By Mateo Mayorga | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-12-14 17:08:07
但凡看了比赛的人都会承认，周六圣安东尼奥马刺队与俄克拉荷马城雷霆队之间的阿联酋航空杯半决赛，是本赛季最顶级的比赛之一。仅第四节就出现了六次交替领先，如果不是事先知情，你可能会以为自己见证了一场季后赛级别的对决。
马刺队通过掀翻联盟头名的壮举，昂首挺进阿联酋航空杯决赛。雷霆队习惯于在取得两位数领先后从精神上击垮对手，但马刺队在一度落后16分的情况下顽强抵抗，并且队中四人得分超过20分，最终让雷霆尝到了38天（16场比赛）以来的首场失利。
当然，这只是一个夜晚的表现，雷霆队也不可能永远高飞，但马刺能够在一场关键比赛中击败这支追平NBA历史前25场最佳开局纪录（24胜1负）的球队，这本身就意义重大。
上半场大部分时间，雷霆的压迫性防守一度将马刺逼入绝境，导致他们出现11次失误，并投丢了许多本该命中的三分球，进攻端就像一辆需要拧好几次钥匙才能启动的老爷车。然而，正当球迷们脑中可能闪过“这支球队还没为大场面做好准备”的念头时，随着维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在场上发力，一切都改变了。他在篮板球上展现了身材优势，并为队友创造机会。他打得仿佛知道时间所剩无几，这虽然导致了一些糟糕的持球决策，但他仍是马刺能在半场结束前将分差缩小到三分的首要功臣。
第三节开始几分钟后，达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在转换进攻中甩开了雷霆球员，为圣安东尼奥夺得了本场比赛的首次领先。但他们的领先优势从未超过六分，因为谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在场上予取予求。
很自然地，文班将最佳表现留到了第四节，在3到14英尺的距离内命中四球。德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔也加入了战局，他们合力命中两记三分和两次禁区内的出手，帮助马刺完成了这次爆冷。
杯赛决赛将于周二举行，对手是纽约尼克斯队，他们在过去20场比赛中赢下了16场。
赛后观察；
- 圣安东尼奥的半场和转换进攻都受到了限制。更糟糕的是，他们队内最好的两名射手——哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 和朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie)——三分命中率合计仅有7.7%。然而，凭借着出色的防守（除了亚历山大之外，没有让其他任何球员真正形成威胁）以及在篮板球上的额外努力，圣安东尼奥最终逃出生天。科内特 (Kornet) 一人就抢下了全队三分之一（5个）的进攻篮板，另有三名马刺球员的篮板数至少达到8个。在一场由一回合球权决定胜负的比赛中，圣安东尼奥在二次进攻得分上取得的10分优势也同样价值千金。
- 正如亚历山大所说，卫冕冠军每晚都会遭遇对手的全力以赴，但他们也同样全力回击，因为他们正试图打破金州勇士队在2015-16赛季创造的73胜纪录。本场比赛前，雷霆的场均净胜分超过17分。而本年度首次全员出战的马刺队，通过迫使他们提速等方式，将他们的进攻效率限制在本赛季最低的101.9。
- 文班亚马在有出场时间限制的情况下重返赛场，球队的策略似乎是在上半场大部分时间里让他休息，以便在下半场安全地倾其所有。继上半场短暂的统治级表现后，他在下半场开始四分多钟后才登场。他在护球方面遇到了更多麻烦，并且投丢了比赛末段的两次罚球，但他的跳投精准，对禁区的冲击力也令对手难以招架。他的22分中有15分来自第四节。
- 主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 的用人调度值得称赞，他让八名球员的出场时间分布在21到37分钟之间，而凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 只打了14分钟。当球队运转良好时，要将一名重磅球员重新融入轮换绝非易事。马刺队本场打出了赛季最低的进攻效率，但这很大程度上与对手的实力有关。尽管如此，随着球员们逐渐适应球权减少，进攻的流畅性是未来需要持续关注的一点。
- 关于文班，有太多东西可说，因为他在场下和在场上一样，都是摇滚巨星级别的人物。他在复出前就表示自己将成为最好的球员，赛后又说马刺和卫冕冠军的区别在于，他们“还没有足够多的经验来认识到并享受赢球所需要付出的代价。”
- 当身材较小的球员能够成功防守文班亚马时，你会偶尔意识到他距离自己的身体巅峰还很遥远。这一次是杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams) 和亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso)，但文班是个聪明的球员，当对手试图对他上身体对抗时，他会用臂展优势来应对。
- 斯蒂芬·卡斯尔的六次失误在数据统计上看起来相当扎眼，但他在其他方面的影响力弥补了这一点。他的22分中有14分来自禁区内，而他的持球防守（尤其是在对位亚历山大时）和协防能力，是马刺能够晋级的关键。
- 亚历山大已经将急停跳投掌握得炉火纯青。他凭借超强的节奏感和爆发力，通过变向轻松找到自己的投篮点，为干净利落的跳投创造空间。他本场两分球命中率高达68.8%；然而，他在第四节的三次三分尝试全部偏出，因为马刺球员及时地干扰了他的投篮空间。
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：What we learned from the Spurs win over the Thunder
What we learned from the Spurs win over the Thunder
Anyone with eyeballs and a pulse will testify that Saturday’s Emirates Cup semifinals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder was one of the top games of the season. The fourth quarter alone had six lead changes, and if one didn’t know any better, they might think they witnessed a playoff game.
