By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-11-11 13:27:07
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。
2025年11月10日，星期一，在芝加哥举行的一场NBA篮球赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马（右）持球突破芝加哥公牛队中锋尼古拉·武切维奇（左）。(美联社图片/Nam Y. Huh)
芝加哥公牛队中锋尼古拉·武切维奇 (Nikola Vucevic) 身高6英尺11英寸，体重265磅，身材如同漫威漫画里走出来的角色。
但他此前很少感到如此无助。
周一，在比赛胜负攸关的时刻，一名身穿马刺队服的7尺4寸神射手连续两次迎着武切维奇伸出的手臂拔起命中三分。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 连续两次将球稳稳命中，帮助马刺队在联合中心以121-117逆转取胜。
“联盟里最顶尖的球员，他们总能为所欲为，”武切维奇说。“当他们手感来了，你真的无能为力。”
确实是无能为力。
文班亚马在第四节砍下他全场38分中的18分，为球队带来了一场过去几个赛季都难以企及的胜利。这位全明星中锋当晚还贡献了12个篮板、5次盖帽和5次助攻，马刺队也借此打破了自2022年10月以来对阵公牛队的六连败。
凭借这场胜利，马刺队的战绩提升至8胜2负，并即将开启一波五连主场赛程，首先是在周三和周五连续两次对阵金州勇士队。
这是球队自2015年以来前10场比赛的最佳战绩，那一年，文班亚马还是一个在法国的11岁、身高5英尺11英寸、初露锋芒的篮球神童。
如今，他已是一位21岁、不折不扣的NBA超级巨星。
“他一回合一回合地掌控了比赛节奏，”马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在评价文班亚马的第四节表现时说。“这是一种非常沉着、基本功扎实、专业的终结比赛的方式。”
对于NBA比赛进入关键时刻会发生什么，约翰逊有一句口头禅。
“有时候，”约翰逊说，“胜负取决于球星，而不是战术。”
在芝加哥，马刺队之所以能赢，是因为在最关键的时刻，他们拥有场上最好的球员。在文班亚马到来之前的那段蛮荒岁月里，马刺队输掉比赛的方式就和周一的公牛队如出一辙。那种无助感，他们再熟悉不过了。
那时的马刺队年轻而富有斗志，用热情和胆识弥补经验和明星球员的缺失，常常能和更强的队伍在前三个半节打得难分难解。
然后，对方的超级巨星接管了比赛，马刺队就此崩盘。
马刺队需要的正是一位能终结比赛的明星。现在，他们有了文班亚马。
更正一下。
“实际上，我们有两位，”前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 说。
啊，是的，还有德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)。
马刺队在去年二月从萨克拉门托交易来了这位全明星后卫，希望他能成为文班亚马稳定的搭档，帮助球队终结比赛。
在文班亚马几乎以一己之力点燃联合中心的前两天，福克斯在对阵新奥尔良的比赛中迎来赛季首秀，得到24分，并在比赛还剩29.4秒时命中一记锁定胜局的抛投。
周一，轮到文班亚马表演了。
第四节初段，马刺队一度落后13分，此时文班亚马突然爆发，个人打出一波10-0的攻击波，帮助球队重回竞争行列。
当公牛队拒绝自行缴械时，文班亚马就凭一己之力将他们打服。
首先是在比赛还剩一分钟时，他迎着武切维奇命中一记转换三分，将比分追至114平。
随后，哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 在另一端盖掉了前马刺队友特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 的上篮，文班亚马再次对上了武切维奇。
他挥手让队友拉开，选择与这位公牛队的巨汉中锋进行一对一单挑。
武切维奇对接下来要发生的事情无能为力，而且他自己也心知肚明。
“他有7尺5寸吧？”武切维奇说。“你真的做不了太多。我甚至不确定他是否看得到我。”
几次运球，一次决定性的交叉步，然后一记急停跳投出手，文班亚马在比赛还剩24.1秒时为马刺队取得了领先，而武切维奇巨大的肩膀也随之垮了下来。
文班亚马说，他决定投出那第二个三分球，是考虑到在那个时刻如果试图突破人群，情况可能会变得过于复杂。
“我想我做出了正确的选择，”文班亚马说。
赛季初，文班亚马的三分球命中率仅为34投8中，而周一他9投6中，创下赛季新高。
似乎每当联盟认为找到了他的“氪石”（弱点），文班亚马总能用这所谓的弱点来狠狠教训对手。
“经验和反复练习对我的信心有很大影响，”文班亚马说。“归根结底，我职业生涯至今打了（近）130场比赛。有很多事情我希望能进步得更快。我只是需要一些积累。进步曲线从来不是一条直线，但绝对是向上的趋势。”
在周一比赛的某些时段，文班亚马也得到了其他队友的帮助。
福克斯继对阵鹈鹕的精彩首秀后，在芝加哥再次贡献了稳健的表现，得到21分。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 得到19分和11次助攻，连续第三场拿到两双。
替补大个子卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 在缺阵七场后伤愈复出，贡献了16分和7个篮板，他在第四节的表现几乎和文班亚马一样出色。
“我觉得我们彼此之间充满信心，”卡斯尔说。“有了这样一场胜利，这种信心只会继续增长。”
对于斗志顽强但缺少球星的公牛队来说，周一发生的一切似曾相识。
这是芝加哥连续第三场在第四节决胜时刻被对手的全明星球员打出超神表现而遗憾告负——之前分别是密尔沃基的扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 和克利夫兰的多诺万·米切尔 (Donovan Mitchell)。
