By Jacob Douglas | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-03-11 11:40:04
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。
凯尔登·约翰逊和哈里森·巴恩斯几乎凭借一己之力带领圣安东尼奥在第四节取得胜利。
“防守赢得总冠军”这句话经常用来形容最优秀的球队。它也能总结出一支球队为何如此挣扎。圣安东尼奥马刺队就属于后一种情况。在周日晚间让明尼苏达森林狼队拿到141分之后，背靠背第二场比赛中，马刺队在主场以129-133的比分不敌达拉斯独行侠队，又一次让对手得了太多分。
“在很大程度上，球员的努力和意图都是有的，”马刺队的代理教练米奇·约翰逊说道。“但一些直线突破和第一道防线的防守并不尽如人意。”
尽管在大部分时间里都处于领先，但圣安东尼奥还是无法阻止独行侠，尤其是在下半场，这最终导致了他们的失利。防守问题掩盖了球队侧翼球员在进攻端的出色表现。凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)、德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)和哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)都在圣安东尼奥主场球迷面前拿下了20+的分数。
瓦塞尔在第一节就火力全开，拿下14分，他不仅命中三分球，还多次强硬突破上篮。他是马刺队在比赛初期取得34-28领先优势的主要功臣。由于杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)和查尔斯·贝西(Charles Bassey)的缺阵，阵容相对矮小的马刺队在内线遭遇了独行侠的猛烈冲击，后者也因此紧咬比分。
当达拉斯因伤缺席了半数球员时，伤病就不能再作为借口了。独行侠上场的球员都表现出色。斯宾塞·丁威迪(Spencer Dinwiddie)以全队最高的28分领衔。他在球场的各个位置都能得分，命中了四个三分球，并持续冲击内线。他的表现是独行侠在第二节保持比赛悬念的主要原因。
马刺队在防守独行侠时遇到了很多犯规麻烦。他们累计24次犯规，让达拉斯获得了30次罚球机会并命中了其中的27个。与此同时，圣安东尼奥在罚球线上表现挣扎。马刺队24次罚球只命中了14个（58.3%）。
“罚球和一些犯规加起来，当你谈论容错率时，大约相当于15分，”米奇·约翰逊说道。“比赛如此接近，这很难弥补。”
克莱·汤普森(Klay Thompson)在下半场爆发，几乎击垮了马刺队。他在第三节火力全开，并在第四节的关键时刻命中投篮，帮助达拉斯取得领先。汤普森全场14投8中，得到26分。他是独行侠队中四位得分20+的球员之一，其他三人分别是丁威迪、凯斯勒·爱德华兹(Kessler Edwards)（22分）和纳吉·马歇尔(Naji Marshall)（23分）。
尽管马刺队的防守漏洞百出，但他们在第四节仍然有机会。巴恩斯和约翰逊在比赛末段手感火热。巴恩斯以惊人的14投12中，拿下全场最高的29分。他在进攻篮板方面表现出色，抢下了8个篮板中的6个。约翰逊在内线也同样强硬，抢下5个篮板，其中3个是进攻篮板，并从替补席上贡献了28分。但仅仅依靠侧翼球员的三分球和关键篮板，不足以在第四节末段逆转达拉斯。
在过去的几周里，马刺队的防守一直远低于NBA的平均水平。根据NBA.com的数据，圣安东尼奥在过去五场比赛中的防守效率为133.9，过去十场比赛为125。作为参考，新奥尔良鹈鹕队本赛季的防守效率在NBA排名垫底，为每百回合118.5分。
这场失利使马刺队的战绩变为26胜37负，在西部联盟积分榜上排名第13位。圣安东尼奥距离西部第10的席位还有4.5个胜场的差距，只剩下19场比赛要打。他们将在周三晚上再次对阵达拉斯，届时他们将在主场迎战独行侠。
点击查看原文：The Spurs’ defensive struggles continue in loss to undermanned Mavericks
The Spurs’ defensive struggles continue in loss to undermanned Mavericks
Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes almost willed San Antonio to victory in the fourth.
“Defense wins championships” is a phrase used a lot to describe the best teams in sports. It can also sum up why a team is struggling so much. The San Antonio Spurs fit the second use of the phrase. After giving up 141 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, the Spurs gave up too many points in a 133-129 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on the second night of a back-to-back.
“The effort and intention were there for the most part,” said Spurs’ acting coach, Mitch Johnson. “Some of the straight-line drives and point-of-attack defense were not up to par.”
Despite leading for the majority of the game, San Antonio couldn’t stop the Mavs, especially in the second half, which ultimately led to their downfall. The defensive issues overshadowed a rock-solid offensive night for their wings. Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes all scored 20+ points in front of the home San Antonio crowd.
Vassell got things started in the first quarter with 14 points as he knocked down threes and made strong moves to the basket. He was the primary difference-maker in the Spurs early 34-28 lead. The Mavericks stuck around thanks to their aggressive play in the paint against the smaller Spurs, who were without Jeremy Sochan and Charles Bassey.
Injuries can’t be used as an excuse when Dallas is missing half of their roster due to ailments. The Mavs got solid production from those who did play. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with a team-high 28 points. He scored all over the floor, knocking down four three-pointers while consistently getting into the paint. His play was the main reason the Mavericks were able to keep the game respectable in the second quarter.
The Spurs had a lot of trouble fouling the Mavericks. They racked up 24 fouls and allowed Dallas to make 27-30 free throws. Meanwhile, San Antonio struggled to make good on their attempts at the charity stripe. The Spurs made just 14 of their 24 free throws (58.3%).
“The free throws and some of those fouls would have added up to about 15 points when you talk about the margin of error,” Mitch Johnson said. “As close of a game as that is, that’s hard to make up.”
Klay Thompson came alive in the second half to bury the Spurs. He was on fire in the third quarter and made clutch plays in the fourth to put Dallas ahead. Thompson finished with 26 points on 8-14 shooting from the field. He was one of four Mavericks to finish with 20+ points, alongside Dinwiddie, Kessler Edwards who had 22, and Naji Marshall who scored 23.
Still, despite the Spurs’ porous defense, they had a shot in the fourth quarter. Barnes and KJ were red hot for San Antonio late in the game. Barnes had a game-high 29 points on a super-efficient 12-14 shooting night. He was a force on the offensive glass where he grabbed 6 of his 8 rebounds. Johnson was similarly tough inside as he grabbed 5 rebounds, 3 of them offensive to go along with his 28 points off the bench. The wings’ barrage of threes and timely rebounds wasn’t enough to come back against Dallas late in the fourth.
The Spurs’ defense has been far below average NBA standards in the last few weeks. According to NBA.com, San Antonio has a 133.9 defensive rating in their last five games and 125 for their last ten. For reference, the New Orleans Pelicans are last in the NBA in defensive rating for the season at 118.5 per 100 possessions.
The loss drops the Spurs to 26-37 on the season, as they sit 13th in the Western Conference standings. San Antonio is 4.5 games out of the 10th seed with just 19 games left to go. They’ll have another shot at Dallas on Wednesday night when they play the Mavericks at home.
By Jacob Douglas, via Pounding The Rock