By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-04-25 14:46:53
俄勒冈州波特兰 —— 卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 就是不肯出手。在与波特兰开拓者队首轮系列赛的第三场比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队的几乎每一名球员都曾在某个时刻显露出新秀的紧张。但这位马刺侧翼球员在季后赛的聚光灯下显得格外挣扎。
开拓者让他们的中锋去对位布莱恩特，让多诺万·克林根 (Donovan Clingan) 或罗伯特·威廉姆斯 (Rob Williams) 视他如无物。马刺主帅米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 想要利用这一点，将球交到布莱恩特手中，让他担任进攻的支点。球需要大范围转移来为马刺的后卫拉开空间，这意味着布莱恩特必须成为发起者。
但波特兰的中锋们对他采取收缩防守并守在禁区内，这让他的队友们举步维艰。布莱恩特不停地心想：“该死，这些家伙真高大。”
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 因脑震荡缺阵。这一次，他无法拯救马刺。
布莱恩特就是不肯投那该死的球，比赛正在悄然溜走。终于，他出手了。
布莱恩特获得了一个空位三分机会，他再次传掉了。接着，他运球冲向站在罚球线的威廉姆斯。布莱恩特保持运球，然后撤步回到三分线外，迎着威廉姆斯投中了一记三分。
砰。布莱恩特终于打破了得分荒。
那记投篮确立了布莱恩特的进攻威胁，足以让他留在场上。那记投篮也给了他信心，让他成功锁死了开拓者球星德尼·阿夫迪亚 (Deni Avdija)，并让迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 接管进攻，为圣安东尼奥掌控了比赛。
布莱恩特出手那一球时，马刺在第三节还剩3分10秒时落后10分。当他在第四节还剩5分01秒下场时，他们已经领先11分。最终，他们以120-108获胜，并在系列赛中以2-1领先。
“尽管我一直在磨练球技，但对于对手来说，当我投进那样的球时，是非常打击士气的，”布莱恩特在逆转获胜后说道。“这就是篮球比赛。他们放我投那一球。计时器快到时了，我抬头一看，进攻时间还剩三秒。投吧。让球飞一会儿。我付出了那么多努力，没理由不相信自己。”
就在那一刻，当布莱恩特回味那记让他和马刺队都如释重负的投篮时，他的新秀队友走过。
“别想太多了！该死！”哈珀喊道。
布莱恩特笑了。那句带着脏话的吐槽——他头号粉丝半开玩笑的无奈——对他来说意义重大。布莱恩特知道，这背后是多年的支持、欣赏和友谊。
这是布莱恩特和哈珀憧憬已久的时刻。自从他们还是高一学生在AAU赛场上打球时，就在讨论有一天他们不再是竞争对手，而是搭档。他们万万没想到，两人会一起被选中，并最终在季后赛中共同接管比赛。
“我是卡特·布莱恩特的头号粉丝，”哈珀宣称。“如果别人这么跟你说，那肯定是假的。”
哈珀看到布莱恩特在比赛日参加五对五对抗赛，甚至在开球前就让自己筋疲力尽，只为了增加实战经验。他见证了布莱恩特从小付出的所有努力，只为有一天能在比赛中留下自己的印记。
所以，当哈珀看到布莱恩特把握住机会时，他明白这意味着什么。
“在他投中那个撤步三分后，我告诉他：‘嘿，是时候提升一个档次了。你一直在等待这一刻，’”哈珀说道。“‘我和你一直想一起打球，哪怕是在大学。现在，我们有机会扭转这场比赛了。’”
哈珀的贡献呢？
“我只是帮了他一把。”
哈珀做的远不止这些。他替补出场，12投9中得到27分和10个篮板。他的得分，加上布莱恩特的防守，改变了系列赛的走向。
据ESPN Insights统计，在过去55年中，比20岁的哈珀更年轻且在季后赛替补出场得分超过20分的球员只有科比·布莱恩特 (Kobe Bryant)。哈珀和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)（33分）加入了凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 和拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (Russell Westbrook) 的行列，成为历史上仅有的两对在同一场季后赛中各得25分且年龄均在22岁以下的二人组。
赛季开始前，哈珀与马刺传奇、同为左撇子的马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 坐下来长谈。这位名人堂成员告诉这位2025年的榜眼秀，要尽其所能去影响比赛。当哈珀在底线突破后完成一记势大力沉的扣篮时，他看起来已经像是吉诺比利的接班人了。
“他甚至不需要当我的导师，”哈珀说。“但他一定会找我聊天，我们会讨论我的角色之类的话题。而且，如果你是左撇子，你会观察NBA里每一个左撇子球员。”
在他们谈论的所有事情中，最核心的一点是哈珀的心态。专注于下一场比赛。如果你打得不好，洗个澡，然后准备下一场。
他不是唯一一个听到这些教诲的新秀。当布莱恩特投中那记关键球，在哈珀告诉他这是属于他们的时刻后，布莱恩特在随后的暂停中回到了替补席。哈珀、凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)、俾斯麦·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo) 甚至教练马特·尼尔森 (Matt Nielsen) 都在那里迎接他。
布莱恩特在每一次暂停时都会向老将们请教——比永博、哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes)、梅森·普拉姆利 (Mason Plumlee) 和凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk)——向他们讨教在这些时刻的心态。他们身经百战，而他深知自己还没有。所以他询问他们如何应对起伏的能量。
