By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-03-11 14:08:28
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。
在那个短暂震撼NBA的夜晚，马刺队代理主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)几乎无法强打精神去感到震惊。
在马刺队2月1日主场令人失望地输给挣扎的迈阿密热火队后，联盟内部开始流传一条消息：达拉斯独行侠队竟然——什么？！——同意将当家球星卢卡·东契奇交易至洛杉矶湖人队。
约翰逊基本上只是对着这条爆炸性新闻眨了眨眼，然后耸了耸肩。
“在这个联盟里，没有什么是不可能发生的，”约翰逊说。“我记得小时候看到迈克尔·乔丹在奇才队打球，简直让我大跌眼镜。”
周一在霜冻银行中心，马刺队让独行侠队打出了自东契奇加盟好莱坞以来也许是最好的一场比赛。
尽管只有八名球员可用，并且是在背靠背的第二晚比赛，达拉斯队仍然以133-129的比分获胜，给马刺队进入西部季后赛附加赛的渺茫希望又添了一铲土。
“归根结底，这就是NBA，”马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)说，他以29分领跑全场。“你必须给予他们赞扬。”
两队将于周三重返霜冻银行中心进行复赛。然而，对于马刺队来说，周一与达拉斯队的直接对抗本是打破六连败的最佳时机。
即使他们自己也是在背靠背的第二晚比赛，即使维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)都穿着便服，马刺队仍然占据上风。
至少在纸面上是这样。
独行侠队没有东契奇。也没有安东尼·戴维斯，这位在二月份那笔令人震惊的交易中从洛杉矶获得的明星中锋。他们也没有凯里·欧文，另一位未来名人堂成员，上周因膝伤赛季报销。
达拉斯队有斯宾塞·丁威迪，他有点像奇才时代的乔丹，替补出场得到全队最高的28分。独行侠队唯一可用的未来名人堂球员克莱·汤普森贡献了26分，其中包括第三节的13分，帮助达拉斯队留在比赛中。
独行侠队还从纳吉·马绍尔那里得到了23分，以及从他们的双向合同首发中锋凯斯勒·爱德华兹那里得到了22分和11个篮板。
“八个人的团队努力非常棒，”达拉斯队教练杰森·基德说。“我们已经很久没有赢球了，但在此之前的比赛中，我们的精神状态仍然很高。没有人灰心丧气。”
赛前，基德花了整整15秒才念完达拉斯的伤病报告——即使是用快速的、拍卖师式的语调。
“欧文、戴维斯、加福德、哈迪、琼斯、莱夫利、普罗斯珀、华盛顿和威廉姆斯都缺席，”基德念道。
在为独行侠队出战的八名球员中，有六人得分上双。只有一名——6尺10寸的替补中锋德怀特·鲍威尔——身高超过6尺7寸。
“高中时，有时候感觉就是这样，因为我们太矮了，”汤普森说。“但我们有很多斗志。所以斗志胜过身高，明白吗？”
由于7尺3寸的文班亚马将缺席另一个几乎注定要进入乐透区的赛季的剩余比赛，马刺队短期内不会获得任何实质性的身高提升。
在周三的重赛中，他们至少可以和独行侠队一样充满斗志。
约翰逊不愿说他这支26胜的球队周一轻视了任何人。
“我认为在大多数情况下，努力和意图是存在的，”约翰逊说。
然而，如果马刺队在比赛开始时真的像老教练格雷格·波波维奇喜欢说的那样，对这支人手不足的独行侠队怀有“适当的恐惧”，那么这并没有在比赛初期表现出来。
比赛开始时的节奏就像夏季联赛的下午场比赛一样，充斥着反复的上篮得分，球员们满足于毫无想象力的早期三分球。
至少在前三节，马刺队表现得像一支相对确信他们能够通过投篮击败这支人手不足的独行侠队的球队，尽管他们罚丢了10个罚球，并且防守上屡屡出现失误。
“我们得到了60多分，但你看一下，他们也得到了60分，”巴恩斯在谈到马刺队半场63-60领先时说。“你进入了一场只是交换得分的比赛。不幸的是，这对我们来说是不可持续的。”
达拉斯队以101平进入第四节，然后竭尽全力取得领先。
独行侠队在第四节早些时候以一波5-0的攻势打破了108-108的僵局——德怀特·鲍威尔的罚球，科迪·马丁的跳投，以及马绍尔的另一个进球——并且再也没有落后。
“他们投进了一些关键球，”马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)说，他替补出场得到28分。“我觉得我们可以更专注一些。我认为我们在防守上慢了一步。绝对有些事情我们可以控制。”
对于独行侠队来说，这是自欧文3月1日对阵密尔沃基雄鹿队时膝盖受伤以来的首场胜利。
自从文班亚马在二月份的全明星周末后因血栓病情缺席以来，马刺队的战绩下降到3胜8负。
“无论谁在打球，或者我们打得如何，都有一个标准要维持，”巴恩斯说。“现在，我们没有达到那个标准。”
伤病缠身的独行侠队肯定会在他们完成伤病困扰的赛季的过程中遭遇更多糟糕的夜晚。也许马刺队可以召唤出力量，迫使达拉斯队在周三遭遇其中之一。
至少在周一晚上，八名球员对于独行侠队来说就足够了。
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) reacts to a foul call against him during the NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) rebounds the ball over Dallas Mavericks center Dwight Powell (7) during the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) reacts after rebounding and making a shot over the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
Dallas Mavericks forward Kessler Edwards (20) and San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) fight for the rebound during an NBA game at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) and Dallas Mavericks forward Caleb Martin (16) fight for the rebound during an NBA game at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) and San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) watch the Dallas Mavericks widen their lead over the Spurs in the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, March 10, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Mavericks, 133-129.