The Spurs punched their ticket to the Emirates Cup Finals by toppling the top team in the league. The Thunder habitually break opponents down mentally when taking double-digit leads, but the Spurs resisted when trailing by 16 points, and four of them went on to log at least 20 points, giving OKC their first loss in 38 days (16 games).
Of course, it’s just one night, and the Thunder can’t fly that high forever, but it’s a big deal that the Spurs could beat the squad that matched the best start through 25 games in NBA history (24-1), in a meaningful game.
OKC’s pressure had the Spurs on the ropes most of the first half, committing 11 turnovers and missing makeable 3-pointers that had their offense resembling an old car that takes a few key turns to start. Yet as the thought that maybe this team isn’t ready for prime time probably raced through fans’ minds, everything changed in Victor Wembanyama’s stints as he threw his size around on the glass and set up teammates. He played like he knew time was running out, and it led to some poor decision-making with the ball, but he was the main reason they cut the deficit to three going into intermission.
A few minutes into the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox snatched San Antonio‘s first lead of the night as he raced past orange jerseys in transition. They didn’t lead by more than six points because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got where he wanted when he wanted.
Naturally, Wemby saved his best for the fourth, nailing four baskets between three and 14 feet. Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle got in on the action, too, making two 3-pointers and two shots in the lane, helping the Spurs pull off the upset.
The Cup finale will be on Tuesday against the New York Knicks, who have won 16 of their last 20 outings.
Takeaways;
- San Antonio’s half-court and transition attack were hindered. On top of that, their two best snipers-Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie- shot 7.7 percent from deep. Yet the defense, not permitting anyone other than SGA to become much of a factor, and the extra effort on the glass helped San Antonio escape the Thunder. Kornet had a third (5) of the team’s offensive rebounds, and three Spurs had at least eight boards. In a game that was decided by one possession, San Antonio‘s 10-point edge in second-chance scoring was as good as gold, too.
- As much as the champs get every team’s best effort every night, they are giving that right back since they are trying to break the 73-win record set by the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16, according to SGA. Their average point differential before the game was over 17 points. The Spurs, who had everybody available for the first time this year, held them to their lowest offensive rating of the season (101.9) in part by speeding them up.
- Wembanyama is back in the saddle on a minutes restriction and it seemed the strategy was to spare him most of the first half to safely empty the tank after intermission. He followed up his dominant short burst, checking into the second half over four minutes in. He struggled more with ball security and missed two late freebies, but his jumper was on target, and his paint pressure was too much to handle. Fifteen of his 22 points came in the fourth quarter.
- Credit to coach Mitch Johnson for handling the minutes distribution with eight players getting between 21 and 37, and then there was Keldon Johnson, who only had 14. Incorporating a big-time player back into a rotation when things have been working is no easy business. The Spurs had their lowest offensive rating of the season, but the quality of their opponent has a lot to do with that. Still, the flow is something to monitor going forward as players adjust to can getting fewer touches.
- There’s so much to say about Wemby, and that’s because he’s just as much of a rockstar off the court as he is on. He said before his comeback that he would be the best player, and then after the game said the difference between the Spurs and the defending champions is that they “haven’t had this many reps recognizing what it takes and enjoying what it takes to win.”
- Now and then, you get a reminder that Wembanyama is still far away from his physical peak when smaller players get away with guarding him. This time it was Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso, but Wemby is a smart guy, who counters with length when they try to body him up.
- Castle six turnovers looks hideous on the stat sheet, yet his impact in other areas makes up for it. Fourteen of his 22 points came in the lane, and his defense on the ball (especially on SGA) and as a helper were critical in helping the Spurs advance.
- SGA has mastered pull-up shooting. He zigzags to his spots easily and creates separation for clean jumpers because of his extra level of twitchiness. He made 68.8 percent of his two-point shots; however, all three of his 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter missed due to a Spur getting in his air space promptly.
By Mateo Mayorga, via Pounding The Rock