By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-10-17 14:25:30
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
4月14日，周日，在圣安东尼奥举行的一场NBA篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫小戴维·杜克（左）带球突破，底特律活塞队后卫马拉奇·弗林（中）和后卫小特洛伊·布朗（右）防守。 (美联社照片/迈克尔·托马斯)
休斯顿——去年4月走进亚特兰大的州立农业球馆时，马拉奇·弗林 (Malachi Flynn) 并不知道自己即将迎来职业生涯中最辉煌的一场比赛。
作为一支垂死的底特律球队的替补球员，弗林在又一个糟糕的赛季中毫无亮点，没有人会想到，在四个小节之后，他将进入篮球界最独家的俱乐部之一。
五十分？在一场NBA比赛中？由马拉奇·弗林得到？
“我只是手感火热，”身高6英尺1英寸的弗林说道，他现在正在为马刺队的一席之地而战。“那只是一个普通的夜晚。”
这是今年NBA中最轻描淡写的 understatement 之一。4月3日晚，弗林就像太阳一样火热。
他25投18中，三分球9投5中，罚球12罚9中。
当弗林结束比赛时，他追平了奥兰多魔术队的尼克·安德森，成为NBA历史上替补得分第二高的球员。排名第一的是贾马尔·克劳福德，他在2019年代表菲尼克斯太阳队砍下51分。
弗林所在的活塞队最终以113-121输给了老鹰队，但一个新的绰号诞生了。
“我几乎每天都对他说，”马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯说道。“50分先生。”
这是一个包括了许多大牌球星的俱乐部——威尔特·张伯伦、迈克尔·乔丹、科比·布莱恩特、卡里姆·阿卜杜尔-贾巴尔等等。
它也包括了一些不太出名的球员——萨迪克·贝、特伦斯·罗斯、小凯文·波特。
弗林将属于第二类。
他在这场比赛前场均5.2分的得分是联盟历史上50分比赛中最低的。
纵观NBA漫长的历史，共有166名球员至少有一次得分超过50分。弗林是马刺队目前季前赛名单中唯一完成这一壮举的球员。
当得知自己和马刺队传奇球星蒂姆·邓肯一样，只有一场50分的比赛时，弗林难以置信地摇了摇头。
“伙计，”他说，“这太疯狂了。”
总共有35名现役NBA球员在一场比赛中得到过50分。弗林是这份名单上唯一一个在下周全联盟裁员截止日期后可能失业的人。
活塞队在经历了NBA最差的14胜68负的赛季后放弃了弗林，马刺队在今年秋天与这位前圣地亚哥州立大学的球星签署了一份训练营合同。
弗林来到圣安东尼奥的时候，意识到自己进入球队的可能性很小。进入训练营时，马刺队的15名球员都已经获得了保障合同。
马刺队确实有三个双向合同名额中的一个可用。26岁的弗林意识到，他在NBA的未来之路可能会从发展联盟开始。
他与圣安东尼奥签约时就知道奥斯汀是一个选择。
“（马刺队）在培养球员方面有着悠久的历史，如果他们最终去了发展联盟，他们在那里有很高的成功率，”2020年多伦多猛龙队首轮秀弗林说道。“我觉得这里很适合我。”
弗林参加了马刺队前四场季前赛中的三场，场均上场5.5分钟。周四在休斯顿举行的季前赛最后一场比赛可能是他最后一次代表球队出场。
“他的训练营表现很好，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说道。“他投篮很准。他毫不留情。考虑到他有限的上场时间，我认为他做得很好。”
弗林也给圣安东尼奥的队友们留下了深刻的印象，尽管他的大部分功绩都是在训练馆的闭门训练中取得的。
“他没有得到很多上场时间来向球迷展示他能做什么，但我认为他对我们来说很棒，”巴恩斯说道。
如果弗林的下一站是发展联盟，那么，他至少还有自己在NBA的50分之夜。没有人能把它夺走。
在那场对阵亚特兰大的比赛中，弗林直到第一节还剩5分38秒才替补出场。他在下半场得到了33分。
弗林在第三节中途就打破了自己27分的职业生涯得分纪录。从那以后，州立农业球馆头顶上那块醒目的巨型记分牌一直在记录着他向50分迈进的步伐。
“一次暂停回来，我抬头一看，已经是40分了，”弗林说道。“我当时都不知道。在那时，我们仍然在努力赢得比赛。”
当数字跳动到44、46，然后是48时，弗林知道自己该怎么做了。
是时候去创造千载难逢的机会了。
“我当时想，‘是的，你得试着拿到50分，’”弗林说道。
弗林在比赛还剩30.1秒时投进了他创造历史的最后一球。他永远不会忘记在亚特兰大的记分牌上看到自己名字旁边那个巨大的圆形数字的感觉。
“能够在一场NBA比赛中做到这一点，这是一种超现实的感觉，”弗林说道。
仿佛是为了证明他的50分是多么的出人意料，两天后，弗林在输给孟菲斯的比赛中12投0中。
然而，弗林将永远拥有亚特兰大。
这就是加入50分俱乐部的意义所在。会员资格永远不会被取消。
“这在联盟里是很少见的，”巴恩斯说道。“马拉奇能够做到这一点，就足以说明他能取得什么样的成就。”
10月7日，周一，在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心举行的季前赛NBA比赛中，俄克拉荷马城雷霆队前锋马莱维·莱昂斯（17号）在圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫马拉奇·弗林（18号）和圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫小布兰登·波士顿（4号）的防守下投篮。马刺队以107-112输给了雷霆队。
周一上午，在胜利资本训练中心的马刺队媒体日活动中，马刺队的马拉奇·弗林。
德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市——11月2日：2022年11月2日，在圣安东尼奥AT&T中心举行的比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队28号球员查尔斯·贝西在比赛下半场盖掉了多伦多猛龙队22号球员马拉奇·弗林的投篮。
点击查看原文：″Mr. 50-Point Club″ Malachi Flynn vying for spot with Spurs
“Mr. 50-Point Club” Malachi Flynn vying for spot with Spurs
San Antonio Spurs guard David Duke, Jr., left, drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons guard Malachi Flynn, center, and guard Troy Brown, Jr., right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
HOUSTON – Walking into the State Farm Arena in Atlanta last April, Malachi Flynn had no inkling he was about to produce the game of his life.
Coming off the bench for a moribund Detroit team playing out the string on another miserable season, Flynn offered no clue he was four quarters away from entering one of the more exclusive clubs in basketball.
Fifty points? In an NBA game? From Malachi Flynn?
“I just got hot,” said Flynn, a 6-foot-1 journeyman guard now vying for a spot with the Spurs. “It was one of those nights.”
That is one of the more brazen understatements of the year in the NBA. On the night of April 3, Flynn got hot the way the sun is a little steamy.
He made 18 of his 25 field goals, hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and knocked down 9 of 12 free throws.
By the time Flynn was finished, he had equaled Orlando’s Nick Anderson for the second-most points off the bench in the NBA history. First on the list is Jamal Crawford, who pumped in 51 for the Phoenix Suns in 2019.
Flynn’s Pistons ultimately lost to the Hawks 121-113, but a new moniker was born.
“I say it to him almost every day,” Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said. “Mr. 50-Point Club.”
It is a club that includes several obvious names – Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, etc.
It also includes some less obvious names – Saddiq Bey, Terrence Ross, Kevin Porter Jr.
Flynn would fall into the second category.
His 5.2 points-per-game average heading into the game was the lowest at the time of a 50-point game in league history.
In all, 166 players in the long history of the NBA have topped 50 points at least once. Flynn is the only player on the Spurs’ current preseason roster to have accomplished that feat.
Informed he has as many 50-point games on his resume as Spurs great Tim Duncan (one), Flynn shook his head in amazement.
“Man,” he said, “that’s crazy.”
In all, there are 35 active NBA players to have reached 50 points in a game. Flynn is the only one on that list liable to be looking for work after the league-wide cut deadline next week.
After the Pistons let Flynn walk in the aftermath of an NBA-worst 14-68 season, the Spurs signed the former San Diego State standout to a training camp deal this fall.
Flynn came to San Antonio realizing the chances of making the team were slim. The Spurs already had a full roster of 15 players on guaranteed contracts entering camp.
The Spurs do have one of their three two-way contract slots available. The 26-year-old Flynn is aware his path forward in the NBA might run through the G League.
He signed with San Antonio knowing Austin was an option.
“There’s a history of what (the Spurs) have been able to do with people, if they do end up going to the G League, they have a good success rate at that,” said Flynn, a first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2020. “It felt like a good spot for me.”
Flynn appeared in three of the Spurs’ first four preseason games, averaging 5.5 minutes. It is possible Thursday’s preseason finale at Houston will be his final appearance with the team.
“He’s had a good camp,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He shoots the heck out of the ball. He takes no prisoners. With the limited time he had, I thought he did well.”
Flynn has impressed teammates in San Antonio as well, though most of his exploits have come behind the closed doors of the practice gym.
“He hasn’t had a lot of minutes for fans to see what he can do, but I think he’s been great for us,” Barnes said.
If the G League is where things are headed for Flynn, well, he’ll always have his 50-point game in the NBA. Nobody can take it away.
Flynn did not enter that game in Atlanta until the 5:38 mark of the first quarter. He scored 33 points in the second half.
Flynn passed his career high of 27 points midway through the third quarter. From there, the unmissable gargantuan scoreboard overhead at State Farm Arena kept track of his progress toward 50.
“Coming out of one timeout I looked up and it was at 40,” Flynn said. “I didn’t even know. At that point, we’re still trying to win the game.”
As the number ticked to 44, 46 and then 48, Flynn knew what he had to do.
It was time to go for once-in-a-lifetime.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, you need to try to get 50,’ “ Flynn said.
Flynn recorded his final history-making basket with 30.1 seconds to go. He will never forget the feeling of seeing that big, round number next to his name on the Atlanta scoreboard.
“It was a surreal feeling to be able to do that in an NBA game,” Flynn said.
As if to prove how out-of-left-field his 50-piece was, two nights later Flynn went 0-for-12 in a loss at Memphis.
Flynn will always have Atlanta, however.
That’s the one thing about joining the 50-point club. Membership can never be revoked.
“It’s something in this league that is rare to do,” Barnes said. “For Malachi to have achieved that, it just shows what he’s able to accomplish.”
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Malevy Leons (17) goes up for a shot over San Antonio Spurs guard Malachi Flynn (18) and San Antonio Spurs guard Brandon Boston Jr. (4) in the second half of the pre-season NBA match-up at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs fell to the Thunder, 112-107.
Spurs Malachi Flynn during Spurs Media Day activities Monday morning at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 02: Charles Bassey #28 of the San Antonio Spurs blocks shot of Malachi Flynn #22 of the Toronto Raptors iin the second first half at AT&T Center on November 02, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News