By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-03-31 12:07:42
2026年3月12日，星期四，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) (5) 在圣安东尼奥的霜冻银行中心球馆。卡斯尔曾在两年前随康涅狄格大学夺得全国冠军。在康大球员布雷伦·马林斯投进神迹绝杀击败蓝魔并晋级四强后，卡斯尔在马刺队内面对杜克校友时拥有了吹嘘的资本。
旧金山讯——上周日，在华盛顿，一位名叫布雷伦·马林斯 (Braylon Mullins) 的康涅狄格大学大一新生投进了一记震惊整个大学篮坛的35英尺远射，在NCAA锦标赛精英八强赛中击败了杜克大学。
仅仅一毫秒之后，在约1600英里外的圣安东尼奥，马刺队后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在自家的客厅里独自举行了一场胜利大游行。
“球进的时候，我在屋里疯跑，”卡斯尔说道，“那球简直太疯狂了。”
两个春天前，卡斯尔还是一名大一控卫，帮助哈士奇队夺得了全国冠军。他从未亲眼见过像周六在华盛顿发生的这种神迹。
在比赛还剩0.4秒时，马林斯那记祈祷式的随手一抛，为康大完成了一场不可思议的逆转，最终以73-72的比分击败了头号种子杜克大学，带领卡斯尔的哈士奇队重返最终四强。
尽管康大在上周日的比赛中一度落后多达19分，但卡斯尔表示他从未失去希望。
“我们当时投不进球，但比分一直咬得很紧，”卡斯尔说，“我想如果我们能把分差缩小到10分，情况就会开始好转。”
在康大在最后几秒完成了一次传球破坏后，马林斯投进了这记注定将载入大学篮球史册的进球。
2026年3月29日，华盛顿特区第一资本竞技场，2026年NCAA男子篮球锦标赛精英八强赛下半场，康涅狄格大学哈士奇队24号布雷伦·马林斯在投进绝杀三分球后庆祝胜利。(Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/TNS)
虽然离开康大已经两个赛季，但卡斯尔表示他很熟悉马林斯的打法。去年夏天，在马林斯为大一赛季做准备时，两人曾一起训练。
“我一眼就知道他很厉害，”卡斯尔说，“他话不多，但你能看出谁是真的有实力。”
至少，马林斯给了卡斯尔向他认识的每一位杜克球迷炫耀的资本。
当马刺队前队友、杜克校友特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 周一作为芝加哥公牛队的一员来到圣安东尼奥时，卡斯尔确保没忘提醒他马林斯的那记“万圣母祷告”式的绝杀。
“这是我见到他时说的第一句话，”卡斯尔笑着说道。
还有可怜的梅森·普拉姆利 (Mason Plumlee)，这位上个月才加盟马刺队的杜克旧将。
他正遭受着双重垃圾话的洗礼——一份来自卡斯尔，另一份来自同样毕业于康大的助理教练迈克·诺伊斯 (Mike Noyes)。
“教练才是那个一直说个不停的人，”普拉姆利说。
面对身边的这两位哈士奇校友，普拉姆利无言以对。马林斯的绝杀终结了一切反驳的可能性。
“我能说什么呢？”普拉姆利说，“那是一场该死的精彩比赛。”
马刺客场势头强劲： 刚结束三连客，马刺队于周一回到霜冻银行中心，正好大胜芝加哥公牛 129-114。
现在，他们又要登机开启常规赛最后的客场之旅。这趟旅程将于周三在金州拉开帷幕，随后前往洛杉矶挑战快船，最后抵达丹佛。
马刺队近来的客场表现十分出色。他们已经连续四场在客场以至少25分的优势获胜，成为NBA历史上第一支做到这一点的球队。
“没有哪场比赛是容易的，”前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说道，他的球队目前客场战绩为27胜11负，“即使是在我们获胜的比赛中，我们也在追求完美。未来会有新的挑战和任务。这并不容易，我们必须做好准备。”
2026年3月25日，星期三，田纳西州孟菲斯，NBA常规赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)（左）在对阵孟菲斯灰熊队前锋泰勒·亨德里克斯 (Taylor Hendricks) (22) 时抢下篮板。(AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
文班亚马领衔篮板攻势： 马刺队在周一的比赛中彻底统治了篮板球，以55-35的巨大优势压制了公牛队。
这标志着在马刺队的九连胜期间，他们第八次在篮板数上超过对手。
“这一直是我们的重点，”教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道。
毫不意外，身高7英尺4英寸的中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 一直是马刺队篮板攻势的先锋。
他在对阵芝加哥的比赛中抢下了16个篮板，这是他连续第四场比赛至少抢下15个篮板。这追平了蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 和大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 并列的队史第二长纪录。
篮板球的提升是马刺队近期27战25胜期间的一个关键点。
“我们需要继续强调、认可并保持这一点，因为它是我们进攻端的重要补充，”米奇·约翰逊说道，“我觉得我们之前在这方面有些松懈了。很高兴看到我们重新投入到这项工作中。”
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：How Stephon Castle celebrated UConn's miracle victory over Duke
How Stephon Castle celebrated UConn’s miracle victory over Duke
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) takes a moment at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Thursday, March 12, 2026. Castle, who won a national championship with UConn two years ago, has bragging rights over Duke alumni in the Spurs organization after UConn’s Braylon Mullins hit a miracle shot to beat the Blue Devils and advance to the Final Four.
