我看了多少比赛。”

点击查看原文：Ratings down for Spurs' run for world title

Ratings down for Spurs’ run for world title

Television ratings were down substantially for the first two games of the series, even though New York is the largest media market in the country.

The overnight ratings for Game 2 were down 44 percent from last season’s Chicago-Utah Game 2. Friday’s Game 2 was down 21 percent from the second game of the '94 Finals between Houston and New York, a game that was interrupted by the chase of O.J. Simpson by Los Angeles police shortly before his arrest on murder charges.

NBA commissioner David Stern said he is not worried about the dip, saying that last year was boosted by Michael Jordan’s final playoff appearance.

“It is not alarming to me,” Stern said. “The reality is that in last year’s Finals, particularly, people tuned in to see the last dance of one of the greatest talents ever, and so we expected an enormous fall-off as the playoffs went on.”

Spurs guard Avery Johnson had a ready explanation for the ratings slump.

“TV ratings are going to go down when Michael Jordan leaves,” Johnson said. “It was going to go down no matter what.”

Another reason could be lingering sentiment from the NBA lockout, which caused the season to be shortened to 50 games.

“I think people have forgiven us, but I don’t think they’ve forgotten,” Johnson said. "But at the same time, the league has come back very strong this year in a lot of different ways. In a lot of ways we’re still playing catch-up.

“It’s a new league now. Michael’s gone, so it’s a new league and a new era as we go into the new millennium.”

- Role call: Spurs guard Steve Kerr had an easy explanation of why most good teams have role players whose talents are known throughout professional basketball.

“I think the fact you win exposes everything that’s good,” Kerr said. “There are plenty of guys who are role players on bad teams, but nobody cares about them. You get a lot of exposure when you win.”

- Lucky run: Kerr said he has heard frequently from former University of Arizona and Chicago Bulls teammate Jud Buechler about his reappearance in the Finals with the Spurs.

“He just can’t believe it,” Kerr said with a laugh. “Here I am back in the Finals again. It’s pretty amazing.”

Kerr will be gunning for his third straight championship after being a member of two Chicago teams that won titles in 1997 and '98.

“I think about it pretty much every day,” Kerr said. “I know how lucky I am. I guess it’s a twist of fate, or I know how to pick a team.”

- The art of expression: Knicks forward Marcus Camby has one of the most flamboyant tattoos in the league, with two Chinese characters traced on his upper right arm.

Camby said the upper tattoo means “I love my family,” and the other reads “Strive to be the best.”

The former Massachusetts standout also has a more conventional tattoo on his left arm. It shows a basketball going through a hoop with his name: Mr. Camby.

- Team grump? Veteran Spurs guard Mario Elie gives his team a unique blend of leadership and attitude, according to his teammates.

“If this team had seven dwarfs, he’d be Grumpy,” Spurs forward Will Perdue said.

- The AJ way: Avery Johnson blocks out most distractions before a game. He said at Monday’s shootaround that he did not know about New York forward Larry Johnson’s fine at Sunday’s practice.

“What happened with LJ yesterday?” Johnson asked. “That shows you how much I’ve been watching.”

By Tim Griffin, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Roy Bragg

纽约被抢劫 - 尼克斯偷走了马刺横扫的希望

就在圣安东尼奥球迷准备给纽约尼克斯盖上棺材板的时候，他们发现了一丝生机。

尼克斯在 NBA 总决赛中首次展现出活力，在周一晚上麦迪逊广场花园 19,763 名观众的欢呼声中，以 89-81 的比分惊险战胜了圣安东尼奥马刺。

这场胜利将马刺在七场四胜制的系列赛中的领先优势缩小到 2-1，这意味着至少还要在纽约进行两场比赛。

在阿兰·休斯顿(Allan Houston) 贡献 34 分，拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell) 贡献 24 分的情况下，尼克斯克服了马刺的身高优势，以及他们在前两场比赛中对他们的防守。

他们从未落后，尽管马刺紧追不舍，并在第三节还剩 3 分 35 秒时将比分追至 58 平。

但马刺却无法摆脱困境。马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie) 和贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson) 在第一节早期就陷入了犯规麻烦，马刺全场比赛出现了 20 次失误，而尼克斯只有 10 次。

从积极的一面来看，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson) 最终得到 25 分和 10 个篮板。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 得到 20 分和 12 个篮板，但他也出现了 5 次失误，并在比赛结束阶段错失了一些关键投篮。

