By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-04-25 03:25:06
2026年4月24日，周五，在波特兰摩达中心举行的NBA季后赛首轮系列赛第三场中，圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) (7) 与圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30) 在等待波特兰开拓者队罚球落地时，准备卡位开拓者队后卫斯库特·亨德森 (Scoot Henderson) (00)。
科内特更进一步，用一句完整的西班牙语回答了 N+ Univision 的弗朗西斯科·富恩特斯 (Francisco Fuentes)：“Mis amigos corren mucho rapido y nosotros ganamos.”（我的朋友们跑得非常快，我们赢了。）
这便是属于科内特的夜晚：每当被委以重任，他总能不辱使命。
在赛前马刺队宣布这位 MVP 候选人兼年度最佳防守球员仍处于 NBA 脑震荡保护协议中后，这位身高 7 英尺 1 英寸、体重 270 磅的中锋顶替维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 出战。他在 30 分钟内贡献了 14 分、10 个篮板、2 次助攻和 2 次盖帽，帮助马刺队在西部首轮系列赛中取得了 2-1 的领先。
噢，对了，他还投进了自 2024 年 4 月 9 日（当时他效力于波士顿）以来的首个三分球。
“投三分很有趣，投进了很有趣，赢球也很有趣，”科内特说道，他在本场比赛中创下了季后赛生涯得分、篮板、助攻和出场时间的新高。
凭借第一节末段的那记三分进球，这位征战联盟九年的老兵成为了自 2009 年的乔什·鲍威尔 (Josh Powell) 以来，首位在常规赛零三分出手的情况下在季后赛命中三分的球员。
科内特在季后赛生涯的三分线外目前是 3 投 3 中。
马刺队后卫达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 对科内特能在外线发炮并不感到意外。
“大学时我就和卢克交过手，”福克斯说道，“没错，那两场比赛他都把我们打爆了。”
福克斯还记得科内特职业生涯早期曾有过大量的三分出手。在他效力于纽约、芝加哥和波士顿的前四个赛季中，他场均出手 3.3 次三分球，命中率为 32.8%。
“我很惊讶他现在不再投三分了，所以（今晚）我很信任他，”福克斯说道。
在文班亚马于替补席为队友加油助威时，全队都信任科内特能够挺身而出。三天前，文班亚马在 Frost Bank 中心进行的系列赛第二场上半场头部撞地，随后进入了脑震荡保护协议，那场比赛马刺以 103-106 惜败。
“他是进攻端的稳定器和衔接者，掩护做得非常出色，”马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在谈到科内特第三场的表现时表示，“显然，他在篮板保护和篮筐保护方面也做得很好，而且他在 30 分钟的出场时间里始终保持着这种强度。”
考虑到科内特必须与开拓者队强壮的大个子多诺万·克林根 (Donovan Clingan)（7 英尺 3 英寸，280 磅）和罗伯特·威廉姆斯三世 (Robert Williams III)（6 英尺 10 英寸，249 磅）硬碰硬，他的表现显得更加令人印象深刻。
“这确实很有趣，”科内特在谈到对位克林根和威廉姆斯时说道，“这是一场身体对抗激烈的比赛。他们在冲抢篮板和防守压迫等方面做得很好。所以参与这种级别的比赛很有趣。显然，克林根是个优秀的球员，而罗布（威廉姆斯）和我曾在波士顿并肩作战。能和这些家伙竞争很开心，也很感激能有机会参加这种高水平的比赛。”
在常规赛有过 25 次首发经历的科内特对顶替文班亚马并不陌生。但由于这场比赛意义重大，这次首发显得尤为特别。
“我觉得他一整年都表现得很稳定，”马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说道，“每当我们人手短缺或者维克托无法上场时，他总能挺身而出，填补那个角色和空缺。他为我们做出了巨大的贡献。能有卢克这样的人作为维克托的替补是一种福气，他能在关键时刻挺身而出，并在需要时分担重任。”
科内特还接斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 的传球，用空接扣篮不断肆虐着开拓者队的防线，其中包括一次势大力沉的重扣，帮助马刺队在比赛还剩 4 分 45 秒时以 110-97 领先。
“他在篮板球和对抗对方大个子方面的表现是现象级的，他几乎是只身一人在对抗威廉姆斯和多诺万，”全场砍下最高 33 分的卡斯尔说道，“他对我们至关重要，无论是篮下盖帽、接球空接，还是为我们创造二次进攻机会。”
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：Filling in for Victor Wembanyama, Luke Kornet delivered for the Spurs
Filling in for Victor Wembanyama, Luke Kornet delivered for the Spurs
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) and San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) prepare to box out Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) as they wait for a Trail Blazers free throw to fall during the third quarter of Game 3 of a first-round NBA playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Kornet took it a step further and gave N+ Univision’s Francisco Fuentes a complete sentence: “Mis amigos corren mucho rapido y nosotros ganamos.” (My friends ran very fast and we won.)
