By The Athletic NBA Staff and more | The Athletic, 2025-12-25 20:01:52
作者：迈克·普拉达、莎凯亚·泰勒、贾里德·韦斯、詹姆斯·L·爱德华兹三世和尼克·弗里德尔
一次可能是侥幸，两次或许是巧合，但三次呢？不幸的是，对于俄克拉荷马城雷霆队来说，这已经演变成了一种规律。
在NBA圣诞大战五场比赛的焦点对决中，圣安东尼奥马刺队以117-102击败雷霆队，送给雷霆赛季主场首败，同时这也是雷霆在12天内第三次负于马刺。
马刺赢得相对轻松。他们在第二节还剩4分半钟时取得了两位数的领先优势，而雷霆在之后的时间里再也未能将分差缩小到7分以内。德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 为马刺砍下29分，而维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 替补出场26分钟，贡献了19分和11个篮板。此役，马刺全队投篮命中率接近54%，面对雷霆凶悍的防守仅出现12次失误，并将俄克拉荷马城的投篮命中率限制在38.6%。
自从以赛季前25场24胜的战绩开启卫冕之旅以来，雷霆在最近的六场比赛中输掉了四场，其中三次都败给了马刺。第一次失利是在NBA杯半决赛中以两分之差惜败，那场比赛也是文班亚马从小腿拉伤中复出之战。随后，周二马刺依靠主场之利以20分的优势大胜对手。圣诞大战本是雷霆在主场一雪前耻的机会——在本年度，他们在这里总共只输过六次。然而事与愿违，他们在最后三节的大部分时间里都处于被动局面。
稍早前，圣诞大战的序幕由东部两大季前热门之间的一场经典对决拉开，比赛的精彩程度不负众望。在超级巨星杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的带领以及替补球员乔丹·克拉克森 (Jordan Clarkson)、泰勒·科勒克 (Tyler Kolek) 和米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 的杰出表现下，纽约尼克斯队在第四节落后两位数的情况下奋起直追，于麦迪逊广场花园以126-124逆转克利夫兰骑士队。
比赛还剩10分26秒时，骑士队还手握17分的领先优势，似乎即将迎来一场关键胜利，为他们起伏不定的赛季注入强心剂。然而，克拉克森、科勒克和罗宾逊策动了一场逆转，其过程让人想起了本月早些时候帮助尼克斯锁定NBA杯冠军的那次大翻盘。
这为上赛季的年度关键球员布伦森终结比赛打开了大门。他在第四节独得34分中的13分，包括在比赛还剩一分钟时命中一记急停三分，帮助尼克斯锁定了胜局。
在当日的第三场对决中，金州勇士队克服了斯蒂芬·库里 (Steph Curry) 手感不佳以及库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg) 惊艳的圣诞大战首秀带来的影响，以126-116击败了达拉斯独行侠队。
尽管库里以18投6中的表现延续了他在圣诞大战中手感挣扎的惯例，但他仍以23分领衔全队。勇士队另有六人得分上双，其中包括艾尔·霍福德 (Al Horford)，他在因坐骨神经刺激缺席了过去11场比赛中的10场后迎来复出，并贡献了14分。弗拉格以27分成为全场得分王，同时还贡献了6个篮板和5次助攻。他的搭档安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis) 在因腹股沟伤病离场前仅得到3分。
还有两场比赛即将进行。首先，洛杉矶湖人队主场迎战休斯顿火箭队，这是勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 的第20次圣诞大战亮相。随后，明尼苏达森林狼队将客场挑战丹佛掘金队，为这五场对决画上句号。
以下是我们从比赛中观察到的要点。
雷霆遇上了大麻烦
就在一周前，一切还都顺风顺水。
许多人认为俄克拉荷马城雷霆队不可战胜，将轻松卫冕总冠军。但在不到一周的时间里，维克托·文班亚马——在有限的上场时间内——和圣安东尼奥马刺队彻底粉碎了这种看法。卫冕联盟MVP谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在周四延续了他连续得分20+的纪录，但雷霆在第一节就早早落后，圣安东尼奥此后便再未让出领先优势。
休斯顿火箭和丹佛掘金本就是西部有望将雷霆拉下马的有力竞争者，但马刺向其他球队表明，雷霆并非无敌。事实证明，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大不会总是因为雷霆领先20分而提前打卡下班。
