By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-12-28 15:00:42
圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马 (1) 在 2025 年 12 月 27 日星期六于霜冻银行中心举行的下半场比赛中，对犹他爵士队的一次得分作出反应。犹他爵士队以 127-114 击败了圣安东尼奥马刺队。
马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在解释球队周六以 114-127 令人沮丧地输给犹他爵士队的比赛时，引用了格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 的经典说法。
“曾在这里执教过一段时间的家伙过去常用‘篮球之神’这个词，”约翰逊在马刺队常规赛八连胜戛然而止后说道。“我们今晚没有遵从他们。”
在连续战胜卫冕 NBA 总冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队后，马刺队本是带着高昂的士气进入当晚的比赛，其中第二场胜利更是一场全美直播的圣诞大战盛宴。
就像神话中的伊卡洛斯一样，马刺队可能飞得有些太高了。
无论是篮球之神还是犹他爵士队，都让他们付出了代价，将马刺队狠狠地拽回地面，这是他们本赛季 14 次面对胜率不足五成的球队时遭遇的首场失利。
“我们整个团队都有些畏手畏脚地进入比赛，”前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说。“老实说，我认为我们不配赢得这场胜利。这是一场让人清醒的失利。”
这是一次马刺队或许本该预料到的状态回落，即便爵士队前一晚刚刚取得了对东部领头羊底特律队的一场惊艳胜利。
在 12 天内三次击败雷霆队（包括在拉斯维加斯 NBA 杯半决赛中的一场胜利）后，马刺队一跃升至西部第二，成为整个篮球界热议的焦点。
他们回到了霜冻银行中心，开启了圣诞节后的一段三连主场赛程，带着自 2019 年以来最长的连胜纪录，迎战一支直到最近才在赛季中找到节奏的爵士队。
赛前，马刺队对于如何在对阵雷霆队取得激动人心的胜利后避免陷入明显的陷阱，说辞上都无懈可击。
“那两场胜利对我们来说非常棒，对手是去年的总冠军，”后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说。“进入这场比赛，关键在于保持同样的强度和专注度，并做好全面的准备。”
然而面对爵士队，马刺队并没有听从自己的建议。
犹他队开局手感火热，前七次出手机无虚发，并且整场都保持着滚烫的手感。
爵士队全场投篮命中率高达 54.2%，三分球 37 投 17 中，一度建立起多达 17 分的领先优势。
劳里·马尔卡宁 (Lauri Markkanen) 为爵士队贡献了 29 分，而新星基昂特·乔治 (Keyonte George) 则添上 28 分。尤其让马刺队备受打击的是爵士队新秀小沃尔特·克莱顿 (Walter Clayton Jr.)，他替补出场 6 次投篮全部命中，砍下 17 分。
“我们没有带着那些让我们达到现在这个位置的比赛方式进入这场比赛，”凯尔登·约翰逊说。“从上到下，我们都不配这场胜利。我们有一个标准，我们将会坚持这个标准。”
凭借全明星中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)——这是他自 11 月 14 日以来首次首发——贡献的 32 分和 5 次盖帽，以及凯尔登·约翰逊替补出场砍下的 27 分和 10 个篮板，马刺队在第四节奋力将比分追平。
然而他们未能从那里终结比赛，犹他队以一波 21-8 的攻势收官，送给马刺队本赛季在霜冻银行中心最惨痛的一场失利。
“这对我们来说是一场艰难的比赛，”中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 说道，随着文班亚马重返首发五虎，他也回到了替补席。“我们在让防守队员持续跟防持球人方面遇到了困难。他们利用大量的空间和移动做得很好。这让我们很难专注于防守细节。”
这场失利是马刺队自 12 月 5 日客场负于克利夫兰以来，首次在计入常规赛战绩的比赛中告负。
这也是他们自 12 月 16 日在 NBA 杯决赛中输给纽约队以来的首次失利。
巧合的是，这正是马刺队接下来的两个对手。
骑士队将于周一晚造访霜冻银行中心，而尼克斯队则定于新年前夜在圣安东尼奥与马刺队交锋。
在米奇·约翰逊看来，马刺队想要反弹，第一步就是要忽略那些媒体报道和播客。
“外界总在议论纷纷，”约翰逊说。“我们在圣诞节后并没有他们说的那么好。我敢肯定他们现在会把我们贬得一文不值，但我们也没有他们（周六）赛后会说的那么糟。”
凯尔登·约翰逊表示，他希望周六这场“让人清醒的失利”能为一度势头正盛的马刺队起到一次重新调整的作用。
“输球是篮球的一部分，”他说。“关键在于你如何回应。伟大的球队会以正确的方式做出回应。我们会在接下来的比赛中做到这一点。”
对于马刺队来说，重返胜利轨道的道路始于向篮球之神发出恳求。
“我们全队都知道（周六）的表现是不可接受的，”凯尔登·约翰逊说。“我觉得我们没有打出自己的标准。我们计划在周一找回状态。”
San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) scores over Utah Jazz Lauri Markkanen (23) In the second half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) runs onto the court at the beginning of the game on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) comforts Keldon Johnson (3) after taking a hard foul on a one and In the first half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center
San Antonio Spurs Stephon Castle (5) drives on Utah Jazz Brice Sensabaugh (28) In the second half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks shot of Utah Jazz Svi Mykhailiuk (10) In the second half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks over Utah Jazz Cody Williams (5) In the first half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) tries to make a save against Utah Jazz In the second half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
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：How the Spurs aim to beg forgiveness from the 'basketball gods'
How the Spurs aim to beg forgiveness from the ‘basketball gods’
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after a Utah Jazz basket In the second half on Saturday, Dec. 27,2025 at the Frost Bank Center. Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson summoned the spirit of Gregg Popovich when it came to explaining his team’s disheartening 127-114 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
“A guy that coached here for a while used to use the term ‘basketball gods,’” Johnson said after the Spurs’ eight-game regular-season winning streak came crashing down. “We didn’t obey them tonight.”
The Spurs came into the evening flying high after consecutive wins over the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the second of which came in a nationally televised Christmas Day spectacle.
Like the mythical Icarus, the Spurs were probably flying a bit too high.
Either the basketball gods or the Utah Jazz made them pay, sending the Spurs hurtling to Earth in their first loss to a sub-.500 team in 14 tries this season.
“Just as a collective group we tiptoed into the game,” forward Keldon Johnson said. “I don’t think we deserved to win, honestly. It’s a humbling loss.”
It was a letdown the Spurs probably should have seen coming from north of the Red River, even with the Jazz coming off an eye-opening victory against Eastern Conference-leading Detroit the night before.
The Spurs were the talk of the basketball world after stunning the Thunder three times in the span of 12 days, including a victory in the NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas, to vault to second place in the Western Conference.
They returned to the Frost Bank Center for the start of a three-game post-Christmas homestand riding their longest winning streak since 2019, and facing a Jazz team that until recently had struggled to gain traction on its season.
Before the game, the Spurs said all the right things about avoiding an obvious trap after the emotionally charged victories over the Thunder.
“Those were two great wins for us against the team that won the Finals last year,” guard Dylan Harper said. “Going into this game, it is about keeping that same intensity and the same level of focus and be overall fully prepared.”
Against the Jazz, the Spurs did not heed their own advice.
Utah started hot, making its first seven field-goal tries, and never cooled off.
The Jazz shot 54.2% from the floor and made 17 of 37 3-point attempts in building a lead that got as high as 17 points.
Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points for the Jazz, while emerging star Keyonte George added 28. The Spurs were especially singed by 17 points off the bench from Jazz rookie Walter Clayton Jr., who was perfect in his six field-goal attempts.
“We didn’t come into the game doing the things that got us to the place where we’re at,” Keldon Johnson said. “From top to bottom, we didn’t deserve it. We have a standard, and we’re going to uphold that standard.”
Behind 32 points and five blocks from All-Star center Victor Wembanyama — who was making his first start since Nov. 14 — and 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Keldon Johnson, the Spurs battled back to tie the game in the fourth.
They could not close out the game from there, with Utah finishing on a 21-8 run to hand the Spurs their most lopsided defeat at the Frost Bank Center this season.
“It was a tough game for us,” said center Luke Kornet, who returned to the bench with Wembanyama’s re-insertion into the starting five. “We had a difficult time just making our defense stay on the ball. They did a good job with a lot of space and a lot of movement. That makes it difficult to hone in on things.”
The loss was the Spurs’ first in a game that counts in the regular-season standings since a Dec. 5 defeat at Cleveland.
It was their first loss of any kind since falling to New York in the NBA Cup championship game Dec. 16.
As luck would have it, those are the next two games on the docket for the Spurs.
The Cavaliers make a Monday night visit to the Frost Bank Center, with the Knicks on tap for a New Year’s Eve tilt in San Antonio.
The way Mitch Johnson sees it, the Spurs’ first step toward a bounce-back lies in ignoring press clippings and podcasts.
“The world talks,” Johnson said. “We weren’t as good as they said we were after Christmas. I’m sure they’ll kill us, and we aren’t as bad as they’ll say we were (Saturday).”
Keldon Johnson said he is hopeful Saturday’s “humbling” loss can serve as a reset for the once-surging Spurs.
“Losing is part of basketball,” he said. “It’s all in how you respond. Great teams respond in the right way. We’ll do that in the upcoming games.”
For the Spurs, the road back to the win column begins with an appeal to the basketball gods.
“We all know as a group (Saturday) was unacceptable,” Keldon Johnson said. “I do not feel like we played to our standard. We plan to get back to that on Monday.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News