周一，轮到文班亚马来撕碎公牛队的心了。
现在，马刺队将回到冰霜银行中心进行连续五场主场比赛。本赛季至今，他们在主场取得了5胜0负的开局，这是自2015-16赛季以来的首次。那个赛季，他们在主场取得了创队史纪录的40胜1负。
“我想说，我们正处在我们想要的位置上，”文班亚马说。
与此同时，周一比赛结束后，武切维奇宁愿身处任何其他地方。
当联盟最顶尖的球员之一打出他应有的表现时，就是会给对手带来这种感受——即使是像漫威角色一样强壮的人也不例外。
这就是文班亚马的超能力。
“他是一个难缠的对位，尤其是当他像（周一）那样进入状态时，”武切维奇说。“他每年都在进步，我认为他正在逐渐掌控一切。”
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, left, celebrates with forward Victor Wembanyama during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls forward Jalen Smith, left, drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) goes up to shoot against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, blocks a shot by Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, tries to steal the ball from Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) rebounds a ball against Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama's confidence is growing after his fourth quarter
Victor Wembanyama’s confidence is growing after his fourth quarter
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, drives to the basket against Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds and built like something out of a Marvel comic.
Seldom before had he felt so helpless.
Twice in a row with the game on the line Monday, a 7-4 sniper in a Spurs uniform rose for a 3-pointer over Vucevic’s outstretched arms.
Twice in a row, Victor Wembanyama swished them to deliver the Spurs a 121-117 comeback victory at the United Center.
“The best players in the league, they’re going to do what they do,” Vucevic said. “When they get it going, there’s nothing you can do.”
There really wasn’t.
Wembanyama pumped in 18 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to bring home the kind of win that had eluded the Spurs for much of the past several seasons. The All-Star center added 12 rebounds, five blocks and five assists to his night’s work, as the Spurs broke a six-game losing skid against the Bulls dating to October of 2022.
With the victory, the Spurs improved to 8-2 and headed home for a five-game homestand beginning with a Wednesday-Friday double-dip against Golden State.
It is the club’s best mark through 10 games since 2015, when Wembanyama was an 11-year-old, 5-foot-11 budding basketball prodigy in France.
Now he is a 21-year-old bona fide NBA superstar.
“He walked that game down possession by possession,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after Wembanyama’s fourth-quarter display. “It was just a really poised, fundamentally sound, professional way to finish it.”