在这场雷霆需要所有首发球员拿出最佳状态的比赛中，他们的投篮就是不进。除了吉尔杰斯-亚历山大，没有其他球员得分超过13分。
过去几场比赛应该为雷霆敲响警钟。他们需要着手解决圣安东尼奥这个大麻烦了。 ——莎凯亚·泰勒, NBA专栏作家
马刺是新的冠军热门吗？
上一次NBA的势力格局被如此迅速地重塑是什么时候？
通常情况下，需要一场灾难性的伤病才能如此突然地改写联盟的剧本。但在两周内连续三次战胜雷霆后，马刺无疑已是总冠军的有力竞争者。对于一支赛季初目标仅是附加赛左右的球队来说，这是一个惊人的转变。但事到如今，结果已不容置疑。
马刺正在证明自己是当今NBA最好的球队。这支球队的设计初衷，就是围绕维克托·文班亚马打造极致的阵容深度和灵活性，以至于在比赛进程中，他已不再是球队进攻端不可或缺的一环。如何将他融入体系，在现阶段更像是一种锦上添花，而非必需品。
周四的比赛，马刺之所以能在上半场拉开分差，是因为文班亚马放空了底角的亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso)，而这位雷霆后卫当晚前9次三分出手全部偏出。尽管俄克拉荷马城错失了太多足以缩小差距的空位三分，但他们整体表现尚可，足以证明在一轮七场系列赛中，这仍将是一场势均力敌的较量。但在这次堪称季后赛系列赛预演的对决中——这种机会在NBA常规赛程中极为罕见——马刺已经用三连胜将雷霆推到了理论上被淘汰的边缘。
圣安东尼奥击败卫冕冠军的稳定性如此之高，你无法忽视一个事实：眼下，马刺是更强的球队。考虑到两周前全世界对雷霆的高度评价，这意味着马刺可以说已是目前NBA最强的球队。
而不知何故，他们似乎才刚刚开始找到感觉。 ——贾里德·韦斯, 马刺专栏作家
这支尼克斯靠深度取胜
尼克斯的武器库太过丰厚，这一点在圣诞大战逆转骑士的比赛中体现得淋漓尽致。
纽约队开局便以3-18落后。他们在第一节净负对手15分。紧接着，他们在第二节以17分净胜骑士，其中克拉克森在上半场就贡献了14分。
纽约队带着领先优势进入半场休息，但他们在第三节的表现和开局时一样糟糕。骑士队在第三节净胜尼克斯14分。
然而，凭借罗宾逊在第四节抢下的无数个进攻篮板（这些篮板全都转化为了尼克斯的得分），以及科勒克和布伦森的三分火力，尼克斯在看似已是强弩之末时成功逆转取胜。截至圣诞节，尼克斯的战绩为21胜9负，比去年同期还多赢了一场。
罗宾逊、克拉克森、科勒克、兰德里·沙梅特 (Landry Shamet) 和迈尔斯·麦克布莱德 (Miles McBride) 等替补球员的贡献，是纽约能位居东部第二的关键因素。这些球员本赛季都曾凭借出色表现为尼克斯赢下一两场比赛。
纽约队似乎不仅仅是一支依赖球星的“头重脚轻”型球队。他们拥有以多种方式赢球的阵容深度。 ——詹姆斯·L·爱德华兹三世, 尼克斯资深作家
勇士需要那个版本的艾尔·霍福德
在周四对阵达拉斯独行侠队的比赛之前，艾尔·霍福德在一个月里只打了一场比赛。这位39岁老将在勇士的第一个赛季并没有像这位骄傲的老将所期望的那样发展。他表现起伏不定，还受了伤。然而，对这位老将来说，最艰难的部分是，在周四之前的13场比赛里，他的表现一直不太好。
本赛季以来，这种情况第一次发生了改变。一直受坐骨神经问题困扰的霍福德，在自12月14日以来的首场比赛中于第一节替补登场，并命中四记三分，为勇士队注入了活力。他全场比赛7投5中，在11分钟内得到14分、4个篮板和2次助攻。
在他堪称“不堪回首”的赛季前半段里，对于霍福德来说，这是他回归赛场迈出的坚实一步。 ——尼克·弗里德尔, 勇士资深作家
本文将持续更新。
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 NBA's Christmas games: Spurs have become Thunder's kryptonite
What we learned from NBA’s Christmas games: Spurs have become Thunder’s kryptonite
By Mike Prada, Shakeia Taylor, Jared Weiss, James L. Edwards III and Nick Friedell
Once might be a fluke. Twice could be coincidence. But three times? Unfortunately for the Oklahoma City Thunder, that’s a pattern.
