By Mark Barrington | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-12-14 05:24:21
今晚，拉斯维加斯的球迷们可谓值回票价。在首轮以49分的巨大优势战胜太阳队后，雷霆队今晚遭遇了一个远比之前强劲的对手。马刺开局慢热，首节便因手感冰凉而落后对手两位数，看起来随时可能被打花。维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在首节整整12分钟都坐在场下，直到第二节开始时才登场，并瞬间改变了比赛的一切——在该节仅出战的前三分钟里，他便带领马刺打出一波7-0的攻击波，让比分不再那么难看。雷霆队随后重整旗鼓，在第二节中段将领先优势扩大到16分，但文班在中场休息前的4分钟内再次发力，引领马刺打出又一波高潮，半场结束时他们仅落后三分。在上半场仅有的7分钟出场时间里，文班亚马刷下了惊人的+20正负值。正负值并非总是衡量球员场上影响力的最佳标准，但在此时，它却真实地反映了维克托在他有限的出场时间内对比赛的统治力。
下半场比赛陷入了一场拉锯战，即便在文班亚马休息时，马刺也设法紧咬比分。文班亚马在下半场出战了13分钟，尽管依旧保持着统治力，但在比赛末段还是显露出些许疲态。雷霆队凭借一些精彩的防守表现让比赛悬念得以保持，亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 贡献了数次关键的防守。谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 得到29分，并且能够在一些看起来毫无出手机会的情况下完成得分。杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams) (JDub) 为雷霆队打出了一场精彩的比赛，但他们看起来已不复几天前那支以49分优势碾压太阳队的球队。文班的卓越表现主宰了比赛，但马刺同样也从斯蒂芬·卡斯尔、德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 以及德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 那里获得了巨大支持。卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 仅得两分，但他在防守端表现出色，并贡献了一记关键的追身大帽，成功阻止了雷霆的一次得分。
赛后观察
- 尼克斯队真是一块难啃的骨头。人们很容易将西部半决赛视为真正的总决赛，但无论今晚谁胜出，想要淘汰纽约都将面临巨大困难。杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的得分能力实在难以限制，他打法强硬却能避免陷入犯规麻烦，并总能让防守者失去平衡。卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 与尼克斯完美契合，如今不再作为头号得分手的他，或许正打出职业生涯最出色的篮球。
- 在球员介绍环节，哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 错过了自己的出场提示，没有走上球场，导致他的队友们只能和空气击掌。不过没关系，当比赛真正开始时，他从不缺席。
- 我在比赛讨论帖中写过很多关于NBA杯前两年拉斯维加斯比赛现场气氛不足的问题。我不确定是因为球迷对这项杯赛的兴趣正在提升，还是因为参赛球队的缘故，但今年这个问题似乎不复存在。T-Mobile球馆座无虚席，观众从比赛一开始就全情投入。当比赛在最后时刻陷入胶着时，那种紧张的能量感是实实在在的，观众的呐喊声震耳欲聋，尽情享受着比赛。我爱这场比赛！
- 马刺开局慢热，比赛开始仅三分钟，雷霆就打出12-4的开局，迫使主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 叫了暂停。
- 维克托没有进入首发阵容，并且缺席了整个第一节。
- 史蒂夫·范甘迪 (Steve Van Gundy) 今晚连轴转，解说了T-Mobile球馆的两场比赛。但这似乎并未影响他糟糕的解说质量。在比赛的某些时刻，当他被场上一些精彩绝伦的表演震惊到近乎失语时，那反倒是我最喜欢他评论的部分。
- 马刺队的前12次三分出手全部偏出，这看起来很糟糕。其中很多都是不错的出手机会，所以也许马刺只是开局时有些过于兴奋了。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔在第一节末段命中了全队首记三分，这多少有些出人意料。雷霆队首节以31-20领先，但坦白说，情况本可能更糟。马刺的进攻看似已经崩溃，但他们在防守端完成了足够多的防守，阻止了雷霆在第一节就彻底拉开比分。
- 文班亚马在第二节开始时首次登场，并立即产生了影响——他抢下进攻篮板、送出盖帽，并倒地争抢地板球，带领马刺在第二节开局打出一波9-2的攻势，将分差缩小到四分。在 glorious 的三分钟表演后，维克托被换回替补席。不幸的是，对于银黑军团而言，他刚一下场，雷霆就打出了一波高潮。当维克托在场上时，他改变了比赛的形态，而这种形态正是马刺对抗卫冕冠军所需要的。在文班亚马休息的第二节中段五分钟里，雷霆以14-4的比分压制了马刺。
- 哈珀 (Harper) 在突破上篮时无意中擦到了霍姆格伦 (Holmgren) 的下巴，裁判回看了很长时间，最终判定这只是一次普通犯规，而非恶意犯规。我甚至不确定这是否算一次犯规，因为在我看来，更像是霍姆格伦用自己的脸撞上了迪伦 (Dylan) 的肘部。
- 文班亚马在第二节最后五分钟再次登场，并带领马刺以一波13-0的攻势结束了本节。在比赛大部分时间里都显得完全被动之后，他们半场结束时仅以46-49落后，而文班在上半场7分多钟的出场时间里，正负值高达惊人的+20。