It was that kind of night for Kornet: When called upon, he delivered.
Filling in for Victor Wembanyama after the Spurs announced before the game that the MVP finalist and Defensive Player of the Year remains in the NBA’s concussion protocol, the 7-foot-1, 270-pound center responded with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes to help the Spurs take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round series.
Oh, and he also sank his first 3-pointer since April 9, 2024 when he was with Boston.
“It’s fun to shoot one. Fun to make it. Fun to get the win,” said Kornet, who posted playoff career highs for points, rebounds, assists and minutes.
With his bucket from beyond the arc late in the first quarter, the ninth-year pro became the first player since Josh Powell in 2009 to sink a playoff 3-pointer after going through the regular season without attempting one.
Kornet is 3 for 3 from deep in his playoff career.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, for one, wasn’t surprised to see Kornet knock a shot down from distance.
“I played against Luke in college,” Fox said. “Yeah, he busted our ass both times.”
Fox also remembers Kornet attempting plenty of shots from downtown early in his career. Over his first four seasons while playing for New York, Chicago and Boston, he shot 32.8% from 3-point range on 3.3 attempts per game.
“I was surprised he doesn’t shoot them anymore, so I trusted him (tonight),” Fox said.
The entire team trusted Kornet to answer the next-man-up call while Wembanyama cheered on his teammates from the bench three days after he entered the concussion protocol after hitting his head on the court in the first half of the Spurs’ 106-103 loss in Game 2 at the Frost Bank Center.
“Stabilizer, connector on offense, great job screening,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said when asked about Kornet’s performance in Game 3. “And then he did a great job obviously on the boards, of bringing resistance around the rim, and he did it in 30 minutes.”
The fact that Kornet had to muscle up against burly Blazers big men Donovan Clingan (7-3, 280 pounds) and Robert Williams III (6-10, 249 pounds) made the performance even more impressive.
“It’s definitely fun,” Kornet said of facing Clingan and Williams. "It’s a physical game. They do a great job of crashing and defensive pressure and stuff like that. So it’s just a fun game to play in. Obviously, Clingan’s a good player and Rob and I played together in Boston. Fun competing against those guys and thankful for the opportunity to just be able to play in a high-level game like that.
Kornet is no stranger to filling in for Wembanyama after logging 25 starts in the regular season. But this one was special because of its high stakes.
“I feel like he’s been consistent for us all year,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said. “Whenever we’ve been shorthanded or Vic hasn’t been able to play, he stepped up and filled that role, field that void. He’s been tremendous for us. So it’s a blessing to have somebody to back up Vic like Luke, someone who steps up big moments and picks up the slack when needed.”
Kornet also tormented the Blazers with his lob slams on feeds from Stephon Castle, including a punishing slam that gave the Spurs a 110-97 lead with 4:45 left in the game.
“He was big time with the way he rebounded, the way he fought the other bigs, really by himself, going against Williams and Donovan,” said Castle, who had a game-high 33 points. “He was big for us, blocking shots at the rim, catching lobs (for dunks), giving us second chances.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News