By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-05-25 11:00:27
The Athletic 正在为您带来2026年NBA西部决赛第五场马刺对阵雷霆的实时报道。
圣安东尼奥——圣安东尼奥马刺队深知他们搞砸得有多彻底。看台深处更衣室的那扇铁门，根本无法将残酷的现实拒之门外。他们糟糕表现所留下的阴霾，顺着门底的缝隙渗入，在更衣室里弥漫开来。失望的情绪无处可躲。
在西部决赛第三场开局，他们曾打出一波15-0的高潮，险些刷新NBA历史纪录。他们此前一直在强调，要通过率先发力来对抗俄克拉荷马雷霆队那令人窒息的身体对抗。他们确实抢占了先机，但在余下的比赛时间里却节节败退，最终遭遇了一场完败。
达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 认为，从心态上来看，周五的第三场比赛是他们整个赛季打得最糟糕的比赛之一，尤其是考虑到那段梦幻开局。对我而言，输球的方式比输球本身更让人难以接受。
因此，当那扇铁门再次被推开时，看到走进来的人，大家并不感到意外。是时候让“老大 (El Jefe)”来传达旨意了。
“波波在赛后走了进来，这实际上是他本赛季第一次在赛后走进更衣室讲话，”福克斯说道，“所以他看在眼里。我们都看在眼里，也深有体会。”
卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 最近告诉 The Athletic，前马刺队主教练、现任篮球运营总裁且被非正式地称为“El Jefe”的格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich)，经常在赛后以极快的速度给他打电话，以至于布莱恩特当时还在更衣室换衣服。
显然，波波维奇认为这次有必要亲自出面了。福克斯表示，波波维奇给球队传达的信息是，他们的表现简直是“狗屎（BS）”。
“在赛季的这个阶段，你不能在离开球场时还抱着‘要是当时怎样就好了’、‘本可以’、‘本应该’的心态，”马刺队中锋俾斯麦·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo) 在谈到波波维奇的讲话时告诉 The Athletic，“我想这就是我从那番话中得到的启示，因为在赛季的这个时候，每个人身上都有伤。每个人都在咬牙坚持。如果不是身体上的，那就是心理上的。”
简单来说，就是打得更好。
“不多也不少，”在周日马刺队以103-82大胜雷霆队并将大比分扳成2-2平后，布莱恩特告诉 The Athletic，“我的意思是，这是一个非常直接的信息。当你处于这种境地时，最需要的就是直接的沟通。所以对我们来说，我们必须做得更好，我们上场并坚决执行了战术，然后我们也看到了（第四场的）结果。”
马刺队在这轮系列赛中的触底反弹，并不仅仅源于更好的执行力或意志力的展现。这其中还带有一丝神圣的启示。由于他们周日上午行程繁忙，弥撒便主动“找”上了他们。
在热身期间，场边坐着圣若望·鲍思高慈幼会（Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco）的修女们。这群来自圣安东尼奥的天主教修女此前因在马刺队的季后赛征程中远程为其加油和祈祷而走红网络。现在，是时候由她们亲自为马刺队送上祝福了。
在赛前热身结束后，马刺队中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 接受了祝福。他是一位虔诚的天主教徒，甚至还运营着自己的博客，最初的内容是评测NBA客场城市周边的教堂。在这轮系列赛中表现挣扎的他，最终在当晚打出了一场扎实的比赛。
“我们必须带她们飞去俄克拉荷马城，”科内特说，“我们必须让她们上飞机。”
当你的队里有一个比任何人都需要更多腿部空间的大个子时，想在飞机上腾出额外空间可不容易。尤其是在这场比赛之后。维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在这场比赛中真正伸展了拳脚。
上半场凭借15次出手和6次罚球砍下22分，这位不知疲倦的得分手回应了MVP得主谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在第三场比赛中发出的挑战。
这就是维克托·文班亚马，那个无情的得分机器。听起来很怪，对吧？这确实不像是文班的标签。他更像是一个黑洞，用强大的引力吸附周围的一切。通常情况下，一切都会向他靠拢，而他的工作更多是去争夺那个能让引力发挥作用的空间。
在第三场比赛后波波维奇痛斥了马刺队之后，文班亚马走上新闻发布台，表示他们即将看清自己是由什么铸就的。他们确实找到了答案。这就是他们一整年所展现出的特质。他们只是需要又一次严苛的考验，来重新找回自我。
“我现在其实并不感到惊讶，因为我们没有做出任何意料之外的事，但事实是，我们以前从未遇到过这种情况，”文班亚马在第四场砍下33分、8个篮板、5次助攻和3次盖帽后说道，“这是我们在季后赛系列赛中首次处于落后局面，而我们做出了回应。”
文班亚马在周日的胜利中为马刺队砍下33分 (Scott Wachter / Imagn Images)
据比永博透露，波波维奇在对马刺队讲话时明确表示，在目前的阶段，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 无法给他们制定出任何能真正改变局面的战术。他们其实已经掌握了一切。教练的工作是让他们做好准备，并在合适的时间从战术库中选择正确的防守策略，但在这个阶段已经没有什么新鲜的东西了。
这完全取决于你们自己去把它付诸实现。
“现在你只需要坐在镜子前对自己说：听着，我已经掌握了一切，也知道该怎么做。我只需要上场去把它做好，”比永博说道，“这就是关键所在，也是我从波波的话中得到的最大启示。”
