By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-11-09 12:46:52
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。
马刺正将赢下鏖战至最后一刻的硬仗变为一种习惯。周五击败火箭后，他们在背靠背第二场面对鹈鹕的比赛中一度濒临输掉一场本可拿下的比赛，但最终德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在其赛季首秀中用精彩表现终结了比赛，帮助球队在主场以126-119锁定胜局。
这场对决的危险之处在于，如果马刺在头一天大胜休斯顿后未能带着应有的警惕心出战，这很可能变成一场“陷阱之战”。进攻端，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 几次处理球过于花哨，导致了草率的失误，一度引发担忧，但球队在防守端的拼搏和努力至少暂时缓解了这些问题。比赛初期另一大看点在于，本赛季首次披挂上阵的福克斯将如何与斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 搭档。起初，福克斯甘愿为这位卫冕年度最佳新秀担当绿叶，且效果斐然。两人都出手并投丢了不少三分球，但卡斯尔在首节送出七次助攻，部分原因在于他总能在成功防守后寻求快速推进。尽管圣安东尼奥并未打出最佳水准，但凭借着尚可的表现，他们还是在首节过后取得了6分的领先。
在以往的比赛中，每当文班亚马像本场对阵鹈鹕的上半场大部分时间里那样在进攻端陷入挣扎时，马刺就会陷入麻烦。但这一次，情况有所不同，因为福克斯在场上。这位前全明星球员在第二节接管了比赛，单节砍下13分，帮助银黑军团建立起巨大的领先优势。然而，一场看似可能的大胜最终未能如愿。主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 使用的小个阵容效果好坏参半，而给予卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 上场时间的决定也被证明是错误的。球队的执行力未能达到最佳状态，而一旦客队找回状态并提升身体对抗强度，马刺一度高达19分的两位数领先优势便基本消耗殆尽。好在球队命中了一些关键三分，文班亚马也在进攻端偶有闪光，阻止了对手打出更大的攻击波，但马刺进入中场休息时也仅领先8分。
在背靠背第二场比赛中，当一名新球员被纳入轮换时，阵容磨合的起伏在下半场仍在继续。卡斯尔再次大量持球，而福克斯则等待着自己的触球机会，但这一次的效果远不如首节。更糟糕的是，防守端的活力有所下降，一些球员显露疲态，犯规也过多。带着两连胜势头而来的鹈鹕队斗志昂扬，他们拒绝缴械，从未显露败相，即便马刺时常通过成功防守或迫使对手失误来提速并轻松得分。文班亚马在保护防守篮板方面做得非常出色，但他的进攻状态不够稳定，也没能出现由福克斯引领的一波流攻势。新奥尔良单节赢了一分，带着7分的分差进入末节，并且看起来势头正盛。
进入第四节，双方都无法完全掌控比赛节奏。凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 的一段出色表现之后，紧接着是特雷·墨菲三世 (Trey Murphy III) 的精彩发挥。对于马刺没有文班在场的小个阵容来说，德里克·奎恩 (Derik Queen) 的体型和技术都太过难以应对。与此同时，马刺的明星中锋虽然有一些亮眼时刻，但未能接管比赛。鹈鹕队一度将分差缩小到3分，并且在圣安东尼奥做出回应时也拒绝放弃，依靠几名球员的出色发挥紧咬着多点开花的银黑军团。比赛的决定性时刻来得有些戏剧性。福克斯在最后几分钟并不在场上，但卡斯尔六犯离场，迫使米奇·约翰逊不得不将他重新派上。这位明星后卫不负其关键先生的声望，在比赛还剩29秒时命中一记急停跳投，帮助主队取得5分领先，随后又通过罚球锁定胜局，艰难地赢下了这场比赛。
赛后简评
- 德阿龙·福克斯全场14投砍下24分，外加3次助攻和3个篮板。对于一个仍在寻找自己定位的球员来说，这是一场极为出色的赛季首秀。上赛季与克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 搭档后场后，他现在必须与斯蒂芬·卡斯尔分担持球任务。值得称赞的是，他似乎很适应打无球，并善于把握进攻时机。福克斯的回归让马刺变得更加难以防守，一旦他们找到合适的平衡点，福克斯-卡斯尔的后场组合将极具威胁。
- 至于卡斯尔，他贡献了14分和14次助攻，连续第二场比赛砍下两双。尽管如此，考虑到福克斯在场，他有时会过于粘球，而且他的防守也不如平时那样稳定出色。当对手放空他时，他确实果断出手了，但他的6次三分尝试全部偏出。他的数据统计或许比实际表现要好看一些，但这位年轻后卫仍然打出了一场不错的比赛。
- 当三分球能够命中时，一切都变得简单多了，而马刺已经连续两场比赛做到了这一点。德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)、哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 和为福克斯首发而回到替补席的朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 三人合计在三分线外17投9中。马刺的球运转流畅，总能找到处于空位的队友。只要射手们能持续命中空位投篮，球队的进攻就会有行云流水的时段。
- 凯尔登·约翰逊和杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 再次为球队注入了身体对抗和能量，帮助马刺占据了优势。能让这两位球员从替补席登场并搅乱场上局势，对球队来说是一种奢侈。这两名球员在赛季开始时，其未来都带有一些问号，但就目前而言，尽管他们各有缺点，却看起来是完美的轮换拼图。
- 维克托·文班亚马在上一场难以限制火箭队内线拼抢篮板后，本场比赛付出了巨大的努力去卡位对抗凯文·卢尼 (Kevon Looney)——一位顶级的进攻篮板手。他还得到了18分，防守端表现惊人，并为队友创造了机会，但这些我们已经司空见惯。然而，他不再仅仅依靠身高臂展，而是通过积极的提前卡位来控制防守篮板，这种专注度并不常见，但总是值得称赞的。
下场比赛：周一客场对阵芝加哥公牛
公牛队是真材实料吗？马刺即将找到答案。在惜败于冠军争夺者骑士队后，芝加哥目前的战绩是6胜3负。马刺需要控制比赛节奏并统治禁区，才能从风城带走一场胜利。
点击查看原文：Spurs hold off pesky Pelicans, get a win in De’Aaron Fox’s season debut
Spurs hold off pesky Pelicans, get a win in De’Aaron Fox’s season debut
The Spurs are making it a habit of winning tough games that come down to the wire. After taking down the Rockets on Friday, they were at risk of dropping a winnable game against the Pelicans on the second game of a back-to-back before De’Aaron Fox closed the night in style in his season debut to secure a 126-119 victory at home.