除了将尼克斯带回系列赛之外，他们的胜利还破坏了圣安东尼奥在季后赛客场的完美战绩，并终结了他们创纪录的 12 连胜。

对于纽约的忠实球迷来说，他们在短短一周内从趾高气昂变得羞怯，周一这场胜利简直是天降福音。

现场观众包括马特·狄龙(Matt Dillon)、比利·克里斯托(Billy Crystal)、伍迪·艾伦(Woody Allen)、克里斯·洛克(Chris Rock)、埃德·布拉德利(Ed Bradley) 以及尼克斯铁杆球迷斯派克·李(Spike Lee)，他坐在场边。

前圣安东尼奥市长亨利·西斯内罗斯(Henry Cisneros) 也观看了比赛，他承认麦迪逊广场花园的观众是比赛结果的一个主要因素。

“麦迪逊广场花园是一个非常令人敬畏的地方，”他说。“但我认为马刺周五晚上还会在这里结束系列赛。”

麦迪逊广场花园的观众意识到了他们在比赛中所扮演的角色。

“嘿，杰克博士！”肯·施莱辛格(Ken Schlesinger) 在比赛结束后朝广播评论员兼前波特兰开拓者队教练杰克博士·拉姆齐(Dr. Jack Ramsay) 大喊。拉姆齐预测马刺将以 4-0 横扫。 “我以为会是横扫呢。”

施莱辛格说，麦迪逊广场花园的观众起了决定性作用。

“我一直觉得观众会帮助尼克斯，”他说。“这里的球迷比马刺之前遇到的任何球迷都要难缠。波特兰的球迷很礼貌。洛杉矶的球迷无动于衷。纽约的球迷则非常难缠。”

凯蒂·威廉姆森(Katie Williamson) 说：“我现在对 (这个系列赛) 感到好多了。”

与圣安东尼奥不同，那里马刺热潮盛行，这个钢铁之城在第三场比赛开始前的几天里采取了更冷静的态度。

在圣安东尼奥，任何静止的东西都被刷上了马刺的图案，或者贴上了与马刺相关的标语。

而在曼哈顿，至少没有看到任何尼克斯的标语。但有一个巨大的象征性标志立刻引起了人们的注意——帝国大厦的顶端，被蓝橙色的灯光照亮，代表着尼克斯的颜色。

另一个例子：在马刺的季后赛比赛开始前，阿拉莫穹顶外的气氛就像马戏团一样，响亮的音乐和狂欢的球迷在邓肯和罗宾逊两颗巨星的巨幅海报下游走。

麦迪逊广场花园外，街道永远是马戏团的氛围，永远有响亮的音乐，人们总是来来往往。最大的区别是只有一个横幅，上面写着“我依然相信”。

31 号咖啡馆的球迷们都相信。

“我认为主场优势将让我们缩小一些得分差距，”罗恩·罗斯纳(Ron Rosner) 说。

球迷们并不担心城里看不到任何支持尼克斯的标志。

“在纽约，即使这场比赛很重要，他们也习惯了这样的比赛，”尼克斯季票持有者迈克尔·米什金(Michael Mishkin) 说，他已经持有季票 20 年了。“每个人都很冷静。但一旦你走进麦迪逊广场花园，就会充满活力。”

“我们是一个非常感激的观众，”迈克尔·福特(Michael A. Ford) 说。“我们知道我们人少枪短。但我感谢尼克斯所做的一切。”

麦迪逊广场花园是一个舒适的地方，可以容纳 19,763 名观众，而阿拉莫穹顶在篮球配置下可以容纳 39,000 多名观众。在这里，观众离球场很近。前排座位可以触碰到球员。

尼克斯的欢呼声与马刺的集结号很相似，都是“Go, New York, Go”。与圣安东尼奥的口号不同，尼克斯的口号带有嘻哈节奏。

在大厅里，汉克·莱恩(Hank Lane) 乐团，一个由四个人组成的穿着燕尾服的组合，演奏着辛纳屈的标准曲目，但大部分观众对此漠不关心。

然后，歌手杰瑞·卡多内(Jerry Cardone) 对观众发表了讲话。

“今晚谁会赢？”他问。“只有一支球队。他们在哪里？”

乐队开始演奏城市的主题曲“纽约，纽约”。一对老夫妻在跳舞。一对年轻夫妻像火箭队那样踢着步子。

歌曲结束的时候，比赛即将开始，观众们鼓掌，至少持续了几秒钟，整个房间的纽约人做了他们从未做过的事情。

他们笑了。而且他们整晚都在笑。

点击查看原文：Mugged in N.Y. - Knicks steal hopes for Spurs sweep

Mugged in N.Y. - Knicks steal hopes for Spurs sweep

Just when San Antonio fans were ready to fit the New York Knicks for a toe tag, there was a pulse.