SAN FRANCISCO — In Washington on Sunday, a Connecticut freshman named Braylon Mullins swished the 35-footer heard ’round college basketball to beat Duke in an NCAA tournament Elite Eight game.
About a millisecond later, some 1,600 miles away in San Antonio, Spurs guard Stephon Castle led a one-man victory parade around his own living room.
“I went running around the crib when that went in,” Castle said. “That (expletive) was crazy.”
Two springs ago, Castle was a freshman point guard helping guide the Huskies to a national championship. He never witnessed anything quite like the miracle that happened Saturday in Washington.
Mullins’ prayer of a heave with 0.4 seconds to go capped an improbable comeback for UConn, leading to 73-72 victory that toppled top-seeded Duke and delivered Castle’s Huskies back to the Final Four.
Even as UConn trailed by as many as 19 points Sunday, Castle said he never lost hope.
“We wasn’t making any shots, but we were keeping it close,” Castle said. “I thought if we get it to 10, it’s going to start getting good.”
After UConn came up with a deflected pass in the final seconds, Mullins buried a shot sure to live forever in college basketball lore.
Braylon Mullins #24 of the UConn Huskies celebrates after shooting the game-winning three point basket during the second half of a game against the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/TNS)
Though two seasons removed from his days at UConn, Castle said he was familiar with Mullins’ game. The two worked out together last summer as Mullins prepared for his freshman season.
“I knew he was good right away,” Castle said. “He’s kind of quiet, but you can tell when someone is actually good.”
If nothing else, Mullins gifted Castle with instant bragging rights with every Duke fan he knows.
When former Spurs teammate and Duke alumnus Tre Jones came to town Monday as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Castle made sure to remind him of Mullins’ Hail Mary.
“It was the first thing I said to him,” Castle said with a grin.
Then there is the case of poor Mason Plumlee, a Duke product who only joined the Spurs last month.
He is getting two barrels full of trash talk — one from Castle and one from assistant coach Mike Noyes, who also attended UConn.
“Coach is the one who won’t stop talking about it,” Plumlee said.
Plumlee has no retort to the pair of Huskies in his midst. Mullins made sure of that.
“What can I say?” Plumlee said. “It was a hell of a game.”
Spurs thriving on the road: Fresh off a three-game road trip, the Spurs returned to the Frost Bank Center on Monday just in time to wallop Chicago 129-114.
Now it’s back on an airplane for the final road swing of the regular season. This one begins Wednesday at Golden State before heading to Los Angeles to face the Clippers and on to Denver.
The road has been kind to the Spurs of late. They have won four consecutive away games by at least 25 points, the first team in NBA history to do so.
“No game is going to be easy,” said forward Keldon Johnson, whose team is 27-11 on the road. “Even in games we win, we strive for perfection. There’s going to be new challenges, new tasks ahead. It won’t be easy. We’ll have to be ready.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, grabs a rebound against Memphis Grizzlies forward Taylor Hendricks (22) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Wembanyama leads boards blitz: The Spurs battered the Bulls on the boards Monday, winning the rebounding battle by a whopping 55-35 margin.
It marked the eighth time the Spurs have outrebounded opponents during their nine-game winning streak.
“It’s been an emphasis,” coach Mitch Johnson said.
Not surprisingly, 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama has been at the forefront of the Spurs’ surge on the glass.
He grabbed 16 rebounds against Chicago, his fourth consecutive game with at least 15. It matches Tim Duncan and David Robinson for the second-longest such streak in franchise annals.
The Spurs’ improvement on the boards has been a key storyline during their recent stretch of 25 victories in 27 games.
“It’s been one of those things we need to continue to emphasize and acknowledge and celebrate, because it has been a big part of adding to our offense,” Mitch Johnson said. “I think we let go of the rope there for a little bit. It’s good to see us back making the commitment to that.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News