点击查看原文：Spurs aim to bring more heart to fight with Mavericks
Spurs aim to bring more heart to fight with Mavericks
On the night that briefly rattled the NBA off its axis, Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson could barely summon the wherewithal to be shocked.
The Spurs had just dropped a disappointing home decision against a floundering Miami squad Feb. 1 when news began to circulate in league circles that the Dallas Mavericks had – what?!? – agreed to trade franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Johnson basically blinked twice at the stop-the-presses headline. Then he shrugged.
“There’s nothing that’s unpredictable in this league,” Johnson said. “I know when I was a kid and saw Michael Jordan on the Wizards, that blew my mind.”
Monday at the Frost Bank Center, the Spurs afforded the Mavericks perhaps their best night since Doncic hit Hollywood.
Down to eight available players and toiling through the second night of a back-to-back, Dallas nevertheless emerged with a 133-129 victory that tossed another spade of dirt on the Spurs’ flat-lining hopes for a Western Conference play-in bid.
“At the end of the day, it’s the NBA,” said Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, who led all scorers with 29 points. “You have to give credit to them.”
The teams return to the Frost Bank Center for a rematch Wednesday. However, the stage couldn’t have been better set for the Spurs to bust a six-game losing skid in the head-to-head matchup with Dallas than it was Monday.
Even playing on the second night of a back-to-back themselves, and even with Victor Wembanyama and Jeremy Sochan in street clothes, the Spurs held the upper hand.
On paper at least.
The Mavericks did not have Doncic. Nor did they have Anthony Davis, the All-Star center acquired from Los Angeles in February’s gob-smacking trade. Nor did they have Kyrie Irving, another future Hall of Famer felled by a season-ending knee injury last week.
Dallas did have Spencer Dinwiddie, making a little like Wizards-era Jordan in leading the Mavs with 28 points off the bench. The Mavericks’ lone future Hall of Famer available, Klay Thompson, supplied 26 points including 13 in the third quarter to help Dallas stay in the game.
The Mavericks also got 23 points from Naji Marshall and 22 points and 11 rebounds from their starting center on a two-way contract, Kessler Edwards.
“Great team effort with eight guys,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “It had been a minute since we won, but the games before this, our spirits were still high. No one’s down.”
Before the game, it took Kidd a full 15 seconds to rattle off the Dallas injury report – even speaking in a quick, auctioneer-style cadence.
“Irving, Davis, Gafford, Hardy, Jones, Lively, Prosper, Washington and Williams all out,” Kidd read.
Of the eight players who suited up for the Mavericks, six scored in double figures. Only one – 6-foot-10 backup center Dwight Powell – stood taller than 6-7.
“High school, that’s what it feels like sometimes, because we’re so small,” Thompson said. “But we got a lot of heart. So heart over height, you know?”
With the 7-3 Wembanyama out for the remainder of another likely lottery-bound season, the Spurs aren’t going to be gaining any substantial height infusion any time soon.
In Wednesday’s do-over, they could stand to at least match the Mavericks’ heart.
Johnson wouldn’t go so far as to say his 26-win team took anyone for granted Monday.
“I thought the effort and intention was there for the most part,” Johnson said.
Yet if the Spurs did arrive at tipoff with what longtime coach Gregg Popovich likes to call “appropriate fear” of the undermanned Mavs, it did not show early.
The game began with the tenor of an afternoon matinee at Summer League, with repeated blow-by layups and players settling for unimaginative early-clock 3-pointers.
For three quarters at least, the Spurs carried themselves with the aura of a team relatively sure they would be able to shoot their way to victory against this undermanned version of the Mavericks, despite 10 missed free throws and repeated defensive lapses.
“We put up 60-plus points, but you look up and they also have 60,” Barnes said of the Spurs’ 63-60 halftime lead. “You get into a game of just trading baskets. Unfortunately that wasn’t sustainable for us.”
Dallas played to a 101-all tie entering the fourth quarter, then did enough to pull ahead.
The Mavs broke a 108-108 knot early in the quarter with a 5-0 run – a Dwight Powell free throw, Cody Martin jumper and another Marshall basket – and never trailed again.
“They made some timely shots,” said Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, who had 28 points off the bench. “I feel like we could have been sharper. I think defensively we were like a step behind. They were definitely things we could control.”
For the Mavericks, the result was their first victory since Irving blew out his knee March 1 against Milwaukee.
The Spurs fell to 3-8 since Wembanyama was sidelined with a blood clot condition coming out of the All-Star break in February.
“Regardless of who is playing or how we’re playing, there’s a standard to uphold,” Barnes said. “Right now, we’re not meeting that standard.”
The decimated Mavericks are certainly due more bad nights to come as they play out the string on their injury marred season. Perhaps the Spurs can summon the mojo to force Dallas into one of them Wednesday.
For one night at least Monday, eight players were just enough for the Mavericks.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News