In the marquee matchup of the NBA’s five-game Christmas schedule, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Thunder 117-102, handing the Thunder their first home defeat of the season and their third loss to San Antonio in 12 days.
The Spurs did it with relative ease. They took a double-digit lead with four and a half minutes left in the second quarter, and the Thunder never got closer than seven points the rest of the way. De’Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 29 points, while Victor Wembanyama tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. The Spurs shot nearly 54 percent from the field, committed just 12 turnovers against the Thunder’s ferocious defense and held Oklahoma City to just 38.6 percent shooting in the victory.
Since opening their defense of last season’s championship with 24 wins in their first 25 games, the Thunder have lost four of six, including three defeats to the Spurs. The first came by two points in the semifinals of the NBA Cup, a game that marked Wembanyama’s return from a calf strain. Then, the Spurs rode their home crowd to a 20-point blowout win Tuesday. The Christmas matchup offered a chance for the Thunder to redeem themselves on their home court, where they had lost just six times this calendar year. Instead, they were on the back foot for the vast majority of the final three quarters.
Earlier, the Christmas slate opened with a classic matchup between the East’s two preseason favorites that lived up to the hype. Led by superstar Jalen Brunson and standout performances from reserves Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson, the New York Knicks rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-124, at Madison Square Garden.
The Cavaliers led by 17 points with 10 minutes and 26 seconds left in the game and seemed on the verge of a pivotal victory to jumpstart their uneven season. Instead, Clarkson, Kolek and Robinson spurred a comeback reminiscent of the one that secured the Knicks’ NBA Cup championship earlier this month.
That opened the door for Brunson, last season’s Clutch Player of the Year, to close things out. He scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, including a pull-up 3 with a minute left that gave New York the lead for good.
In the third matchup of the day, the Golden State Warriors overcame an off shooting afternoon from Steph Curry and a standout Christmas debut from Cooper Flagg to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 126-116.
While Curry continued his custom of struggling on Christmas with a 6-of-18 shooting performance, he led the team with 23 points. Six other Warriors scored in double figures, including Al Horford, who notched 14 points in his return from sciatic nerve irritation after missing 10 of the previous 11 games. Flagg led all scorers with 27 points while adding six rebounds and five assists. His running mate, Anthony Davis, scored just three points before leaving the game with a groin injury.
Two more games remain. First, the Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets in LeBron James’ 20th Christmas appearance. Then, the Minnesota Timberwolves will visit the Denver Nuggets to close out the five-game slate.
Here’s what we learned from the action.
The Thunder have a big problem
It was all good just a week ago.
Many thought the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t be beat and would cruise their way into another championship. But in less than a week’s time, Victor Wembanyama — on limited minutes — and the San Antonio Spurs have dismantled the idea. Reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his 20-point game streak Thursday, but the Thunder got down early in the first quarter and San Antonio never relinquished the lead.
The Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets were already strong contenders to dethrone the Thunder out West, but the Spurs have shown other teams that OKC isn’t invincible. It turns out Gilgeous-Alexander won’t always sit out fourth quarters because the Thunder are up by 20.
In a game where the Thunder needed all of their starters to be as good as possible, shots just weren’t falling. No one other than Gilgeous-Alexander scored more than 13 points.
The last couple of games should serve as a wake up call for the Thunder. They’re going to need to figure out their very big San Antonio problem. —Shakeia Taylor, NBA staff writer
Are the Spurs the new team to beat?
When was the last time the balance of power in the NBA was reconfigured so swiftly like this?
Usually, it takes a catastrophic injury to rewrite the league’s story so suddenly. But after three consecutive wins over the Thunder in two weeks, the Spurs are unquestionably a title contender. It’s a shocking revelation for a team that was aiming for somewhere around the Play-In entering the season. But the results at this point are undeniable.
The Spurs are making a case for the best team in the NBA now. They are designed for maximum depth and flexibility around Victor Wembanyama, to the point that he is no longer vital to their offense over the course of the game. Figuring out how he fits into their system is more of a luxury than a necessity at this point.
San Antonio was able to open up a lead in the first half Thursday because Wembanyama abandoned Alex Caruso in the corner as the Thunder guard missed his first nine 3s of the night. While Oklahoma City missed too many wide-open 3s to close the gap, it played well enough overall to show this would remain an even matchup over the course of a seven-game series. But in what has been effectively a playoff series simulation — something we rarely get to see with the way the NBA schedule works — the Spurs have pushed the Thunder to the brink of theoretical elimination with three straight wins.
San Antonio has beaten the defending champions with such consistency that you cannot ignore the fact that, right now, the Spurs are the better team. Considering the high esteem the world was holding the Thunder in just two weeks ago, that means the Spurs are arguably the best team in the NBA right now.
Somehow, they are only just beginning to figure things out. — Jared Weiss, Spurs staff writer
These Knicks win with depth
The Knicks have too many weapons, as made evident in the Christmas Day comeback victory over the Cavaliers.
New York found itself down 18-3 to start the game. The Knicks were outscored by 15 in the first quarter. They followed that up by outscoring the Cavaliers by 17 in the second quarter behind 14 first-half points from Clarkson.
New York took a lead into halftime, but was equally as bad in the third quarter as it was to open the game. The Cavaliers outscored the Knicks by 14 in the third quarter.
However, behind a billion offensive rebounds from Robinson in the fourth quarter, all of which led to Knicks baskets, and the 3-point shooting of Kolek and Brunson, the Knicks were able to pull out the win when they looked dead in the water. The Knicks are 21-9 through Christmas Day, which is one game better than they were this time last year.
The contributions of bench players like Robinson, Clarkson, Kolek, Landry Shamet and Miles McBride have been a huge factor as to why New York finds itself with the No. 2 seed in the East. All of those players have won a game or two for the Knicks this season with big performances.
New York appears to be more than a top-heavy team. It has the depth to win multiple ways. — James L. Edwards III, Knicks senior writer
Warriors need that version of Al Horford
Al Horford came into Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks having played one game in a month. The 39-year-old’s first season with the Warriors has not played out the way the proud veteran had hoped. He’s been inconsistent. He’s been hurt. Yet the toughest part for the proud veteran is that he just hasn’t been very good in the 13 games he played before Thursday.
For one of the first times all season, that changed. Horford, who has been dealing with a sciatica issue, came off the bench in the first quarter in his first game since Dec. 14 and knocked down four 3s to spark the Warriors. He finished the game with 14 points, going 5-of-7 from the field for 14 points, four rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes.
It was a solid step back for Horford in what has otherwise been a forgettable first half of the season. — Nick Friedell, Warriors senior writer
This story will be updated.
By The Athletic NBA Staff and more, via The Athletic