他知道自己在赛季的前25场比赛中“几乎没法上场”。他极度自信，承认自己快要第“一百万次”重复，他认为自己将成为联盟前五的球员。这是一个大胆的声明，但这正是他对自己未来的定位。尽管如此，他明白在每一个回合中与成年人对抗，让他意识到要达到那个高度，自己还需要做多少改进。
“我所做的就是像海绵一样吸收并倾听，”布莱恩特说。“我认为我的超能力是我能在极短的时间内成长。”
在这场比赛中，他用了几个回合的时间来成长，意识到如果他只是果断投出空位球，不再担心在禁区等待他的大个子，他就能扭转比赛。一旦布莱恩特打开了那扇门，哈珀就彻底为开拓者关上了大门。
赛后，布莱恩特在Instagram上分享了一段标志性视频，那是戴夫·查普尔 (Dave Chappelle) 模仿MTV节目《Making the Band》中迪伦 (Dylan) 的片段，台词是：史上最伟大的五位说唱歌手是“迪伦、迪伦、迪伦、迪伦和迪伦，因为我吐出的全是火（spit hot fire）”。
这是对哈珀在这场比赛中表现的完美描述。下半场，他简直是火力全开。
“我们队里有很多永不言弃的硬汉，”卡斯尔说。“我觉得这就是你们今晚所看到的。”
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：Carter Bryant, Dylan Harper take over Spurs' comeback win in moment they dreamed of
Carter Bryant, Dylan Harper take over Spurs’ comeback win in moment they dreamed of
PORTLAND, Ore. — Carter Bryant just wouldn’t take the shot. Rookie nerves, it seemed, were getting to just about every player on the San Antonio Spurs at one point or another in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. But the Spurs wing was struggling in the playoff spotlight.
The Blazers were putting their centers on Bryant and letting Donovan Clingan or Rob Williams pretend he didn’t exist. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson wanted to lean into this, putting the ball in Bryant’s hands and asking him to serve as the fulcrum of the offense. The ball needed to swing from side to side to open up the floor for the Spurs’ guards, and that meant Bryant had to be the initiator.
But the Portland centers sagged off of him and parked in the lane, making his teammates’ lives difficult. Bryant kept thinking to himself, “Damn, these dudes are big.”
Victor Wembanyama was out with a concussion. He wasn’t going to save the Spurs this time around.
Bryant wouldn’t shoot the damn ball, and the game was slipping away. Then, finally, he did it.
Bryant had an open 3; he passed it up, again. Then, he dribbled toward Williams, who was at the free-throw line. Bryant kept his dribble, then stepped back behind the 3-point line and hit Williams with the 3.
Boom. Bryant was on the board.
That shot established Bryant as enough of an offensive threat to keep him on the floor. That shot gave him confidence as he locked up Blazers star Deni Avdija and allowed Dylan Harper to take over on offense and seize control of the game for San Antonio.
When Bryant took the shot, the Spurs were down 10 with 3:10 left in the third quarter. By the time he checked out with 5:01 left in the fourth quarter, they were up 11. They would win 120-108 and take a 2-1 series lead.