Showing signs of life for the first time in the NBA Finals, the Knicks surprised the San Antonio Spurs 89-81 before 19,763 thankful fans Monday night in Madison Square Garden.

The victory cut the Spurs’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1 and means at least two more games will be played in the Big Apple.

Behind Allan Houston’s 34 points and Latrell Sprewell’s 24, the Knicks overcame the Spurs’ height advantage and a defense that had stifled them in the first two games.

They never trailed, although the Spurs stuck around, actually tying the game at 58 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

But the Spurs couldn’t get untracked. Mario Elie and Jaren Jackson got into foul trouble early in the first quarter, and the Spurs committed 20 turnovers to 10 for the Knicks.

On the positive side, David Robinson finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Tim Duncan had 20 points and 12 rebounds, but also had five turnovers and missed a couple of key shots down the stretch.

Besides putting them back in the series, the Knicks’ victory spoiled San Antonio’s perfect postseason road mark and ended a playoff record 12-game winning streak.

For the New York faithful, who within a week had gone from brash to bashful, Monday’s victory was a godsend.

The crowd included Matt Dillon, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Chris Rock, Ed Bradley and Knicks diehard Spike Lee, who sat courtside.

Also attending was former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, who admitted the Garden crowd was a major factor in the game’s outcome.

“The Garden is a very intimidating place,” he said. “But I think the Spurs will still finish it here on Friday night.”

The Garden crowd realized the part it played in the game.

“Hey, Dr. Jack!” Ken Schlesinger yelled at radio commentator and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Dr. Jack Ramsay after the game. Ramsay had picked the Spurs to win in four games. “I thought it was going to be a sweep.”

Schlesinger said the Garden crowd made the difference.

“I felt all along the crowd would help the Knicks,” he said. “It’s a lot tougher crowd than what the Spurs have faced before. Portland is polite. Los Angeles is indifferent. New York is a tough crowd.”

Said Katie Williamson: “I feel a lot better about (this series) now.”

Unlike San Antonio, where Spurs fever runs wild, this hardened city took a cooler approach in the days leading up to Game 3.

In San Antonio, everything that isn’t moving has been painted or sports a Spurs-related message.

In Manhattan, at least, no Knicks signs were visible. But one big symbol was immediately noticeable - the top of the Empire State Building, bathed in blue-and-orange lights, representing the Knicks’ colors.

Another example: Before Spurs playoff games, the atmosphere outside the Alamodome is akin to a circus, with loud music and partying fans milling under two giant banners of stars Duncan and Robinson.

Outside the Garden, the streets always are a circus, there’s always loud music, and people are always milling about. Big difference - there’s just one banner and it says “I Still Believe.”

The fans at Cafe 31 did.

“I think the home court is going to allow us to cut some of the point spread,” Ron Rosner said.

Fans didn’t worry that no signs of support were visible in town.

“In New York, even though this game is big, they’re used to games like this,” said Michael Mishkin, a Knicks season ticket holder for 20 years. “Everyone plays it cool. But once you get into the Garden, it’s electrifying.”

“We are a very appreciative crowd,” Michael A. Ford said. “We know we’re undermanned and outgunned. But I am grateful for what the Knicks have done.”

The Garden is a cozy place, seating 19,763 vs. 39,000-plus for the dome in its basketball configuration. Here, crowds are right on top on the floor. Front-row seats are within reach of the players.

The Knicks’ cheer, similar to the Spurs rallying cry, is “Go, New York, Go.” Unlike San Antonio’s slogan, this is set to a hip-hop beat.

Inside the lobby, the Hank Lane Orchestra, a four-piece, tuxedo- clad combo, played Sinatra standards to a largely indifferent crowd.

Then singer Jerry Cardone spoke to the crowd.

“Who’s going to win the game tonight?” he asked. “One team. And where are they?”

The band broke into the city’s theme, “New York, New York.” An old couple danced. A young couple kicked in time like Rockettes.

By the end of the song, as the game neared, the crowd applauded and, for at least a few seconds, a roomful of New Yorkers did the unthinkable.

They smiled. And they kept smiling all night.

See expressnews.com for complete Spurs coverage, including slide shows, lockerroom audio and forums.

By Roy Bragg, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Compiled from Wire Reports

他们怎么说

• 巴特·哈伯奇(Bart Hubbuch)，达拉斯晨报：这是圣安东尼奥马刺队首次进入NBA总决赛，他们每天都在学习新东西。

例如，就拿周一来说。

这场比赛的教训是这样的：当总决赛的前两场比赛如此惨不忍睹，以至于电视观众创纪录地纷纷离场，当NBC迫切希望除了横扫之外的任何结果，当全国最大的广播市场迅速消失时……

纽约尼克斯队很难被击败。非常难被击败。

我们并不是阴谋论者，但周一马刺队来到麦迪逊广场花园时，那里就像是一块草地。

一看赛前笔记，你就知道今晚对圣安东尼奥来说不会是寻常的一夜。

本场比赛的三位裁判中的两位，迪克·巴韦塔(Dick Bavetta)和罗尼·纳恩(Ronnie Nunn)，都是来自——你猜对了——纽约的本地人。而另一位裁判，休·霍林斯(Hue Hollins)，正好是1994年东部半决赛中对芝加哥公牛队斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)的幽灵犯规判罚的责任人。

受益于这一判罚的是谁？尼克斯队。这一判罚发生在哪里？麦迪逊广场花园。嗯哼。

• 伊恩·奥康纳(Ian O’Connor)，威彻斯特（纽约）日报：自从尼克斯队上次闯入总决赛以来，五年过去了，时间已经改变了他们的立场，加快了他们的步伐，拉伸了他们的四肢，将查尔斯·奥克利(Charles Oakley)变成了马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)，将尼克斯队从肉体变成了骨骼。

周一晚上，当那些美丽的人们来到花园，他们惊讶地发现，他们中的一员，凯特·莫斯(Kate Moss)，正在中锋位置上首发。不，应该是坎比，他带着他那无脂肪的身体走上跑道，加入了战斗，他第一次首发出场，也是最后一次希望。…

这以唯一有效的方式奏效了，在记分牌上。

花园里今晚充满了喧嚣，压制了圣安东尼奥汽车的鸣笛声。

并非马刺队无声无息地败下阵来。他们在整个比赛中都在板凳席上抱怨，责怪裁判，指向大卫·斯特恩(David Stern)的中场座位，威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)带头唱着一首阴谋论的歌曲。…

圣安东尼奥已经为横扫庆祝了，他们挤满了街道，使得——用坎比的话来说——“几乎不可能到达我们的酒店”。

尼克斯队的目标是带着一个活生生的赛季回到酒店。

坎比被要求带路。带着他那快速、流畅的尼克斯队，在五年前的失败之后将比赛再次带回德克萨斯州。

• 凯文·布莱克斯通(Kevin Blackistone)，达拉斯晨报：如果你曾经遇到过纽约人，你应该不会感到惊讶，他们可能有点傲慢——自负，如果你愿意的话。

但是，如果你看到了这座城市最喜欢的球队是如何与马刺队对抗，或者没有对抗，你可能会惊讶地发现，他们在第三场比赛中做到了他们所做的事情。

“神之殿”里充满了欢呼声。毫无疑问，在附近的NBC总部也充满了欢呼声。直到周一晚上，该网络都被困在一个收视率不高的黄金时段系列赛中，因为这场比赛看起来像是实力悬殊，而且两支球队都没有能够吸引迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)从退役中复出。

随着接下来的两场比赛在纽约进行，突然之间，这场系列赛有了看点。

• 迈克·怀斯(Mike Wise)，纽约时报：每次这场不可思议的比赛似乎都要撞到墙上时，沉着冷静的射手后卫阿兰·休斯顿(Allan Houston)都会带着他的球队攀登到另一个高峰，超越花园的混乱，超越迈阿密、印第安纳，以及周一晚上，超越NBA中剩下的最佳球队。

……这场胜利的永恒画面是休斯顿从罚球线上起跳，投出他那美妙的投篮。很明显：如果你想进入圣安东尼奥，你必须击败他。一次又一次。——摘自电讯报道

点击查看原文：WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

- BART HUBBUCH, The Dallas Morning News: This being their first NBA Finals and all, the San Antonio Spurs are learning something new every day.

Take Monday, for example.

