By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-03-04 14:05:24
2026 年 3 月 3 日周二，在费城举行的一场 NBA 比赛下半场中，圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马（右）完成扣篮，费城 76 人队的泰瑞斯·马克西（中）和多姆·巴洛（左）在旁观战。(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
周二晚上，马刺队急匆匆地想要离开 Xfinity Mobile 球场，更衣室里的每个球员似乎都有不同的理由。
德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 渴望在自家的床上睡上一晚。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 渴望吃上一顿私人厨师现做的热乎饭。
朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 迫不及待地想回到他的吉普大切诺基 Trackhawk 的驾驶座上。凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 则急着去看看他在丘陵地区牧场里的一头母牛刚生下的小牛犊。
与此同时，马刺新秀迪兰·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 正期待着去拥抱贝克萨尔县的选民。
当被问及他职业生涯中第一次漫长客场之旅的主要收获时，哈珀笑着摇了摇头。
“我们需要那个新球馆，”他说。
去年 11 月，贝克萨尔县通过了两项投票提案，为哈珀的愿望铺平了道路。当马刺队位于市中心的新球馆在未来十年的某个时间点启用时，这意味着球队一年一度的“牛仔竞技客场之旅 (Rodeo Road Trip)”将彻底终结。
考虑到这支球队在今年这版客场之旅中的表现，在此期间，马刺可能并不介意再多进行几次这样为期一个月的赛季中期征战。
这为马刺队 8 胜 1 负的牛仔竞技之旅画上了圆满的句号，这也是球队自 2016-17 赛季以来首次在该系列客场中取得胜多负少的战绩。这 8 场胜利也追平了该项传统 24 年历史上的最高胜场纪录。
“我认为我们在正确的时间找到了状态，”哈珀说，“我觉得通过这次旅行，我们向自己展示了我们的潜力。我们对进入三月和四月感到非常兴奋。”
周四对阵东部领头羊底特律活塞队的比赛将是自 2 月 7 日以来马刺在 Frost Bank 中心的首场比赛，活塞也是马刺在牛仔竞技之旅中击败的八个对手之一。
2026 年 3 月 3 日周二，在费城举行的一场 NBA 比赛上半场中，圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马（中左）与队友庆祝。(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
这开启了马刺连续六个主场的赛程，对手全都是季后赛或附加赛席位的竞争者。
“一旦你在这个组织待上一两年，你就会对牛仔竞技之旅感到有些麻木，”教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，“这是合同的一部分。我认为它提供了很多很棒的东西，是一个让球队团结起来的机会。”
尽管如此……
“能回家感觉真好，”约翰逊说。
在费城，马刺队给自己送上了一份相当厚重的回家礼。
就在两天前，他们在麦迪逊广场花园以 89-114 惨败给纽约尼克斯队，遭遇了本次旅行中唯一的失利。但仅仅两天后，马刺就在对阵 76 人队的比赛中强势反弹。
诚然，费城缺少了乔尔·恩比德 (Joel Embiid)、保罗·乔治 (Paul George) 和凯利·乌布雷 (Kelly Oubre) 这三位关键球员。
但马刺还是让那些领着 NBA 薪水的 76 人球员看起来像是一支初中 B 队。
随着瓦塞尔和哈珀各自砍下 22 分，马刺队拿到了自 2018 年以来的首场 40 分大胜。
“到本赛季目前为止，我最为这支队伍感到自豪的是他们的竞争回应，”米奇·约翰逊说，“当我们遇到逆境时，我们通常都能反弹。”
哈珀表示，他早在周二早上的投篮训练中就预感到马刺会有这种强硬的回应。
“从投篮训练开始，我们的能量感就很足，”哈珀说，“我们没有只是随随便便走过场，而是充满活力。在纽约发生的事情之后，我们想向自己和所有人证明，我们依然极具竞争力。”
周二的马刺表现得如此出色且均衡，以至于文班亚马的得分都被视为一种“奢侈品”。
这位全明星中锋全场仅尝试了 5 次投篮——追平了职业生涯单场最低纪录——但全场正负值却高达 +41。
文班亚马最终只得到平淡的 10 分，但他通过 6 次盖帽和 3 次抢断引领了令人窒息的防守表现。
在这场毫无悬念的胜利后，文班发现自己正在回味前任教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 的名言。
“并不是每场比赛都是完美的，”文班亚马说，“正如波波经常说的，我们永远没有赢球时看起来那么好，也永远没有输球时看起来那么糟。但这次是一个非常好的回应。”
这是一个好迹象，马刺在取得 40 分大胜的过程中仍在追求完美。
首节中段，在马刺让开局 12 分的领先优势溜走后，约翰逊叫了一个暂停，他委婉地将其描述为“充满激情的”。
“实际上，我们在那个暂停时作为教练组感到很沮丧，”约翰逊说，“我认为那些家伙从那一刻起真正提升了表现。”
当晚结束时，费城主场嘘声大作，而马刺则在庆祝他们这个复兴赛季中最具统治力的一场胜利。
随后，真正的“撤离之旅”开始了。
经过长达一个月的奔波，马刺的足迹遍布洛杉矶、旧金山、奥斯汀、底特律、多伦多、纽约和费城，而行程单上的下一站无疑是最令人期待的——圣安东尼奥。
马刺随行人员中的每个人都急着赶回去。
包机计划于凌晨 1 点左右才从费城国际机场起飞，球员们直到凌晨 3 点后才能到家。
但至少，他们回家了。
“这是我第一次参加这种旅行，这确实是一段漫长的旅程，”哈珀说，“看到不同的城市挺酷的，但我已经准备好回家了。”
由生成式 AI 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：Why the Spurs' confidence is soaring after an 8-1 rodeo trip
Why the Spurs’ confidence is soaring after an 8-1 rodeo trip
San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, right, dunks the ball as Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, centers nd Dom Barlow, left, looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The Spurs were in a hurry to leave Xfinity Mobile Arena on Tuesday night, and every player in the locker room seemed to have a different reason why.