“Like, as much as I work on my game, for the other team, it’s demoralizing when I hit a shot like that,” Bryant said after the comeback win. “Just understanding what the game of basketball is. Like, they’re living with me shooting that shot. Clock is winding down, (I) look up, there’s three seconds on the shot clock. Shoot it. Let the ball fly. (I) work too hard not to trust it.”
At that moment, as Bryant was reflecting on the shot that freed him and the Spurs, his fellow rookie walked by.
“Stop overthinking it! F—!” Harper yelled.
Bryant smiled. That little F-bomb — the half-joking exasperation of his biggest fan — meant the world. Bryant knew that years of support, admiration and friendship were behind it.
This was a moment Bryant and Harper had long envisioned. Since they were high school freshmen on the AAU circuit, talking about how one day they wouldn’t be competitors, but partners. Little did they know they would be drafted together and, eventually, take over a playoff game together.
“I’m the biggest Carter Bryant fan,” Harper proclaimed. “So if anyone else tells you that, that’s false.”
Harper sees Bryant playing five-on-five scrimmages on game days, wearing himself out even before tipoff, just for the reps. He’s seen all the work Bryant has put in since they were just kids, hoping to one day put their stamp on the game.
So Harper knew what it meant when he saw Bryant seize the moment.
“I told him once he hit that stepback 3: I’m like, ‘Yo, this is time for you to turn it up a notch. You’ve been waiting for this,‘” Harper said. “‘Me and you always wanted to play with each other, even in college. Now, we got the opportunity to flip this game.’”
Harper’s contribution?
“I just kind of helped him get there.”
Harper did way more than that. He finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting. His scoring, paired with Bryant’s defense, changed the series.
The only player in the last 55 years younger than the 20-year-old Harper to score more than 20 points off the bench in a playoff game was Kobe Bryant. Harper and Stephon Castle (33 points) joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the only other duo under the age of 22 to each score 25 points in the same playoff game, per ESPN Insights.
Before the season, Harper sat down with Spurs legend and fellow lefty Manu Ginobili. The Hall of Famer told the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft to impact the game however he can. By the time Harper threw down a massive dunk after a baseline drive, he was starting to look like Ginobili’s heir apparent.
“He doesn’t even have to be a mentor to me,” Harper said. “But he makes sure he talks to me, and we have conversations about my role and stuff like that. But just, if you’re lefty, you watch every lefty that plays in the NBA.”
Of all the things they talk about, the biggest thing they focus on is Harper’s mentality. Next game up. If you have a bad night, hit the showers and then it’s on to the next.
He’s not the only rookie hearing that message. When Bryant hit his big shot, after Harper told him this was their moment, Bryant returned to the bench during a subsequent timeout. He was met there by Harper, Keldon Johnson, Bismack Biyombo and even coach Matt Nielsen.
Bryant goes to his vets every single timeout — Biyombo, Harrison Barnes, Mason Plumlee and Kelly Olynyk — picking their brains about their mindset in these moments. They’ve been there before, and he is well aware that he hasn’t. So he asks how they ride the waves of energy.
He knows he was “damn near unplayable” in the first 25 games of the season. He is supremely confident, acknowledging that he was about to repeat for the “millionth time” that he thinks he’s going to be a top-five player in the league. It’s a bold claim, but that’s just where he sees himself heading. Still, he understands that playing against grown men on every possession has revealed just how much he needs to improve to reach that point.
“All I’ve done is be a sponge and just listen,” Bryant said. “I think my superpower is I can grow in very short amounts of time.”
It took him a few possessions in this game to grow, realizing that if he just took open shots and stopped worrying about the bigs waiting for him in the paint, he could turn the game on its head. Once Bryant opened the door, Harper slammed it shut on the Blazers.
After the game, Bryant shared an Instagram post with the iconic clip of Dave Chappelle impersonating Dylan from MTV’s “Making the Band,” saying the five greatest rappers of all time are “Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan and Dylan, because I spit hot fire.”
It was the perfect description of Harper in this game. In the second half, he simply spat hot fire.
“We have a lot of dogs that aren’t gonna quit on our team,” Castle said. “So I feel like that’s what you saw tonight.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic