By Jared Weiss, Jon Krawczynski and Mike Wilson | The Athletic, 2026-05-07 04:43:10
周二晚上，圣安东尼奥马刺队并不需要维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 送出12次盖帽来摧毁明尼苏达森林狼队的进攻。
文班亚马送出了2次盖帽——比他在第一场比赛中少了10次——但在弗罗斯特银行中心球馆进行的这场西部半决赛第二场较量中，他是马刺队内得分上双的七名球员之一，帮助球队以133-95大胜森林狼。圣安东尼奥在比赛中一度领先多达47分，成功将系列赛大比分扳成1-1平。
马刺在上半场将森林狼的投篮命中率限制在29.8%（其中三分球命中率仅为13.3%），从而建立起24分的半场领先优势。文班亚马贡献了19分15个篮板。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 砍下全队最高的21分。
明尼苏达的安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 再次替补出场，13投5中得到12分。朱利叶斯·兰德尔 (Julius Randle)、杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 和特伦斯·香农 (Terrence Shannon Jr.) 也为森林狼各得12分。森林狼现在准备在周五晚上回到主场迎战马刺。
以下是马刺这场统治级胜利的几个关键要点：
马刺掌控全局
马刺轻松赢下了第二场比赛——森林狼遭遇了一个极其糟糕的投篮之夜——马刺在这场本应是拉锯战的系列赛中重新站稳了脚跟。
主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在复盘第一场比赛后一定意识到，马刺需要更多地发动达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 与文班亚马的挡拆配合。在第二场胜利的开场五分钟里，这种战术被反复执行。在上一场比赛两人因手感冰凉导致球队失利后，这一调整让这两位全明星球员重新回到了进攻的核心位置。
这些冲击篮筐的进攻让马刺占据了优势。他们压迫式的防守以及约翰逊果断包夹爱德华兹的决定，让比赛彻底失去了悬念。马刺放任森林狼在外线投空位三分，而明尼苏达几乎投丢了所有球。
周三的比赛提醒了人们，当马刺能打出快速的进攻节奏，且后卫线在半场防守中保持专注时，他们是不可阻挡的。他们拥有足够多的射手，总有人会在某个时刻爆发——朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 在第三节连续命中四记三分，让比赛彻底变成了一场屠杀。但马刺在强迫对手投丢并制造干扰球时表现最为出色。随着卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 的回归，他们采用了10人轮换，这似乎有助于全队保持高昂的能量。
福克斯从低迷的第一场比赛中反弹，全场得到16分且仅有1次失误（他在第一场得到10分并有6次失误）。这不仅是因为他投篮更准且运用了抛投技术，他在防守端的积极抢断对于带动反击节奏也至关重要，他在整场比赛中展现出了完全不同的从容感。
周三最大的胜利之一是文班亚马在第一场出战赛季新高的40分钟后，本场仅打了26分钟，因此他应该能以充沛的体力迎接周五的第三场比赛。—— 贾里德·韦斯 (Jared Weiss)
森林狼带走一场客场胜利，但代价是什么？
森林狼在圣安东尼奥完成了基本任务，带走了一场胜利，从这支拿到62胜的马刺手中夺回了系列赛的主场优势。但在第二场比赛中，他们想要给年轻的马刺施加更大压力的主要目标却惨遭失败。
森林狼周三晚上的进攻表现非常糟糕，以至于在第一节之后他们就从未真正回到竞争中。这种乏力的表现让在第一场比赛中显得有些慌乱的马刺信心大增。森林狼全场出现了22次失误，三分球30投仅9中（命中率30%），并且在上半场因右脚后跟受伤失去了阿约·多苏穆 (Ayo Dosunmu)。
森林狼在第三节中段一度落后30分，整晚都比圣安东尼奥慢半拍。麦克丹尼尔斯大部分时间都深陷犯规困扰，而爱德华兹在第一场担任精神领袖后，本场比赛也无所作为。
这正是马刺所需要的那种酣畅淋漓的胜利。现在，他们将带着十足的底气前往明尼苏达。整个赛季以来，森林狼一直依靠韧性从惨败中反弹。在第三场比赛中，他们比以往任何时候都更需要这种韧性。
森林狼可以从接下来的两场比赛回到标靶中心球馆中汲取信心，那里的观众曾推动他们在首轮逆转丹佛掘金。周五晚上的欢呼声是否足够响亮，足以唤醒他们的进攻并震慑住马刺？—— 乔恩·克劳钦斯基 (Jon Krawczynski)
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 cruise to easy Game 2 victory, even series vs. Timberwolves: Takeaways
Spurs cruise to easy Game 2 victory, even series vs. Timberwolves: Takeaways
The San Antonio Spurs didn’t need Victor Wembanyama to block 12 shots Tuesday night to derail the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offense.
