By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-05-01 04:46:07
森林狼完成了下克上。他们在第六场比赛中以 110-98 击败了尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 率领的掘金，在缺少安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards)、唐特·迪温琴佐 (Donte DiVincenzo)、阿约·多孙穆 (Ayo Dosumnu) 和凯尔·安德森 (Kyle Anderson) 的情况下，以总比分 4-2 赢下了系列赛。他们将于周一在西部半决赛的首场较量中对阵马刺。
森林狼经历了一个起伏不定的赛季，但在连续两次打进分区决赛后，他们在进入季后赛时拥有丰富的经验。从这个角度来看，他们并不是一支典型的六号种子球队，但在面对掘金时仍被视为下风球。出人意料的是，他们在系列赛中一度以 3-1 领先，但随后迪温琴佐因跟腱撕裂赛季报销，超级巨星爱德华兹也遭遇了膝伤，可能缺席数周。当丹佛将比赛拖入第六场时，尽管这支三号种子球队也缺少了阿隆·戈登 (Aaron Gordon) 和佩顿·沃森 (Peyton Watson) 两名大将，但看起来他们似乎要发起反击。
然而森林狼另有打算。在明尼苏达进行的一场比分胶着、火药味十足的比赛中，他们守住胜果，以 110-98 击败掘金，晋级半决赛，而马刺已在那里等候。曾对媒体发表争议言论的杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 在这场晋级战中表现出色，砍下 32 分 10 个篮板，而特伦斯·香农 (Terrance Shannon Jr.) 在他的季后赛首次首发中贡献了 24 分。约基奇在失利的这场比赛中得到 28 分 9 篮板 10 助攻。
马刺在常规赛收官战中输给了掘金，这使得丹佛进入了他们的半区，而不是俄克拉荷马城雷霆。当时看来，这似乎错失了为自己争取通往分区决赛更轻松路径的机会，但状态神勇的鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 在防守端对约基奇限制得非常出色，麦克丹尼尔斯和多孙穆也打出了一个梦幻般的系列赛，最终明尼苏达脱颖而出，淘汰了夺冠热门之一。
虽然对阵阵容残缺的森林狼可能被视为马刺的运气，但这绝非一场轻松的对决。明尼苏达在常规赛交锋中以 2-1 领先，并拥有巨大的经验优势。在迪温琴佐和爱德华兹缺阵的情况下，他们显然失去了大量火力，但他们是一支坚韧的球队，拥有“下一个人站出来”的信念，这让他们即使在人员不整时也极具危险性。此外，爱德华兹仍有机会在第二轮的某个时间点复出。圣安东尼奥马刺应该更被看好晋级，但他们必须做好为每一场胜利而拼杀的准备。
在另一场首轮系列赛中，湖人以 3-2 领先火箭，这场系列赛的胜者将在另一场半决赛中对阵雷霆。
马刺与森林狼之间的西部半决赛第一场将于 5 月 4 日周一进行。
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：Spurs to face Timberwolves in Western Conference Semifinals
Spurs to face Timberwolves in Western Conference Semifinals
The Timberwolves completed the upset. They defeated Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets in Game 6 110-98, without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosumnu, and Kyle Anderson, to win the series 4-2. They will face the Spurs on Monday in the first game of the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Timberwolves had an up-and-down season but had ample playoff experience heading into the postseason after two consecutive Conference Finals appearances. In that way, they were not a typical six-seed, but they were still considered an underdog against the Nuggets. Surprisingly, they went up 3-1 in the series, but they lost DiVincenzo for the rest of the season with an Achilles tear and were without Edwards, their superstar, who suffered a knee injury that could keep him out for weeks. Once Denver forced Game 6, it seemed like the third seed could mount a comeback despite having two major absences of their own in Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson.
The Wolves had other plans. In a close, heated game in Minnesota, they held on to beat the Nuggets 110-98 and advance to the Semifinals, where the Spurs will be waiting. Jaden McDaniels, who made controversial statements to the media, delivered in the clincher, finishing with 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Terrance Shannon Jr. had 24 points in his first playoff start. Jokic had 28 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists on the losing effort.
The Spurs lost to the Nuggets in the last game of the regular season, which allowed Denver to be on their side of the bracket instead of Oklahoma City’s. At the time, it seemed like a missed opportunity to set themselves up for an easier path to the Conference Finals, but an inspired Rudy Gobert did a great job on Jokic on defense, McDaniels and Dosunmu had a fantastic series, and Minnesota came out on top, taking out one of the favorites to win the title.
While facing a shorthanded Timberwolves team could be seen as a lucky break for the Spurs, it won’t be an easy matchup. Minnesota won the season series 2-1 and has a massive experience advantage. They are clearly missing a lot of firepower with DiVincenzo and Edwards out, but they are a tough team with a next-man-up mentality that makes them dangerous even while shorthanded, plus there’s a chance Edwards could return at some point in the second round. San Antonio should be favored to advance, but they will have to be ready to fight for every win.
The Lakers lead the Rockets 3-2 in the other first-round series, which will determine who faces the Thunder in the other Semifinal.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Spurs and Timberwolves will be played on Monday, May 4.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock
