By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-02-03 15:38:52
2025年12月23日（周二），圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在弗罗斯特银行中心进行的第二节比赛中，站在俄克拉荷马城雷霆队后卫吕冈茨·多尔特 (Luguentz Dort) (5) 身边向队友打手势。最终马刺以130-110击败了雷霆。
马刺前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 在今年1月两队最后一次交锋时，注意到了俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的一些不同之处。
雷霆来到佩康中心 (Paycom Center) 并不只是为了在得分上超过马刺。
“他们想要我们的首级，”尚帕尼说道。
雷霆在那天晚上如愿以偿。
1月13日雷霆以119-98大胜 是这支卫冕冠军本赛季在四次交手中首次战胜马刺。这段尚处于萌芽阶段的宿敌关系，此前似乎——至少在短时间内——向着圣安东尼奥的方向倾斜。
随着西部排名前二的两支球队将于周三在弗罗斯特银行中心迎来的罕见第五次，也是最后一次交手，马刺有机会证明他们在12月那12天内对阵俄克拉荷马城取得的3胜0负并非侥幸。
与此同时，雷霆则在寻找重新确立其在西部食物链顶端统治地位的机会。
准备好迎接马刺与雷霆的第五番战。
“这从来不关乎对手，”有望连续第二年获得NBA常规赛MVP的雷霆后卫谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 说道，“关键总是在于我们自己。我们之所以能达到现在的地位，是因为我们一直专注于自身。”
马刺能达到现在的地位——令人惊讶的33胜16负，并且时隔六个赛季后首次触及季后赛门槛——在很大程度上归功于他们在12月对阵雷霆时打下的基础。
首先是马刺在拉斯维加斯进行的NBA杯半决赛中以111-109获胜，终结了雷霆的16连胜。作为安可表演，马刺在10天后于圣安东尼奥主场迎战雷霆，并以130-110给了对手当头一棒。
仿佛为了证明这并非偶然，马刺在圣诞大战的全国直播中再次击败雷霆，这一次是在对方主场，比分为117-102。
在那场比赛后，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大承认了一件既令人震惊又显而易见的事实：马刺——至少在目前——是更出色的那支球队。
“这支球队逼得我们必须打满48分钟好球，必须全神贯注，整个赛季和他们交手都非常有趣，”雷霆前锋杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams) 说道，“你可以感觉到我们在让他们变得更好，而他们也在让我们变得更好。”
在三次输给马刺，且其中两次是大比分落败后，雷霆无疑听到了外界的议论。
在NBA所有球队中，马刺就是为了击败他们而生的吗？
当雷霆能够打出快节奏、拉开场上空间并惩罚那些无法保护禁区的球队时，他们的表现最为出色。
得益于身高7英尺4英寸的全明星文班亚马，马刺能够改写这一局面，迫使雷霆更多地依赖中距离投篮、抛投，以及比一支三分球命中率仅排在联盟中游的球队所希望的更多的三分出手。
防守端，雷霆喜欢包夹持球人，特别是当球停滞在某处时，以此制造失误并获得快攻机会。
而马刺拥有充足的控球后卫储备——德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 以及新秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)——他们也帮助球队将这一策略转化为了针对雷霆的利器。
全美的NBA观察员在经历12月后都在思考，我们是否正在见证联盟下一个伟大宿敌关系的诞生。
马刺方面目前并未对此做出积极回应。
“我们今年开局不错，”马刺教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道，“他们是NBA冠军。我不想对他们不敬，也不想因为我们打出了几个月的亮眼表现就称这是一场宿敌对决。”
与此同时，雷霆球员则带着卫冕冠军应有的傲气来看待同一个问题。威廉姆斯表示，雷霆既不是任何人的宿敌，又是所有人的宿敌。
“每场比赛在某种程度上都感觉像是宿敌对决，因为我们是卫冕冠军，每支球队在每场比赛中都会对我们使出浑身解数，”威廉姆斯说道。
尽管如此，可以想象，如果雷霆上个月在俄克拉荷马城的第四次交锋中没有打出那样的表现，舆论会如何哗然。
强硬且令人窒息的防守带来了高效的进攻机会，雷霆凭借第四节40-24的攻势拉开了比分并最终获胜。
“他们当然做好了准备，但我认为他们并没有改变太多东西，”文班亚马说道，“他们坚守了自己的风格。”
随着与冠军的最后一场交手即将到来——至少在常规赛是如此——马刺希望重新找回自己的风格。
事实是，马刺的表现并不如12月那12天里那么出色，当时他们让不可一世的雷霆显得平庸。
马刺刚刚结束了1月8胜7负的征程，在这个月里他们一直在努力寻找稳定性。而雷霆则从12月的低迷中有所反弹，自圣诞节以来取得了13胜6负的战绩，并在周二比赛前以39胜11负的战绩牢牢占据着全联盟第一的宝座。
周三马刺与雷霆的又一场重赛并不能说明西部竞争格局的全部。
但它确实能说明一些问题。
如果不出意外，马刺至少能保住自己的“项上人头”。
“我们想赢，他们也想赢，”尚帕尼说道，“他们现在是西部第一。我想我们目前排在第二。所以，这注定会是一场恶战。”
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) passes the ball away from Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21), center Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to score between San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) and forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) holds the shirt of Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, center, goes up for a dunk as Oklahoma City Thunder guards Aaron Wiggins (21), Jalen Williams (8), Cason Wallace (22), center Chet Holmgren (7) and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, third from right, watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren (7) goes for the rebound against San Antonio Spurs forward/center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
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, Thunder set for decisive fifth showdown Wednesday
Spurs, Thunder set for decisive fifth showdown Wednesday
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) signals to his teammates as he stands beside Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) on the court during the second quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. The Spurs defeated the Thunder, 130-110.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie noticed something different about the Oklahoma City Thunder the last time the two teams squared off in January.