The danger of this matchup was that it could turn into a trap game if the Spurs, after a big win the day prior against Houston, didn’t come out with the appropriate fear. A few sloppy possessions on offense in which Victor Wembanyama got too fancy caused some concerns, but the effort and hustle on defense eased them, at least temporarily. The other major subplot to follow early on was how De’Aaron Fox, suiting up for the first time this season, would fit with Stephon Castle. Initially, Fox took a backseat to the reigning Rookie of the Year, with good results. Both took and missed a lot of threes, but Castle logged seven first-quarter assists in part because he looked to push the pace off good defensive possessions. Despite not playing their best basketball, enough went right for San Antonio to lead by six after one.
In past games, whenever Victor Wembanyama struggled on offense like he did against the Pelicans for most of the first half, the Spurs were in trouble. Things were different this time because Fox was on the floor. The former All-Star took over in the second quarter, dropping 13 points and helping the Silver and Black carve up a big lead. Alas, the blowout that looked possible wasn’t meant to be. The smaller lineups Mitch Johnson used were a mixed bag, and giving minutes to Carter Bryant turned out to be a bad decision. The execution just wasn’t at its best, and once the visitors sharpened up and increased their physicality, a double-digit lead that reached 19 points at its apex largely disappeared. Enough threes fell and Wembanyama showed some good flashes on offense to prevent a bigger run, but the Spurs went into the break up just eight.
The ups and downs expected on a second game of a back-to-back in which a new player is inserted in the rotation continued in the second half. Castle was once again on the ball a lot while Fox waited for his touches, and this time it didn’t work as well as it did in the opening frame. Making matters worse, the defense lost some of its energy as some players looked tired and fouled excessively. The feisty Pelicans, winners of two in a row heading into this matchup, refused to go away and never looked defeated despite the Spurs often pushing the pace and getting easy buckets after getting stops or forcing turnovers. Wembanyama did great work on the defensive boards, but his offense wasn’t consistently there, and there was no big Fox-led run. New Orleans won the quarter by one and headed into the final frame down seven and looking dangerous.
Neither team could impose its will in the fourth. A good Keldon Johnson stretch was followed by some fantastic minutes from Trey Murphy III. Derik Queen was too big and skilled to handle for the small, Wemby-less lineups. The Spurs’ star center, meanwhile, had some good moments but couldn’t take over. The Pelicans got as close to three points and simply refused to go away when San Antonio responded, using a few standout performers to keep up with the Silver and Black’s balanced attack. The defining moment of the game was a strange one. Fox was not on the court in the final minutes, but Stephon Castle fouled out, forcing Mitch Johnson to send him back in. The star guard lived up to his reputation as a clutch performer, scoring a short jumper to put the home team up five with 29 seconds to go and then icing the game from the line to secure an ugly win.
Game notes
- De’Aaron Fox finished with 24 points in 14 shots to go with three assists and three rebounds. It was a fantastic first game of the season for a player who is still trying to find his place. After sharing the floor with Chris Paul last season, he now has to split ball-handling duties with Stephon Castle. To his credit, he seemed fine with playing off the ball and picking his moments. Having Fox back makes the Spurs a lot tougher to guard, and once they find the right balance, the Fox-Castle backcourt will be terrifying.
- As for Castle, he finished with 14 points and 14 assists, notching his second double-double in as many nights. Still, at times, he was too ball-dominant considering Fox was around, and his defense wasn’t as consistently good as it tends to be. He did let it fly when opponents played off of him, but missed all six of his three-point attempts. The stat line probably looks better than the performance actually was, but the young guard still had a good game.
- Everything is so much easier when the threes fall, as they did for the second consecutive game. Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, and Julian Champagnie, who came off the bench to make room for Fox, combined for nine makes in 17 tries from beyond the arc. The Spurs move the ball and find the open man. As long as the shooters keep sinking their open looks, the offense will have stretches when it hums.
- Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan once again brought a level of physicality and energy that gave the Spurs an edge. Having those two check in off the bench and generally wreak havoc is such a luxury. Both players entered the season with some potential question marks about their future, but right now look like perfect rotation pieces despite their shortcomings.
- Victor Wembanyama, after struggling to keep the Rockets’ bigs off the glass, made a concerted effort to box out Kevon Looney, who is an elite offensive rebounder. He also scored 18 points, was amazing on defense and created looks for others, but we’ve seen him do that plenty of times. The focus on controlling the defensive board not with length but with early efforts, however, is not as common but is always welcomed.
Next game: at Chicago Bulls on Monday
Are the Bulls for real? The Spurs are about to find out. Chicago is 6-3 after a close loss to the contending Cavaliers. The Spurs will need to control the pace and own the paint to escape the Windy City with a win.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock