By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-03-13 14:49:52
2026年3月12日，周四，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在圣安东尼奥的霜冻银行中心球馆出手投篮。自全明星赛以来，卡斯尔和马刺队在三分线外手感火热，随着季后赛临近，他们已将球队最大的弱点之一转化为了强项。
周四比赛还剩19.8秒时，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在左侧弧顶面对一记28英尺的远射做好了准备，意图挽救球队的夜晚。当时马刺队落后进攻火力强大的丹佛队3分，卡斯尔的目标是扳平比分。
球离开指尖的感觉很好，旋转完美，弹道正中。
卡斯尔几乎已经听到了19,000名马刺球迷欢呼庆祝的呐喊声。
“我以为那球必进无疑，”卡斯尔说道。
然而，卡斯尔没能投进马刺本场比赛的第20记三分球。
球在篮筐上转了一圈，又弹了出来。掘金队守住了领先，以136-131逆转获胜，这种感觉就像唱片被刮花一样，让全场的气氛戛然而止。
这标志着马刺队本赛季第一次在领先多达20分的情况下输掉比赛。在周四之前，他们在这种情况下取得了21胜0负的战绩。
这也是霜冻银行中心罕见的失利，马刺队在此的主场战绩降至25胜7负，仍保持着NBA第二好的主场纪录。
如果说有什么慰藉的话，那就是马刺队不能将自1月25日以来的首场主场失利归咎于三分球。
在过去三周已经成为一种积极趋势的背景下，马刺队周四在三分线外再次火力全开，47投19中，命中率达40.4%。
“我们拥有出色的射手，”马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，“所以，如果你的投篮机会来自正确的位置，而且你的传球也有所进步，这就是让优秀射手持续获得高质量出手的好机会。”
如果近期的表现具有参考意义，霜冻银行中心可能需要为周六下午对阵夏洛特的日场比赛多准备一套球网。
自全明星赛以来，马刺队和黄蜂队并列成为联盟三分球表现最好的球队，命中率均为40.4%。
在此期间，夏洛特以场均19记三分球领跑全联盟，马刺队则以16.3记位居第三。
在本周早些时候击败休斯顿和波士顿的比赛中，马刺队分别命中了21记和20记三分球。这是马刺建队史上首次连续两场比赛投中至少20记三分。
这一纪录原本可能更长。
在本次主场系列赛中，马刺队还有两场比赛命中了19记三分，其中包括周四输给掘金的这场比赛。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在周二对阵凯尔特人时追平了职业生涯最高的8记三分。周四他因右脚踝酸痛缺席了比赛，但马刺队依然火力不减。
“任何一个夜晚，任何人都可能爆发，”后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说道，“这是最棒的一点。”
马刺队近期疯狂的三分雨有可能只是基于小样本数据的幻象。
但约翰逊更倾向于将球队外线火力的提升视为进攻体系全力运转后的自然产物。
“我们的节奏一直很好，所以我们可能获得了更高的投篮质量，”约翰逊说，他执教的马刺队进攻效率排名联盟第四。“我认为我们的进攻在空间拉开、执行力和阅读比赛方面持续完善。而这通常会让球员预判到自己的投篮机会从何而来。”
在本赛季开始前，传统观点认为马刺队需要在文班亚马身边增加更多三分射手，才能在竞争激烈的西部联盟中真正具备竞争力。
在这个方面，马刺队夏季唯一的显著补强是签下了此前上场机会寥寥的“流浪球员”林迪·沃特斯三世 (Lindy Waters III)，他目前在34场比赛中获得了一些零星的出场时间。
从全赛季的表现来看，马刺队仍然只能算是一支三分球中规中矩的球队。
马刺队全年的三分命中率为35.8%，排在联盟第17位；场均命中13.6记三分，排在第15位。
即便如此，马刺队始终相信他们的三分球迟早会好转。
“我觉得我们的进攻体系就是为了创造好的投篮机会而设计的，”卡斯尔说。
不可否认，马刺队近期三分火力的集中爆发，至少在一定程度上推动了他们升至西部第二的位置。
自全明星赛以来，马刺队有四名轮换球员的三分命中率超过了40%，领跑者是朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 的48.5%。第五名球员——哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 也以39.3%的命中率紧随其后。
全明星赛后三分命中率达到冷静的48.1%的瓦塞尔，将这归功于头号得分手文班亚马和达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 为球队外线神射手创造的空位机会。
“他们让我们的比赛变得轻松了许多，”瓦塞尔在评价马刺队这两位全明星球员时说道，“在过去的几年里，我从未见过这么多空位投篮，从未有过。”
最近，马刺队还从后场两位意想不到的球员那里得到了三分火力的支援。
2026年3月12日，周四，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 在圣安东尼奥的霜冻银行中心球馆投篮。
新秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 当初作为榜眼秀加盟时，并没有被定位为远程炮手。他本赛季的远投命中率为29.2%，但在全明星赛后的12场比赛中，这一数据飙升至43.3%。
卡斯尔职业生涯的三分命中率为29.5%，但自全明星赛后也达到了40.5%。
在周六对阵夏洛特的对决之前，卡斯尔已经连续三场比赛至少命中3记三分，这在他职业生涯中尚属首次。
卡斯尔周四在三分线外8投4中，砍下了30分、10次助攻和11个篮板的三双数据。
“我认为这归功于稳定性，努力选择正确的投篮，而不是拒绝好的出手机会，”卡斯尔在谈到三分球的进步时说，“然后就是相信我自己和教练们投入的努力。”
这就是为什么当卡斯尔在周四跳起投那个可能扳平比分的三分时，霜冻银行中心的19,000名观众也随之屏息起立。
当球从篮筐中弹出时，观众们和他一样感到意外。
“那一球太可惜了，”卡斯尔说。
虽然可惜，但如果有机会再投一次，马刺队百分之百还是会希望由卡斯尔来执行。
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 have transformed their biggest weakness into a strength
How the Spurs have transformed their biggest weakness into a strength
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots the ball at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Thursday, March 12, 2026. Castle and the Spurs have been on a tear from the 3-point line since the All-Star break, turning one of the team’s biggest weaknesses into a strength as the playoffs approach.