Devin Vassell was looking forward to a night in his own bed.
Victor Wembanyama was pining for a fresh-cooked meal from his personal chef.
Julian Champagnie couldn’t wait to get back behind the wheel of his Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Keldon Johnson was desperate to check on a newborn calf one of his mama cows had delivered on his Hill Country ranch.
Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, meanwhile, was looking forward to hugging the voters of Bexar County.
Asked to name his main takeaway from the longest road trip of his fledgling career, Harper laughed and shook his head.
“We need that new arena,” he said.
The passage of a pair of Bexar County ballot measures last November paved the way for Harper to get his wish. When the Spurs’ new downtown digs opens sometime next decade, it will mean the end of the team’s annual rodeo road trip.
Given the way this year’s team performed on the current version, the Spurs might not mind a few more of those monthlong mid-season treks in the meantime.
That capped off an 8-1 rodeo trip that marked the Spurs’ first winning record on it since 2016-17. Those eight victories matched their most in the 24-season history of the trip.
“I think we’re finding our stride at the right time,” Harper said. “I think what we got from this trip, we showed ourselves what we’re capable of. We’re very excited going into March and April.”
Thursday’s game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons – one of the Spurs’ eight victims on the rodeo trip – will mark the first game at the Frost Bank Center since Feb. 7.
San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, center left, celebrates with teammates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
That kicks off a slate of six consecutive home games, all of them against teams in contention for either the playoffs or the play-in.
“Once you are with this organization for a year or two, you get a little numb to the rodeo,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s part of the deal. I think it provides a lot of great things, an opportunity for the team to come together.”
Still …
“It will be nice to get home,” Johnson said.
In Philadelphia, the Spurs gave themselves quite the going-home present.
Two nights after suffering their lone loss on the trip – an embarrassing 114-89 pratfall against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden – the Spurs bounced back in a big way against the 76ers.
Yes, Philly was without a trio of key players in Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kelly Oubre.
The Spurs still made the fully paid NBA players in 76ers uniforms look like a junior high school B team.
With Vassell and Harper each pumping in 22 points, the Spurs rolled to their first 40-point victory since 2018.
“Up until this moment of the season, what I’m most proud of with our group is their competitive response,” Mitch Johnson said. “When we’ve had some adversity, we typically have bounced back.”
Harper said he could see the Spurs’ heavy-handed response coming as early as Tuesday morning.
“It started at shootaround, the energy we had,” Harper said. “We didn’t come out just walking around. We had that energy. After what happened in New York, we wanted to prove to us and to everyone that we’re still here.”
So good and balanced were the Spurs on Tuesday that Wembanyama’s scoring was considered a luxury item.
The All-Star center attempted only five field goals — matching the fewest in a game in his career — and yet finished the night a plus-41.
Wembanyama ended with a modest 10 points, but spearheaded an asphyxiating defensive effort with six blocks and three steals.
After the no-doubter of a win, Wembanyama found himself ruminating on one of former coach Gregg Popovich’s famous pieces of wisdom.
“Not every game is perfect,” Wembanyama said. “As Pop often said, we’re never as good as we look in a win. We’re never as bad as we look in a loss. But it was a very good response.”
It is a good sign the Spurs were still seeking perfection in a 40-point win.
Midway through the first quarter, after the Spurs let an early 12-point edge slip away, Johnson called a timeout he euphemistically described as “spirited.”
“We actually had a timeout where we were frustrated as a staff,” Johnson said. “I thought those guys really turned it up from that point.”
By the end of the night, the boobirds were out in Philly as the Spurs celebrated their most dominant victory of a resurgent season.
Then the real scramble began to get out of Dodge.
After a monthlong barnstorm that had taken the Spurs from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Austin and Detroit, Toronto, New York and Philadelphia, the next stop on the travel itinerary was hands-down the most anticipated — San Antonio.
Everyone in the Spurs’ traveling party was in a rush to get to it.
The team flight was not scheduled to depart Philadelphia International Airport until close to 1 a.m. Players would not arrive home until after 3 a.m.
But at least they would be home.
“This is my first time doing this trip, and this is a long trip,” Harper said. “It’s been cool to see different cities and all, but I’m ready to be back home.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News