Johnson has a saying for what happens when an NBA game gets into crunch time.
“Sometimes,” Johnson said, “it’s about players and not plays.”
In Chicago, the Spurs won by having the best player on the floor when it mattered most. For years in the franchise’s pre-Wembanyama wasteland, the Spurs lost games the way the Bulls did Monday. They know well the feeling of helplessness.
Young and scrappy, making up for what they lacked in experience and star power with enthusiasm and moxie, the Spurs often played better teams to a draw through 3 ½ quarters.
Then, the other team’s superstar took over, and the Spurs were finished.
What the Spurs needed was a game-closing star. Now they have one in Wembanyama.
Correction.
“Actually, we have two,” forward Julian Champagnie said.
Ah yes, there is also De’Aaron Fox.
The Spurs traded for the All-Star guard from Sacramento last February in hopes of giving Wembanyama a steady running mate to help finish games.
Two nights before Wembanyama all but burned down the United Center in the fourth quarter, Fox made his season-debut against New Orleans, scoring 24 points including the game-sealing leaner with 29.4 seconds left.
Monday it was Wembanyama’s turn.
The Spurs were down by 13 points early in the fourth quarter when Wembanyama erupted with a personal 10-0 run to get his team back in contention.
When the Bulls refused to submit on their own, Wembanyama beat them into submission himself.
First came a deep transition 3-pointer over Vucevcic to level the score at 114 with one minute remaining.
After Harrison Barnes blocked former Spurs teammate Tre Jones on the other end, Wembanyama sized up Vucevic again.
He waved his teammates away, opting to go one-on-one with the big Bulls center.
Vucevic was powerless to stop what was coming next, and knew it.
“He’s what, 7-5?” Vucevic said. “There’s not much you can do. I’m not sure how much he even sees me.”
A couple of dribbles, one decisive crossover and a pull-up later, and Wembanyama had given the Spurs the lead with 24.1 ticks left as Vucevic’s massive shoulders slumped.
Wembanyama said he decided to rise for the second of those 3-pointers thinking things might get overcomplicated if he tried to drive through a crowd in that moment.
“I guess I chose right,” Wembanyama said.
After beginning the season 8 of 34 from 3-point range, Wembanyama made a season-high six in nine attempts Monday.
It seems even when the league thinks it has figured out his kryptonite, Wembanyama beats opponents over the head with it.
“Experience and reps play a big role in my confidence,” Wembanyama said. “At the end of the day, I have (nearly) 130 games in my career. There’s lots of things I wish would go faster. I just need some reps. It’s never a straight curve, but it’s definitely trending up.”
Wembanyama had help from others during pockets of Monday’s game.
Fox encored his brilliant debut against the Pelicans with another solid performance in Chicago, notching 21 points. Stephon Castle added 19 points and 11 assists for his third consecutive double-double.
Backup big man Luke Kornet, back from the injured list after missing seven games, provided 16 points and seven rebounds and was almost as good in the fourth quarter as Wembanyama.
“I feel like we have a lot of confidence in each other,” Castle said. “With a win like this, it only grows.”
For the game-but-starless Bulls, what happened Monday felt all too familiar.
It was Chicago’s third straight defeat to come down to the fourth quarter only to be snatched away by another team’s All-Star going supernova – Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland.
Monday marked Wembanyama’s chance to rip the Bulls’ hearts out.
Now the Spurs return for five straight games at the Frost Bank Center, where they have opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 2015-16, a campaign they finished a club-record 40-1 in their home building.
“I say we’re where we want to be,” Wembanyama said.
By the end of Monday’s game, meanwhile, Vucevic would rather have been anyplace else.
One of the best players in the league, doing what he does will do that to a man – even one made like a Marvel character.
That is Wembanyama’s superpower.
“He’s a tough matchup, especially when he gets it going like he did (Monday),” Vucevic said. “He’s gotten better every year and I think he’s figuring it out.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News