The Thunder did not show up to the Paycom Center aiming simply to outscore the Spurs.
“They wanted our heads,” Champagnie said.
The Thunder got what they came for that night.
OKC’s resounding 119-98 triumph on Jan. 13 was the first against the Spurs this season in four tries for the defending champions, in a still prepubescent rivalry that had — at least temporarily — seemed to have swung San Antonio’s way.
With a rare fifth and final meeting between the top two teams in the Western Conference on tap for Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center, the Spurs have a chance to prove their 3-0 run over Oklahoma City during a 12-day span of December was no fluke.
The Thunder, meanwhile, are eyeing a chance to reassert their dominance atop the Western Conference food chain.
Get ready for Spurs-Thunder, Part 5.
“It’s never about the other team,” said Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who could be on his way to a second straight NBA MVP award. “It’s always about us. We’ve gotten to where we’ve got because we’ve focused on ourselves.”
The Spurs have gotten to where they are — a surprising 33-16 and knocking on the door of their first playoff berth in six seasons — in large part due to the work they put in against the Thunder in December.
First came a 111-109 Spurs victory in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, one that snapped the Thunder’s 16-game winning streak. For an encore, the Spurs welcomed the Thunder to San Antonio 10 days later and slapped them upside the head, 130-110.
As if to prove that was no accident, the Spurs went on national television on Christmas Day and smacked the Thunder again, this time on their own floor, to the tune of 117-102.
After that game, Gilgeous-Alexander admitted something that was both shocking and obvious: The Spurs were simply the better team — for now.
“This team makes us play 48 minutes of basketball to where we’ve got to really pay attention, and it’s extremely fun to play against them throughout the season,” Thunder forward Jalen Williams said. “You can feel us making them better and them making us better.”
After losing three times to the Spurs, twice by wide margins, the Thunder no doubt heard the noise.
Of all the teams in the NBA, were the Spurs built to beat them?
Oklahoma City is at its best when it can play fast, spread the floor and punish teams unable to protect the paint.
Thanks to 7-foot-4 All-Star Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs are able to flip that script, forcing the Thunder to rely on mid-range shots, floaters and more 3-point attempts than a team that ranks in the middle of the pack from beyond the arc would prefer to take.
Defensively, the Thunder like to swarm the ball, especially when it sticks in one place, to create turnovers and fast break opportunities.
The Spurs are well-stocked with ball-handling guards — De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper — who help turn that strategy against the Thunder as well.
NBA observers from coast to coast came out of December wondering if perhaps we were seeing the advent of the next great rivalry in the league.
It is not talk the Spurs have obliged so far.
“We’ve had a pretty good start to the year,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “They’re the NBA champs. I would not want to disrespect them and try to say we’re a rivalry because we’ve had a couple good months.”
OKC players, meanwhile, approach the same question with the expected swagger of the defending champs. The Thunder are at the same time nobody’s rival and everyone’s rival, Williams said.
“Every game feels like a rivalry at some point because we’re defending champs and teams are throwing their best punch at us every single game,” Williams said.
Still, one could imagine the uproar had the Thunder not done what they did to the Spurs in meeting No. 4 last month in Oklahoma City.
A physical, suffocating defense gave way to efficient offensive opportunities as the Thunder ran away with the game thanks to a 40-24 fourth quarter.
“Of course they came prepared, but I don’t think they changed too many things,” said Wembanyama. “They trusted their own identity.”
As a final meeting with the champs dawns — at least as far as the regular season goes — the Spurs are hoping to rediscover theirs.
The truth is, they haven’t quite been as good as they were during those 12 days in December, when they made the invincible Thunder look ordinary.
The Spurs are coming off an 8-7 January in which they struggled to find consistency. OKC has rebounded somewhat from their December comedown, going 13-6 since Christmas to maintain a stranglehold on the NBA’s best record at 39-11 heading into Tuesday.
Wednesday’s yet-another-rematch between the Spurs and Thunder won’t say everything about the state of the Western Conference race.
But it will say something.
If nothing else, the Spurs might at least get their heads back.
“We want the game, they want the game,” Champagnie said. “They’re first in the West. I think we’re second right now. So yeah, it’s always going to be a battle.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News