The lesson went a little like this: When the first two games of the championship series are so brutally hideous that TV viewers tune out in record numbers, when NBC is getting antsy for anything but a sweep, and when the country’s largest broadcast market is fading fast …

The New York Knicks are hard to beat. Very hard to beat.

Not that we’re conspiracy theorists or anything, but Madison Square Garden might as well have been the grassy knoll when the Spurs showed up Monday.

One look at the pre-game notes told you this wasn’t going to be any ordinary night for San Antonio.

Two of the game’s three officials, Dick Bavetta and Ronnie Nunn, are natives of - you guessed it - New York. And the other official, Hue Hollins, just happened to be responsible for the phantom foul call on Chicago’s Scottie Pippen that essentially decided the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals.

The beneficiary of that call? The Knicks. The location of that call? Madison Square Garden. Hmmmm.

- IAN O’CONNOR, Westchester (N.Y.) Journal News: Five years have passed since the Knicks tried to barrel their way through the Finals. Time has softened their stance, quickened their feet and stretched their limbs, turning Charles Oakley into Marcus Camby, cutting the Knicks from beef to bone.

The conversion was completed Monday night, when the beautiful people arrived at the Garden to quite a surprise. One of their own, Kate Moss, was opening at center. No, make that Camby, who paraded his fat-free body down the runway and into the fray, a first-time starter and last-chance hope. …

It worked the only way that counts, on the board.

The Garden made all the noise this night, muting the honking cars of San Antonio.

Not that the Spurs went down quietly. They grumbled on their bench all game, chiding the referees, motioning toward the midcourt seat of David Stern as Will Perdue led a chorus of conspiracy. …

San Antonio had already partied over a sweep, filling the streets, making it - in Camby’s words - “nearly impossible to get to our hotel.”

The Knicks’ goal is to get back to that hotel with a living, breathing season.

Camby has been asked to show the way. To get his fast, sleek Knicks back to Texas five long years after they muscled their way to defeat.

- KEVIN BLACKISTONE, The Dallas Morning News: If you’ve ever met a New Yorker, it should come as no surprise that they can be a little arrogant - cocky, if you will.

But if you’ve seen how this city’s favorite team matches up, or doesn’t, against the Spurs, it should come as a shock that it was able to do what it did in Game 3.

There was much rejoicing in Da Godden. There was also much rejoicing, no doubt, at the nearby headquarters of NBC. Until Monday night, the network was stuck with a prime-time series that wasn’t drawing much interest because it looked like a mismatch, and neither team was able to lure Michael Jordan out of retirement.

With the next two games in New York, suddenly, the series has legs.

- MIKE WISE, The New York Times: Every time this implausible run seems about to hit a wall, the composed and clutch shooting guard Allan Houston backpacks his team to some other plateau, above the calamity of the Garden, above Miami, Indiana and, on Monday night, the best team left standing in the National Basketball Association.

… The enduring image of this victory was of Houston rising from the free throw line and dropping in his sweet shot. It is clear: You want to get to San Antonio, you have to go through him. Again. And again. - Compiled from Wire Reports

By Compiled from Wire Reports, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By Christopher Anderson

城市官员正在考虑游行方案

为了向圣安东尼奥马刺队致敬，预计将有 25 万名球迷参加在市中心，可能沿着河边举行的游行，并带头欢呼。

周一尚未公布包括时间和地点在内的关键细节；但是，市政府官员表示，预计本周晚些时候会公布计划。

这场游行仅仅是为纪念球队首次进入 NBA 总决赛而筹备的“全市庆祝活动”的一部分。

“我们可以在多个地点举行多项活动，”城市经理助理特拉维斯·毕肖普(Travis Bishop)说。

他预计将有 25 万人观看庆祝活动。

毕肖普说，在市中心或圣安东尼奥河上的游行绝对正在筹备中。

“我们确实会举行游行，”毕肖普说。“我们在街道上举行游行，在河上也举行游行。”

“我们已经考虑了几个方案，”市长霍华德·皮克(Howard Peak)补充道，并指出最大的未知数是时间安排，这在很大程度上取决于马刺队与纽约尼克斯队的系列赛的结束。