- 马刺在第三节开始时没有派上文班亚马，但他们士气高昂，凭借福克斯在该节早段的一次上篮首次取得领先，随后又依靠瓦塞尔的一记三分将领先优势扩大到62-56，迫使戴格诺特 (Daignault) 不得不叫暂停止血。
- 卡斯尔在冲击篮筐时遭遇大量身体接触，但几乎从未获得罚球。我不确定具体原因。或许是因为他太强壮了，以至于裁判没有看清那些接触？
- 失误似乎是文班比赛中唯一的弱点。我相信随着他经验的增长，当比赛节奏对他而言慢下来后，这最终将不再是问题。但就目前而言，他常常因为运球冲入防守人群而抵消了自己的优势。
- 文班亚马在第三节中段打了很长一段时间，马刺一度取得六分领先，但在雷霆顽强的防守下始终无法获得喘息之机。
- 在文班亚马休息的第三节最后几分钟里，马刺顽强地守住了阵地，福克斯在时间走完之际造成卡鲁索犯规并获得罚球，帮助球队以78-77取得领先。
- 第四节开始时文班在场上，开局几分钟双方展开了拉锯战，银黑军团一度取得六分领先，但雷霆奋力反击，卡鲁索命中一记三分将比分追至87平。
- 值得一提的是卢克·科内特在第四节的一次精彩追身大帽，成功破坏了对手的一次快攻。
- 文班在比赛还剩五分多钟时回到场上，马刺发起了最后的冲刺以赢下比赛。
- 最后五分钟异常紧张，马刺带着微弱的领先优势进入最后一分钟。当在下半场打了13分钟而有些体力不支的文班亚马罚失一球后，场上气氛变得更加紧张，雷霆只需要一记三分就能追平比赛。在几次罚球交换后，米奇教练决定在比赛还剩8秒时对霍姆格伦犯规，以防止雷霆投出追平比分的三分球。切特 (Chet) 两罚一中，雷霆不得不犯规以夺回球权。最后几秒钟变成了一场疯狂的罚球大战，马刺不断犯规以阻止雷霆投三分，但最后几乎功亏一篑，雷霆差点击败了故意罚球不中并抢下篮板补篮的战术。卡鲁索虽然碰到了球，但没能将球补进篮筐，随着时间耗尽，马刺以111-109获胜。
马刺晋级决赛，将对阵尼克斯。这将是一个奇特的局面，两队将为奖金和奖杯而战，但比赛结果对常规赛战绩或球员数据没有任何影响。这场比赛将会很有趣，对球迷来说也是一场盛宴。教练们在球员上场时间方面会多谨慎还有待观察，但马刺球员们肯定会充满动力，至少要为凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 赢得一头羊驼。
在接下来的几周内，马刺还将与雷霆交手两次，观察马刺是否能将从本场比赛中学到的经验转化为更多对阵联盟最佳球队的胜利，这将是一件非常有趣的事情。
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。
点击查看原文：San Antonio vs Oklahoma City, Final Score: Spurs upset Thunder 111-109 in Wembanyama’s return, advance to NBA Cup Finals
San Antonio vs Oklahoma City, Final Score: Spurs upset Thunder 111-109 in Wembanyama’s return, advance to NBA Cup Finals
The fans in Las Vegas got their money’s worth tonight. After winning their first round matchup by 49 points over the Suns, the Thunder faced a much tougher opponent tonight. The Spurs started out slow, and looked like they might get blown out after trailing after the first quarter by double digits as they started out with cold shooting. Victor Wembanyama sat out the first 12 minutes and entered the game as the second quarter began and changed everything, just by playing the first three minutes of the quarter as he led the Spurs on a 7-0 run to make the score respectable. The Thunder rebounded by extending their lead to 16 midway through the second quarter, but 4 minute stretch by Wemby just before halftime gave the Spurs another huge run and they only trailed by three at the half. In just 7 minutes in the first half, Wembanyama had run up a ridiculous +20 plus-minus score. Plus-minus isn’t always a good measure of a player’s impact on the game, but in this instance, it gave a pretty true picture of how much Victor dominated the game in his limited appearance.
