By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, 2025-12-17 15:29:03
拉斯维加斯电——在NBA季中锦标赛决赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队以113-124不敌纽约尼克斯队。赛后，队内效力时间最长的球员凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 描述了球队在背负着高期望时所产生的全新且“令人不适的感觉”。
自从约翰逊在2019-20赛季进入联盟以来，马刺队的单赛季胜场数从未超过34场。但约翰逊和他的队友们相信，他们在季中锦标赛期间所经历的高强度对决，为他们构建更光明的未来提供了理想的练兵场。
“我觉得，当人们对你抱有赢球的期望时，一旦你没能做到，失利的滋味显然会更苦涩，”约翰逊说道。“我想说，那种不适感就来自于——当你期望赢球却事与愿违时，你对此的反应会完全不同。因为在过去几年里，我们并没有（赢球的）期望。这和现在的情况完全不一样。”
赛季初期，一波伤病潮席卷了圣安东尼奥的阵容。周二的比赛仅仅是马刺队本赛季第二次以全员健康的完整阵容出战。
法国天才球员维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在因伤缺阵12场后迎来复出的第二场比赛，他替补出场贡献了18分和16个篮板。在这位21岁新星在场的25分钟里，尼克斯队净胜马刺队18分。
文班亚马赛后情绪激动，但这与比赛结果无关。他在回答了赛后新闻发布会的第一个问题后便哽咽落泪，然后说道：“对不起，我今天失去了一位亲人。” 他在回答完一个问题后便离开了现场。
据一位消息人士透露，文班亚马在当天早些时候得知了他在法国的祖母去世的消息。
当被问及这场比赛时，他表示这将是一次宝贵的学习经历。
“我想这对于打重要比赛来说是最好的演练，因为我们的重心早已放在季后赛上，那才是最重要的时刻，”文班亚马说。“季后赛将是一年中最关键的阶段。所以，我认为我们能有这样的经历也是一件好事。”
马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 对此表示赞同。在第三节还剩2分07秒时，圣安东尼奥还手握11分的领先优势，但他们在末节被尼克斯队打出了35-19的攻击波，期间篮板球更是被对手以23-6完全压制。
“[这是我们]全队合体的第二场比赛，”主教练约翰逊说道，“对手都是非常优秀的队伍——他们经验老到，经历过类似的大场面。”
在周六的季中锦标赛半决赛中，马刺队爆冷击败了卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队，那场比赛是他们首次以全员健康的阵容出战，也是文班亚马职业生涯首次替补登场。
“这些都是非常宝贵的经验，”主教练约翰逊说。“你必须保持执行力，必须确保当比赛势头似乎正在溜走时，能够及时挺身而出，稳住阵脚。有时，这可能只是一个与直接控球无关的基础战术动作。”
主教练约翰逊表示，虽然“我猜大家因为输掉了比赛而感到非常沮丧”，但他也承认，“我相信，在赛季进行了25场比赛后，我们已经展现出一些迹象，表明我们能成为一支相当不错的球队。”
新科榜眼秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在本赛季已有两场得分20+的表现，而在周二对阵尼克斯的比赛中，他替补出场砍下21分和7个篮板。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 则贡献了15分、7个篮板和12次助攻。
“天空才是极限，”哈珀说道。“这只是我们（全员归来后）的第二场比赛，没什么可过度反应的。无论是在季中锦标赛还是整个赛季，我们都赢下了很多胶着的比赛。这次品尝失利的滋味绝对是一次很好的学习经历。它让我们对自己有了更深的了解，而且，知道我们至今所取得的成就后，我们仍有巨大的成长空间，这是件好事。”
马刺队将力求把这次在拉斯维加斯高压氛围下比赛的经验运用到后续的征程中，争取自用第29号签选中凯尔登·约翰逊的前一个赛季以来，首次重返季后赛。
“我觉得我们只需要继续成长，”凯尔登·约翰逊说道。“继续培养良好的习惯，在艰难时刻继续相互依靠。我觉得我们队里有很棒的老将，而且我相信，一旦全员到齐并找到我们的节奏，我们的状态会更好。”
本篇报道综合了美联社 (The Associated Press) 的部分信息。
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：Spurs look to build on NBA Cup experience as they chase playoffs
Spurs look to build on NBA Cup experience as they chase playoffs
LAS VEGAS – Keldon Johnson, the San Antonio Spurs’ longest-tenured player, described the new and “uncomfortable feelings” associated with high expectations in the wake of his team’s 124-113 loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game.
Since Johnson’s rookie year in 2019-20, the Spurs haven’t won more than 34 games in a season. But Johnson and his teammates believe their experience in high-stakes matchups during the NBA Cup provided ideal training ground as they build toward a brighter future.
“I feel like when you have the expectation to win, obviously it means more when you don’t,” Johnson said. “I would say the uncomfortable part is just when you had expectations to win and then you don’t, just how you respond to that is different, because in past years we didn’t have the expectation to [win]. It was different than how it is now.”
After a rash of injuries ran through San Antonio’s roster during the early portion of the season, Tuesday marked just the second game the Spurs played with a full roster of available players.
French phenom Victor Wembanyama came off the bench in his second game back from a 12-game absence and finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Knicks outscored the Spurs by 18 points in the 25 minutes the 21-year-old was on the floor.
Wembanyama was emotional after the game, for reasons that had nothing to do with the outcome. He teared up after answering the first question of his postgame news conference before saying, “I’m sorry, I lost somebody today.” He took one more question before leaving.
According to a source, Wembanyama learned of his grandmother’s death in France earlier in the day.
When asked about the game, he indicated it would be a learning experience.
“I guess it is the best practice for important games because of course our focus is already on the playoffs and that’s the biggest time,” Wembanyama said. “The playoffs are going to be the biggest time of the year. So, I guess it’s good that we got this experience, too.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson agreed. With 2:07 remaining in the third quarter, San Antonio clung to an 11-point lead, only to be outscored by the Knicks 35-19 in the final frame, during which they demolished the Spurs 23-6 on the glass.
“[It was our] second game all together [as a team],” Johnson said, “playing really competitive games against really good teams – seasoned, experienced teams that have been in similar situations.”
The Spurs upset the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday in what was their first game with a fully healthy roster and featured Wembanyama playing his first game off the bench.
“Just some really good experiences,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to execute and you’ve got to make sure when there is a moment where the game feels like it’s getting away from you, that’s when you sometimes need to make a stand. Sometimes that’s a fundamental play that has nothing to do with directly involving the basketball.”
Johnson said that while “I’m assuming that we’re feeling pretty frustrated because we lost the game,” he also acknowledged, “after 25 games in, I believe, that we’ve shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team.”
Rookie No. 2 pick Dylan Harper entered Tuesday with two 20-point games this season, only to rack up 21 points off the bench against the Knicks with 7 rebounds. Stephon Castle contributed 15 points, 7 boards and 12 assists.
“Sky is the limit,” Harper said. “It’s our second game [all together again]. It’s nothing to overreact about. We have won a lot of close games in the Cup or in the season in general. To be on this side is definitely a good learning experience. It teaches us a lot about ourselves, and it’s good that we have a whole lot of room to grow knowing what we have done up to this point.”
The Spurs will look to apply their experience playing in the high-stakes atmosphere of Las Vegas as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since the season before the Spurs drafted Keldon Johnson with the 29th pick.
“I feel like we’ve just got to continue to build,” Keldon Johnson said. “Continue to build good habits and continue to lean on one another in tough moments. I feel like we have great vets on this team, and I feel like once we hit our stride with everybody we’ll be in even better shape.”
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, via ESPN