With 19.8 seconds remaining Thursday, Stephon Castle sized up a 28-footer on the left arc meant to save his team’s night. The Spurs were down by three against a high-powered Denver team. Castle had his sights set on a tie.
The ball felt good coming off his fingertips. The spin was perfect. The shot was on line.
Castle could almost hear the roar of 19,000 Spurs fans celebrating already.
“I thought it was going down,” Castle said.
Instead, Castle could not convert the Spurs’ 20th 3-pointer of the game.
The ball rattled in. It rattled out. And the Nuggets held on for a 136-131 come-from-behind victory that felt something like a record scratch.
It marked the first time this season the Spurs lost a game they had led by as many as 20 points. Before Thursday, they were 21-0 in those circumstances.
It marked a rare defeat at the Frost Bank Center, where the Spurs dropped to 25-7 to hold on to the second-best home mark in the NBA.
If it is any consolation, the Spurs cannot blame 3-point shooting for their first home defeat since Jan. 25.
In what has become a positive trend over the past three weeks, the Spurs were on fire again from the beyond the arc Thursday, hitting 19 of 47 for a 40.4% clip.
“We’ve got good shooters,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “So, if your shots are coming from the right places and your passing has improved as well, that’s a good recipe to continue to get good high-quality shots for good shooters.”
If recent history is any indication, the Frost Bank Center might need to stock an extra set of nets for Saturday afternoon’s matinee against Charlotte.
Since the All-Star break, the Spurs and Hornets are tied as the top 3-point shooting teams in the league, each hitting 40.4%.
Charlotte leads the NBA in 3-pointers made during that stretch at 19 per game. The Spurs rank third at 16.3.
In victories over Houston and Boston earlier this week, the Spurs drained 21 and 20 3-pointers, respectively. It was the first time in club history the Spurs totaled at least 20 3-pointers in consecutive games.
That streak could have been longer.
The Spurs also produced a pair of games with 19 3-pointers on this homestand, including in Thursday’s loss to the Nuggets.
Wembanyama equaled a career-high with eight on Tuesday against the Celtics. He missed Thursday’s contest with a sore right ankle, but the Spurs kept firing away anyhow.
“Any night someone can get off,” guard Devin Vassell said. “That’s the best part about it.”
It is possible the Spurs’ recent barrage of red-hot 3-point shooting is a mirage built on a small sample size.
Johnson prefers to view the club’s uptick from distance as the natural by-product of a well-oiled offense firing on all cylinders.
“Our pace has been great, so we’re getting probably higher shot quality,” said Johnson, whose Spurs rank fourth in the league in offensive efficiency. “I think our offense has continued to clean up in terms of spacing, execution, awareness. And then that typically flows into expectation of where people’s shots come from.”
Coming into the season, conventional wisdom said the Spurs needed to add more 3-point shooting around Victor Wembanyama to truly compete in a loaded Western Conference.
The Spurs’ only notable addition in that regard over the summer was the signing of little-used journeyman Lindy Waters III, who has made bit appearances in 34 games.
In terms of their full-season resume, the Spurs still rate as a middle-of-the-pack 3-point shooting team.
At 35.8%, the Spurs rank 17th in the league in accuracy. Their 13.6 made 3-pointers per game ranks 15th.
Still, the Spurs believed their 3-ball would come around eventually.
“I feel like our offense is built to create good shots,” Castle said.
There is no denying the Spurs’ recent 3-point barrage has at least partly fueled their ascension to second place in the West.
The Spurs have four rotation players shooting better than 40% from 3-point range since the All-Star break, led by Julian Champagnie’s 48.5%. A fifth player — Harrison Barnes — is knocking on the door at 39.3%
Vassell, who is knocking down a cool 48.1% from the 3-point stripe since the break, credits top scorers Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox for opening clean looks for the team’s sharpshooters along the perimeter.
“They made our lives so much easier,” Vassell said of the Spurs’ two All-Stars. “Over the past couple of years, I have not seen this many open shots. Ever.”
The Spurs have lately gotten a 3-point boost from a pair of unlikely suspects in the backcourt.
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) shoots the ball at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Rookie Dylan Harper did not arrive as the No. 2 draft pick billed as a long-range gunner. He is making 29.2% from long range this season but 43.3% in 12 games since the All-Star break.
Castle is a career 29.5% shooter from deep but has made 40.5% since the break.
Heading into Saturday’s showdown with Charlotte, Castle has made at least three 3-pointers in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Castle’s 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc Thursday was part of a 30-point triple-double that included 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
“I think it’s just consistency, trying to take the right shots and not turning down good ones,” Castle said of his 3-point improvement. “Then it’s just trusting the work that myself and my coaches put in.”
That is why when Castle rose for the potential game-tying 3-pointer Thursday, 19,000 souls in the Frost Bank Center rose with him.
When the ball skipped out of the rim, the crowd was just as surprised as he was.
“That was a tough one,” Castle said.
It is a tough one the Spurs would want Castle to take again, 10 times out 10.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News