The second half was a back and forth affair, and the Spurs found a way to keep the game close even when Wembanyama was resting. Wembanyama played 13 minutes in the second half and started to look a little gassed at the end, even as he was still dominant. The Thunder used some spectacular defensive plays to keep things close, with Alex Caruso getting some great stops. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points and was able to score in situations where he didn’t even look to have a shot. Jalen Williams (JDub) had a fantastic game for the Thunder, but they didn’t look like the same team that dominated the Suns to win by 49 just a few days ago. Wemby’s greatness dominated the game, but the Spurs also got great contributions from Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, and Devin Vassell. Luke Kornet only scored two points, but did a great job on defense and had a critical chase-down block to take away a Thunder bucket.
Observations
- The Knicks really look like a tough out. It’s tempting to look at the west semifinal and see that as the real final, but whoever wins tonight is going to have a difficult time eliminating New York. Jalen Brunson is just really tough to keep from scoring, he’s physical without taking punishment, and always keeps defenders off balance. Karl-Anthony Towns is a great fit with the Knicks and he’s probably playing the best basketball of his career now that he’s not a primary scorer.
- During the player introductions, Harrison Barnes missed his cue and didn’t go out on the court, leaving his teammates the dap the air. That’s OK, when it’s time to play, he always shows up.
- I wrote a lot in the game thread about the lack of energy in the arena during the Las Vegas games in the first two years of the NBA Cup. I’m not sure if it’s just because fan interest is rising in the Cup competition, or the teams, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem this year. T-Mobile arena was mostly full and the crowd seemed to be involved from the beginning of the game. when the game was close at the end, the energy was palpable, the crowd was as loud and having fun. I love this game!
- The Spurs got off to a slow start and Mitch Johnson had to call an early timeout after the Thunder rushed out to a 12-4 lead three minutes into the game.
- Victor wasn’t in the opening lineup, and he sat out the entire first quarter.
- Steve Van Gundy worked a double shift tonight, calling both games at the T-Mobile arena. It didn’t seem to affect the quality of his announcing, which remained poor. At points in the game, he seemed to be almost speechless as he was awed by some of the spectacular play during the game, which were my favorite parts of his commentary.
