By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-02-01 15:55:56
2026年1月31日，周六，在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市举行的一场NBA篮球比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在下半场站在球场上。(美联社图片/Nell Redmond)
在NBA的七年生涯中，马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 早已学会在联盟变幻莫测的旅行赛程面前“兵来将挡，水来土掩”——尤其是在冰冷的冬季。
“我们清楚赛程的安排，也知道我们必须继续团结一致，搞定一切，”约翰逊说道。
然而，本周末这24小时内，旅途中接连出现的重击还是让马刺队有些措手不及。
在周六客场以106-111憾负夏洛特后，马刺队迫不及待地想返回圣安东尼奥，甩掉失利的阴霾。
但大自然——以及墨菲定律——另有安排。
卡罗莱纳地区创纪录的降雪、球队专机的机舱增压系统故障，以及一次计划外的亚特兰大经停，这一连串的旅行意外险些导致了周日于霜冻银行中心对阵奥兰多队的比赛被迫取消。
周六在夏洛特的比赛为了躲避席卷北卡罗来纳州的炸弹气旋系统，已经提前三小时改至东部时间中午开打。赛后，马刺队在道格拉斯国际机场的停机坪上等待了两个多小时，才等到他们的返程包机获准起飞。
夏洛特都会区当时正经历一场暴风雪，给该市带来了11英寸（约28厘米）的积雪，是自2004年以来录得的单日最高降雪记录。
马刺队的飞机刚到除冰阶段，就传来了坏消息：跑道已经结冰，机场即将关闭，并且要到次日早上才能重新开放。
球员和工作人员重新登上球队大巴，艰难地返回市区，在一家酒店住下过夜。
此时，马刺队原定于周日在霜冻银行中心对阵奥兰多队的比赛时间，从下午3点推迟到了下午6点。
周日天气状况好转，球队的包机于上午10:21起飞——但由于机舱增压系统的维护问题，飞机被迫改道飞往亚特兰大。
在亚特兰大延误了两个多小时，以寻找另一架（但愿能正常运行的）飞机后，马刺队在下午2点过后再次启程——飞往圣安东尼奥。
球队飞机升空后不久，俱乐部宣布周日比赛的时间再次变更，这一次改到了晚上8点。
马刺队对赛季中出现的后勤挑战并不陌生。上赛季，由于2025年1月肆虐洛杉矶地区的野火，他们一场原定对阵湖人队的比赛就被推迟了。
那场大火迫使马刺队在那次客场之旅中更换了球队下榻的酒店。
“很显然，当你像我们这样频繁出行时，你必须时刻保持灵活性，”马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在周六赛前说道。“我们现在看到整个联盟都出现了一些比赛被提前或取消的情况。”
周日下午3:25（中部时间），在他们的大巴离开夏洛特光谱中心近25小时后，马刺队终于在圣安东尼奥国际机场着陆，并直接前往霜冻银行中心。
此时距离他们与魔术队的比赛开球还有4个半小时。
特约撰稿人汤姆·奥斯本 (Tom Orsborn) 对此报道亦有贡献
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson reacts to a call during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks to pass against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) drives against San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
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 San Antonio Spurs beat Mother Nature and Murphy's Law
How the San Antonio Spurs beat Mother Nature and Murphy’s Law
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama stands on the court during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
In his seven years in the NBA, Spurs forward Keldon Johnson has learned to “roll with the punches” when it comes to the vagaries of the league’s travel schedule – especially during the icy winter months.
“We know what to expect with our schedule and we know we got to continue to just come together and get it done,” Johnson said.
Nothing could have fully prepared the Spurs for the travel-induced haymakers thrown their way in a 24-hour span this weekend.
After enduring a tough 111-106 defeat in Charlotte on Saturday, the Spurs couldn’t wait to get home to San Antonio and shake off the bad vibes.
Mother Nature – and Murphy’s Law – had other plans.
A record-breaking snowfall in the Carolinas, a busted cabin pressurization system on the team plane and an unscheduled stop in Atlanta created a series of travel mishaps that came close to scuttling Sunday’s game against Orlando at the Frost Bank Center.
Following Saturday’s contest in Charlotte, which had been moved up three hours to noon eastern in hopes of beating the worst of the bomb cyclone system bearing down on North Carolina, the Spurs waited more than two hours on the tarmac at Douglas International Airport for clearance for their charter flight to take off for home.
The Charlotte metro area was in the process of a storm that dumped 11 inches of snow on the city, the most recorded in a single day since 2004.
The Spurs’ plane made it as far as the de-icing stage when the news came down: The runways were frozen, the airport was shutting down and would not re-open until morning.
Players and staff reloaded onto the team bus and trudged back into the city to hunker down at a hotel for the night.
At that point, the Spurs’ game scheduled for Sunday against Orlando at the Frost Bank Center was pushed from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Afforded improved weather conditions Sunday, the team’s charter flight got off the ground at 10:21 a.m. – only to be diverted to Atlanta due to a maintenance issue with the cabin pressurization system.
After a more than two-hour delay in Atlanta to locate a different and hopefully operable plane, the Spurs departed for San Antonio – again – just after 2 p.m.
Not long after the team plane was airborne, the club announced Sunday’s game time had been changed again, this time to 8 p.m.
The Spurs are no strangers to logistical challenges that pop up during the course of the season. Last season, they had a scheduled game against the Lakers postponed due to the wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area in January 2025.
The fires forced the Spurs to change team hotels during that trip.
“You’ve got to obviously be flexible at times when you travel as much as we do,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said before Saturday’s game. “We’ve seen it now across the league where there’s been a few games moved up or canceled.”
At 3:25 p.m. central Sunday, nearly 25 hours after their buses left the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, the Spurs at last touched down at San Antonio International Airport and headed directly to the Frost Bank Center.
They had 4 ½ hours until tipoff against the Magic.
Staff writer Tom Orsborn contributed to this report
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News