毕肖普说，无论输赢，城市都会在决赛结束后的一周内举行派对，并补充说，决赛和庆祝活动之间至少有一天的时间。

“可能是几天，”他说。

皮克透露了他希望大部分娱乐活动都在圣安东尼奥河上举行。该市每年在菲斯塔节和圣诞节前都会在河上举行游行。

“我希望至少有一部分活动在河上举行，因为它代表着圣安东尼奥，而且也是举办活动的最佳场所，”皮克说。“这将让许多人有机会观看和参与。

“我认为全世界的目光都集中在马刺队和圣安东尼奥身上，这种关注将在庆祝活动中持续下去，我们应该展示这条河。”

市长说，阿拉莫穹顶——它拥有音响系统、巨型电视屏幕和数万个座位——也可能参与庆祝活动。

“虽然河边有很多优点，但它不适合大型集会，”皮克说。“这是一个线性活动。

“我们也应该做一些可以让很多人同时观看同一个活动的事情，穹顶当然是一个显而易见的可能性。”

穹顶的使用时间安排方面存在一个障碍。德克萨斯州浸信会青年将在周五和周六举行年度会议。

阿拉莫穹顶主任迈克尔·阿宾顿(Michael Abington)说，穹顶最早可以在周日用于马刺队的庆祝活动。

马刺队发言人利奥·戈麦斯(Leo Gomez)说，他不认为马刺队和城市正在计划季后赛后的庆祝活动会给纽约尼克斯队的球员带来任何额外的动力。

“我们很乐意看到城市已经宣布无论结果如何他们都将举办庆祝活动。我们认为这很棒。”

戈麦斯说，何时向居民全面公布游行和计划中的其他庆祝活动，将由城市决定。

“事实是，还有很多比赛要打，因此可能会出现多种情况，”戈麦斯说。

“我认为，系列赛进行得越久，你就越开始关注潜在的情况，”戈麦斯说。“城市已经做好了这些决定的准备。我会把决定权留给他们，让他们决定何时开始告诉居民。”

点击查看原文：City officials are looking at options for parade

City officials are looking at options for parade

A downtown parade, possibly along the River Walk, is being planned to honor the San Antonio Spurs with an expected quarter-million fans leading the cheers.

Critical details including the time and place weren’t released Monday; however, city officials said they expected to go public with plans sometime this week.

The parade is just part of the “citywide celebration” that is being planned to mark the team’s first-ever NBA Finals appearance.

“We can have multiple activities at multiple locations,” said Travis Bishop, assistant to the city manager.

He expects as many as 250,000 people to view the festivities.

Bishop said a parade in the downtown area or on the San Antonio River is definitely in the works.

“We do parades,” Bishop said. “We have parades on our streets and parades down the river.”

“We’ve got several things in mind,” added Mayor Howard Peak, noting the big unknown is the schedule, which depends largely on the conclusion of the Spurs series with the New York Knicks.

Win or lose, the city will throw a party within a week of the final game, Bishop said, adding there will be at least one day between the decisive game and the celebration.

“It might be a few days,” he said.

Peak revealed his desire for much of the fun to take place on the San Antonio River. The city throws a river parade every year during Fiesta and before Christmas.

“I’d like to see at least part of what we do on the river because it represents San Antonio, and it’s a natural place to have it,” Peak said. "It would give lots of people the opportunity to view and participate.

“I think the attention of the world is on the Spurs and San Antonio and that will continue through that celebration and we ought to showcase the river.”

The mayor said the Alamodome - with its sound system, giant TV screens and tens of thousands of seats - also may be involved in the celebration.

“While the river is great for many reasons, it does not lend itself to a mass gathering,” Peak said. "It’s a linear event.

“We should also do something that will allow a lot of people to view the same thing at the same time and the dome is certainly an obvious possibility.”

There is one scheduling obstacle involving the dome. Texas Baptist youths are having an annual conference Friday and Saturday.

Alamodome Director Michael Abington said the earliest the dome could be used for a Spurs celebration is Sunday.

Spurs spokesman Leo Gomez said he didn’t believe the fact that the Spurs and the city were planning post-playoff festivities would provide any additional motivation to New York Knicks players.

“We’re comfortable with the fact that the city is already stating they want to hold the celebration regardless of the outcome. We think that’s wonderful.”

Gomez said it’s the city’s decision on when residents will be fully informed about the parade and the rest of the planned celebration.

“The fact of the matter is there’s still a lot of basketball to be played, therefore there are may scenarios that could unfold,” Gomez said.

“I think the further we go into the series the more you begin to focus on potential scenarios,” Gomez said. “The city’s got those decisions well in hand. I’m going to leave it up to them to determine when it’s time to start telling residents.”