- The Spurs missed their first 12 three point shot attempts, which seems bad. A lot them were good looks, so it seems like maybe the Spurs were just a little too hyped up to start the game. Steph Castle hit the first three late in the first quarter, which was an unexpected source. The Thunder let 31-20 after one quarter, but frankly, it could have been worse. The Spurs offense seemed to broken, but they did get enough stops on defense to keep the Thunder from running away with it in the first quarter.
- Wembanyama entered the game for the first time at the beginning of the second quarter and had an instant impact, grabbing offensive rebounds, blocking a shot and diving to the floor for a loose ball as the Spurs went on a 9-2 run to start the quarter, cutting the deficit to four. After a glorious three minute stint, Victor was sent back to the bench. Unfortunately for the Silver and Black, the Thunder went of a run as soon as he sat. Victor changes the shape of the game when he’s on the court, and it’s that shape that the Spurs needed to be competitive against the defending champs. The Thunder outscored the Spurs 14-4 while Wembanyama sat the middle five minutes of the quarter.
- Harper accidentally grazed Holmgren on the chin while driving to the hoop, and the referees looked at for quite a while before deciding it was just a common foul and not flagrant. I’m not even sure it was a foul as to me like it looked like Holmgren fouled Dylan’s elbow with his face.
- Wembanyama entered the second time for the last five minutes of the second quarter and led the Spurs to a 13-0 run the finish the second quarter. After looking completely overmatched for most of the game, they trailed 46-49 at the half, with Wemby a ridiculous +20 in a little over 7 minutes of play in the first half.
- The Spurs started the third quarter without Wembanyama, but they were inspired, and took their first lead on a Fox layup early in the quarter, extending their lead to 62-56 on a Vassell triple as Daignault had to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.
- Castle gets a lot of contact going to the hoop and hardly ever gets a foul call. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe he’s just so strong that the refs don’t see the contact?
- It seems the only weakness in Wemby’s game is the turnovers. I have confidence that as he gains experience, that will eventually become less of a problem as the game slows down for him. But for now, he often neutralizes his advantage by dribbling the ball into a crowd of defenders.
- Wembanyama played an extended stint in the middle of the third quarter, as the Spurs got out to a six point lead but could not get breathing room over the tenacious defense of the Thunder.
- The Spurs hung on as Wembanyama rested the final few minutes of the third quarter, with Fox drawing a foul on Caruso for free throws to take a 78-77 lead as time ran out.
- The fourth started with Wemby on the court, and the first few moments were a see saw battle as the Silver and Black took a six point lead and the Thunder fought back, with Caruso tying things up at 87 with a triple.
- Honorable mention to Luke Kornet for a great chase-down block to break up a fast break in the fourth.
- Wemby entered the game with just over five minutes left as the Spurs made one final push the win the game.
- The last five minutes were tense as the Spurs took a small lead into the final minute. Things got a little tenser as Wembanyama, a little gassed from playing 13 minutes in the second half, missed a free throw and the Thunder only needed a three point shot to tie the game. After a few exchanges of free throws, Mitch made the decision to foul Holmgren to keep the Thunder from taking a three to tie the game with 8 seconds left. Chet missed one of two, and the Thunder had to foul to get the ball back. The last few seconds were a crazy parade to the free throw line as the Spurs kept giving fouls to keep the Thunder from shooting threes, but it almost fell apart at the end as the Thunder almost pulled off a intentional miss-putback free throw. Caruso got his hand on the ball, but could not put it in the hoop as time ran out with the Spurs winning 111-109
The Spurs advance to the finals and face the Knicks. It’s going to be an odd situation, the teams will be playing for money and a trophy, but there’s no impact on the regular season record or player stats. It will be interesting to watch, and it’s going to be a lot of fun for the fans. It remains to be seen how cautious coaches will be with player minutes, but certainly the Spurs players will be motivated, at least to get a llama for Keldon Johnson.
The Spurs will face the Thunder twice more in the next couple of weeks, and it going to be fascinating to see if the Spurs can take what they learned from this game and turn that into more wins against the league’s best team.
By Mark Barrington, via Pounding The Rock