By Anthony Slater, 2026-05-13 12:24:52
圣安东尼奥——尽管在本轮系列赛中第二次在客场遭遇惨败，但在面对常规赛取得62胜的圣安东尼奥马刺队、赛季已命悬一线的情况下，明尼苏达森林狼队球星安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 依然展现出了坚定的信心。
“我没看到更衣室里有谁过度担心，”爱德华兹说道，“这不过是另一场篮球比赛。上场，穿好战靴，准备好去战斗。”
周二晚，马刺队以 126-97 轻松赢下了关键的第五场比赛，他们在全部四节比赛中的得分均超过了森林狼队，从而取得了系列赛 3-2 的领先。圣安东尼奥在过去的两个主场比赛中合计净胜了 67 分。
明尼苏达的麻烦从开局就显现了。在维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 于第四场比赛中挥肘击中纳兹·里德 (Naz Reid) 的下颚后，NBA 选择不对其进行禁赛，裁定他在随后马刺输球的那场比赛中第二节被驱逐出场已是足够的惩罚。
不出所料，文班亚马在开场后表现得极具侵略性，以此弥补他那个改变系列赛走势的错误。他在前七分钟内就砍下 16 分和 5 个篮板，在首发时段带领球队取得 24-11 的领先，并投进了一系列角度刁钻、几乎无法防守的抛投和三分球。
“文班做出的一些动作，你真的没什么应对办法，”爱德华兹说道，“你只能祈祷他投不进。”
森林狼队在中间两节曾几次奋力反击。杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 投中了三个三分球，爱德华兹也拿到了 20 分。在第三节还剩 7 分 51 秒时，森林狼一度将比分追至 61 平。随后，局面彻底崩盘。
“我们在进攻端背离了行之有效的战术，”明尼苏达主帅克里斯·芬奇 (Chris Finch) 说道，“接着我们的防守也崩塌了。我想我们在第三节最后六分钟丢了 30 分，很大程度上是因为对持球人的限制不够。”
芬奇表示，他的得分手们在比赛早期通过冲击空隙和传导球取得成功后，开始“停止执行战术（陷入单打）”。
尤其是朱利叶斯·兰德尔 (Julius Randle)，他正在经历一个糟糕的系列赛。他在第五场比赛中 17 投 6 中，这使得他本轮系列赛的投篮总数变为 71 投 26 中，命中率仅为 36.6%，而他在常规赛中的命中率为 48.1%。
森林狼队还将犯规麻烦视为一大隐患。麦克丹尼尔斯在第四场比赛中再次被困在替补席上，这已成为整个系列赛关键阶段的常态。他全场共有五次犯规，出场时间被限制在 30 分钟。在他下场休息的 18 分钟里，森林狼队净负 17 分。
“一切都要从麦克丹尼尔斯开始，要努力让他远离犯规麻烦，”爱德华兹说道，“他对这支球队太重要了。当他陷入犯规麻烦时，每个人都会受到影响。场上对他的一些判罚很严厉。我们能说的也不多。”
明尼苏达在应对圣安东尼奥有选择性的包夹时也显得很挣扎，这与在同一球馆遭遇惨败的第二场比赛如出一辙。根据 ESPN Research 的数据，周二晚上，马刺队对爱德华兹发动了 20 次包夹。面对包夹，森林狼队 15 投仅 6 中，并出现了 5 次失误，在 20 个回合中仅得到 13 分。
面对这种额外的防守针对，爱德华兹全场仅出手 13 次，而此前两个主场他分别出手了 22 次和 26 次。尽管双膝都有伤痛，爱德华兹在过去三场比赛中分别出战了 41、40 和 39 分钟，在面对马刺队那群运动天赋出众的球员轮番冲击时，他有时显得疲惫不堪。
在周五晚上回到明尼苏达进行第六场比赛之前，球队有两天的休息时间，这是本轮系列赛中唯一一段较长的间歇期。
“我太高兴了，”爱德华兹在谈到这段间歇时说道，“我准备好迎接这两天（休息）了。我对此感到很兴奋。”
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：Defiant Edwards says Wolves not worried with season on brink
Defiant Edwards says Wolves not worried with season on brink
SAN ANTONIO – Despite getting blown out on the road for the second time in this second-round series, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards exuded a level of unwavering confidence with his season on the brink against the 62-win San Antonio Spurs.
“I don’t see nobody in our locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards said. “There’s another basketball game. Come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war.”
The Spurs rolled to a pivotal 126-97 Game 5 win Tuesday night, outscoring the Timberwolves in all four quarters to claim a 3-2 series lead. San Antonio has won its past two home games by a combined 67 points.
Minnesota’s trouble began early. The NBA opted not to suspend Victor Wembanyama after his Game 4 swinging elbow to Naz Reid’s jaw, ruling that the second-quarter ejection in a subsequent Spurs loss was punishment enough.
Wembanyama, unsurprisingly, came out aggressively to atone for his series-shifting mistake. He had 16 points and five rebounds in the first seven minutes, delivering a 24-11 lead in his opening stint, dropping in a sequence of floaters and 3s from impossible-to-contest angles.
“Some of the stuff Wemby was doing you don’t really have too much of an answer for,” Edwards said. “You just hope he misses.”
The Timberwolves clawed back a few times in the middle quarters. Jaden McDaniels hit three 3s and Edwards had 20 points. The Wolves briefly tied the game at 61 with 7:51 left in the third quarter. Then it all unraveled.
“We went away from what was working [offensively],” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Then our defense just cratered. We gave up 30 points, I think, in the last six minutes of the third quarter. A lot of it was ball containment.”
Finch said his scorers “started breaking off plays” after finding success earlier in the game attacking gaps and moving the ball.
Julius Randle, in particular, is having a dreadful series. He shot 6-of-17 in Game 5, bringing his series total to 26-of-71 from the field, a 36.6% clip, after making 48.1% of his shots in the regular season.
The Timberwolves also pinpointed foul trouble as a concern. McDaniels again was strapped to the bench in Game 4, as has been the case during key sequences throughout the series. He had five fouls total and was limited to 30 minutes. The Timberwolves were outscored by 17 minutes in the 18 minutes he sat.
“Everything starts with Jaden McDaniels, trying to keep him out of foul trouble,” Edwards said. “He’s so important to the team. It hurts everybody when he gets in foul trouble. Some tough calls being made out there against him. Not too much we can say.”
Minnesota also struggled to handle San Antonio’s selective double-teams, similar to the Game 2 blowout in the same building. On Tuesday night, per ESPN Research, the Spurs sprung 20 double-teams on Edwards. Against them, the Timberwolves went 6-of-15 shooting and turned it over five times, scoring 13 points on 20 possessions.
Facing that extra attention, Edwards was able to get up only 13 shots after attempting 22 and 26 in the previous two home games. Despite managing pain in both of his knees, Edwards has logged 41, 40 and 39 minutes the past three games, and he appeared fatigued at times against the Spurs’ wave of athletes.
There are two days off before Game 6 in Minnesota on Friday night, the only extended gap between games in this series.
“I’m so happy,” Edwards said of the break. “I’m ready to get two days. I’m excited for it.”
By Anthony Slater, via ESPN