Wembanyama had two blocks — 10 fewer than he had in Game 1 — and was one of seven Spurs players to score in double figures in a 133-95 Game 2 victory against the Timberwolves in their Western Conference semifinal series at Frost Bank Center. San Antonio stretched its lead to as many as 47 points on the way to leveling the series at one game apiece.
The Spurs held the Timberwolves to 29.8 percent shooting in the first half (including 13.3 percent on 3-pointers) in building a 24-point halftime lead. Wembanyama scored 19 points and had 15 rebounds. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 21 points.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards again came off the bench and finished with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr. also had 12 points for the Timberwolves, who now prepare to host the Spurs in Game 3 Friday night.
Here are some key takeaways from the Spurs’ dominant win:
Everything in the Spurs’ favor
The Spurs crushed Game 2 easily — as the Wolves had a horrible shooting night — regaining their footing in what should still be a battle of a series.
Coach Mitch Johnson must have known the Spurs needed to get the De’Aaron Fox-Victor Wembanyama pick-and-roll going more after reviewing Game 1. The opening five minutes of the Game 2 win had the action on repeat, establishing the two All-Stars at the center of the offense a game after their empty shooting nights let the team down.
These downhill actions gave the Spurs the edge. Their hounding defense and Johnson’s decision to aggressively trap Anthony Edwards blew the game wide open, as the Spurs let the Wolves take open 3s, and Minnesota missed almost all of them.
Wednesday’s game was a reminder of how unstoppable the Spurs are when they can play uptempo on offense and their guards lock in defensively in the half court. They have enough shooters where somebody will get hot at some point — Julian Champagnie hit four consecutive 3s in the third quarter to turn this into a blowout — but they are at their best when they are forcing misses and getting deflections. They went to a 10-man rotation with Carter Bryant back, which seemed to help the energy stay high across the board.
Fox bounced back from his rough first game, finishing with 16 points and only one turnover (he had 10 points and six turnovers in Game 1). It wasn’t just that he was shooting better and used his floater game, but his hands on defense were crucial to getting transition in rhythm, and he had a different comfort level throughout the game.
One of the biggest victories of Wednesday was Wembanyama playing only 26 minutes after having a season-high 40 in Game 1, so he should be fresh for Friday’s Game 3. — Jared Weiss
Wolves get split, but at what cost?
The Timberwolves did what they needed to do in San Antonio, getting a split to wrestle home-court advantage in the series away from the 62-win Spurs. But they failed miserably at their main goal of wanting to put even more pressure on the young Spurs in Game 2.
The Wolves were so bad offensively Wednesday night that they were never really in the game after the first quarter. The anemic performance breathed even more confidence into the Spurs, who looked rattled in Game 1. They turned it over 22 times, made only 9 of 30 (30 percent) from 3 and lost Ayo Dosunmu to a right heel injury in the first half.
The Timberwolves trailed by 30 points midway through the third quarter and were a step or two behind San Antonio all night long. Jaden McDaniels was in foul trouble for most of the night, and Anthony Edwards couldn’t do anything after he was the inspirational leader in Game 1.
This was the kind of emphatic victory the Spurs needed. Now, they will go to Minnesota with all of the swagger on their side. All season long, the Wolves have relied on their resilience to bounce back from embarrassing defeats. They will need more of it than ever for Game 3.
The Wolves can take heart in the next two games being at Target Center, where the crowds propelled them to a stirring first-round series victory over the Denver Nuggets. Will it be loud enough Friday night to wake up their offense and shake the Spurs? — Jon Krawczynski
By Jared Weiss, Jon Krawczynski and Mike Wilson, via The Athletic