By Christopher Anderson, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-06-22, By STAFF REPORTS

笔记本

收视率下滑：尽管纽约是全美最大的媒体市场，但系列赛的前两场比赛收视率大幅下滑。

第二场比赛的隔夜收视率比上赛季芝加哥对阵犹他州的第二场比赛下降了 44%。周五的第二场比赛比 1994 年休斯顿对阵纽约的总决赛第二场比赛下降了 21%，当时比赛被洛杉矶警方追捕奥·J·辛普森的事件打断，不久后辛普森因谋杀罪被捕。

NBA 联盟主席大卫·斯特恩(David Stern)表示，他不担心收视率下滑，称去年迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)的最后一次季后赛之旅推动了收视率。

“这对我来说并不令人担忧，”斯特恩说。“现实情况是，在去年的总决赛中，尤其是人们为了观看一位史上最伟大球星的最后一支舞蹈而收看比赛，所以我们预计随着季后赛的进行，收视率会大幅下降。”

马刺队后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)对收视率下滑给出了一个现成的解释。

“迈克尔·乔丹离开后，电视收视率肯定会下降，”约翰逊说。“无论如何它都会下降。”

另一个原因可能是 NBA 停摆留下的挥之不去的情绪，导致赛季缩短到 50 场比赛。

“我认为人们已经原谅了我们，但我不认为他们已经忘记，”约翰逊说。“但与此同时，联盟今年在很多方面都强势回归。”

- 表达的艺术：尼克斯队前锋马库斯·坎比(Marcus Camby)拥有联盟中最华丽的纹身之一，他的右臂上刻着两个汉字。

坎比说，下面的纹身意思是“我爱我的家人”，他小臂上的纹身则写着“努力成为最好的”。

这位前马萨诸塞州球星还在左臂上纹了一个更传统的纹身。它展示了一个篮球穿过篮筐，上面写着他的名字：坎比先生。

- 团队球员：马刺队的几位球员正在争先恐后地为朋友和家人购买周一下午比赛的门票。

替补前锋马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)有七位朋友和家人从他的家乡费城乘坐火车来观看第三场比赛。纽约本地人马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)说他买了 22 张票。

“这不过几千美元，所以我认为我可以接受，”埃利说。“如果我们赢得了（冠军），奖金将弥补这些开销。”

埃利把所有朋友和家人集中在花园上层同一个区域。

“我知道每个人都会坐在哪里，”伊莱说。“当我打出精彩的传球时，我知道应该朝我那一小块区域指一指。”

- 团队脾气暴躁者？据队友们说，埃利给球队带来了独特的领导力和个性。

“如果这支球队有七个小矮人，他就是脾气暴躁者，”马刺队前锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)说。

- 经济援助：斯特恩表示，联盟已经向负责管理大学体育运动的全国大学体育协会 (NCAA) 提出了关于如何在球员还在学校时补贴“即将进入 NBA 的球员”的想法。

斯特恩说，NBA 和球员协会讨论了针对被指定为可能被选秀的球员的“贷款计划”。他说，球员协会提出了这个想法。

“我们把这个想法带到了（NCAA）委员会，委员会任命了一个小组委员会，小组委员会又任命了一个工作组，我们正在等待他们的回应，”斯特恩说。

斯特恩表示，联盟和球员协会还在讨论对进入联盟的球员设置最低年龄要求，可能是 20 岁。

- 拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)对斯特恩无异议：斯特恩为周日对纽约前锋拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)做出的 25,000 美元罚款辩护。

约翰逊没有在尼克斯队训练前完成规定的 30 分钟媒体采访，因此尼克斯队也遭到了 25,000 美元的罚款。约翰逊还对一位女性 NBA 员工使用了粗俗的语言，告诉她他不“在乎”与媒体开始他的采访环节。

“不幸的是，你可以在大多数早报中看到关于拉里的报道，只需删除一些空格和脏话，”斯特恩说。“我们非常重视媒体对我们这项运动发展做出的贡献。

“我们知道，教练和球员承受着巨大的压力，而我们在这里举办的活动只会加剧这种压力。但（打职业篮球）是一门非常好的生意，它对人们很好。随之而来的一些义务和奖励。”

- 好运连连：马刺队后卫史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)表示，他经常收到来自前亚利桑那大学和芝加哥公牛队队友贾德·比奇勒(Jud Buechler)的电话，谈论他与马刺队一起重返总决赛。

“他简直不敢相信，”科尔笑着说。“我再次回到总决赛。真是太不可思议了。”

科尔正在努力赢得他的第三个连续冠军，此前他在 1997 年和 1998 年效力于芝加哥的两支夺冠球队。（翻译注：1996年科尔在也有总冠军啊）

点击查看原文：NOTEPAD

NOTEPAD

Ratings down: Television ratings were down substantially for the first two games of the series, even though New York is the largest media market in the country.

The overnight ratings for Game 2 were down 44 percent from last season’s Chicago-Utah Game 2. Friday’s Game 2 was down 21 percent from the second game of the '94 Finals between Houston and New York, a game that was interrupted by the chase of O.J. Simpson by Los Angeles police shortly before his arrest on murder charges.

NBA commissioner David Stern said he is not worried about the dip, saying that last year was boosted by Michael Jordan’s final playoff appearance.

“It is not alarming to me,” Stern said. “The reality is that in last year’s Finals, particularly, people tuned in to see the last dance of one of the greatest talents ever, and so we expected an enormous fall-off as the playoffs went on.”

Spurs guard Avery Johnson had a ready explanation for the ratings slump.

“TV ratings are going to go down when Michael Jordan leaves,” Johnson said. “It was going to go down no matter what.”

Another reason could be lingering sentiment from the NBA lockout, which caused the season to be shortened to 50 games.

“I think people have forgiven us, but I don’t think they’ve forgotten,” Johnson said. “But at the same time, the league has come back very strong this year in a lot of different ways.”

- The art of expression: Knicks forward Marcus Camby has one of the most flamboyant tattoos in the league, with two Chinese characters traced on his upper right arm.

Camby said the lower tattoo means “I love my family,” and the tattoo on his lower arm says “Strive to be the best.”

The former Massachusetts standout also has a more conventional tattoo on his left arm. It shows a basketball going through a hoop with his name: Mr. Camby.

- Team players: Several Spurs were scrambling to fill ticket requests for friends and family for Monday’s game.

Backup forward Malik Rose had seven friends and family members taking a train from his hometown of Philadelphia to come to Game 3. Native New Yorker Mario Elie said he bought 22 tickets.

“It’s only a couple of grand, so I guess I can live with it,” Elie said. “If we win (the championship), the bonus money will make up for it.”

Elie has clustered all of his friends and family in the same location in the upper reaches of the Garden.

“I know where everybody is going to sit,” Elie said. “When I make a good move, I know where to point at my little section up there.”

- Team grump? Elie gives his team a unique blend of leadership and attitude, according to teammates.

“If this team had seven dwarfs, he’d be Grumpy,” Spurs forward Will Perdue said.

- Financial aid: Stern said the league has approached the NCAA, the governing body for collegiate athletics, with ideas on how to subsidize “NBA-bound” players while they are still in school.

Stern said the NBA and the players association discussed a 'loan program" for players that were designated as likely draft picks. He said the players association proposed the idea.

“We took the idea to (an NCAA) committee that appointed a subcommitttee that appointed a task force, and we are waiting for a response,” Stern said.

Stern said the league and the players association are also talking about a minimum age requirement - perhaps 20 - for players coming into the league.

- LJ fine with Stern: Stern defended the $25,000 fine assessed to New York forward Larry Johnson on Sunday.

The Knicks also were fined $25,000 after Johnson did not spend the required entire 30 minutes in media interviews prior to Knicks practice. Johnson also used harsh language toward a female NBA employee, telling her he “didn’t give a big rat’s ass” about starting his session with the media.

“Unfortunately, you could - with certain blanks and expletives deleted - you could read about Larry in most of the morning newspapers,” Stern said. "We take very seriously the contribution that the media makes to the growth of our game.

“We know that there are pressures on coaches and players that the very event we have here intensifies. But (playing professional basketball) is a very good business and it treats people very well. There are certain obligations that go along with the rewards.”

- Lucky run: Spurs guard Steve Kerr said he has heard frequently from former University of Arizona and Chicago Bulls teammate Jud Buechler about his reappearance in the Finals with the Spurs.

“He just can’t believe it,” Kerr said with a laugh. “Here I am back in the Finals again. It’s pretty amazing.”

Kerr is gunning for his third straight championship after being a member of two Chicago teams that won titles in 1997 and '98. - Staff Reports

By STAFF REPORTS, via San Antonio Express-News