约翰逊表示，从他的角度来看，文班亚马觉得自己有责任通过各种方式来奠定比赛基调，而他的侵略性正是这种责任感的体现。“我想很多人都会说（他渴望承担这种责任），但抛开这些不谈，我认为这确实就是他想要的，”约翰逊说道，“我认为他渴望承担起领袖的重任，而且他就是为此而生的。”
在波波维奇、蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 以及圣若望·鲍思高慈幼会修女们的注视下，他兑现了承诺。他展现了自己和马刺队的真实面貌。或者至少，展现了他们在这个运动最残酷的课堂上正在努力成为的样子。
在第三场比赛结束后，哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 告诉 The Athletic，马刺队不能只依赖文班的魔力，而是需要在整晚的比赛中持续打出几十次精彩的配合。这才是季后赛中真正的心态考验。不要试图通过某一次精彩的攻防来瞬间扭转势头，而是要在整场比赛中，循序渐进地将势头一点点拉向自己这边。保持专注，意味着绝不能有半点松懈。
这正是马刺队在上半场所做到的，文班亚马从未停止展现他的统治力。随后，在半场结束的哨声响起时，他投进了一记超远距离的中场压哨“祈祷球”，修女们的祈祷仿佛得到了回应。这太神圣了。太不可思议了。这就是文班。
但这场比赛并不是靠那记惊世骇俗的跳投赢下来的。而是他在防守端完成的十几次成功防守，确保了雷霆队再也无法找回进攻节奏。一场漂亮的胜利不一定非要极具观赏性，只要能达到目的就行。
“这没什么大不了的。这不是什么魔法。我们只是做了我们需要做的事情，”文班亚马说道，“系列赛还远未结束。在能够休息之前，我们还要再赢下六场比赛。”
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：The Spurs find out who they are, with help from courtside nuns and Coach Pop
The Spurs find out who they are, with help from courtside nuns and Coach Pop
The Athletic has live coverage of Spurs vs. Thunder in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Western Conference final.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs knew how badly they blew it. The metal door to their locker room deep under the stands wasn’t strong enough to hold out the reality of their situation. The stench of their performance seeped through the slim opening underneath, wafting around the locker room. There was no respite from the disappointment.
They had just opened Game 3 of the Western Conference finals with a 15-0 run, nearly an NBA record. They talked so much about combating the Oklahoma City Thunder’s relentless physicality by being the ones to hit first. They struck right away, then played the rest of the night on their back foot as they lost convincingly.
De’Aaron Fox felt Friday’s Game 3 was one of the worst games they had all season from a mentality standpoint after that opening run. For him, the way they lost the game hurt more than actually losing the game.
So when that metal door opened again, it wasn’t a surprise when he saw who was walking through that door. It was time for El Jefe to send a message.
“Pop came in after the game; it was actually the first time that he came into the locker room and spoke after a game,” Fox said. “So he saw it. We all saw it. We all felt it.”
Carter Bryant recently told The Athletic that former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, now the president of basketball operations and unofficially labeled El Jefe, often calls Bryant so fast after games that Bryant is still in the locker room getting changed.
Apparently, Popovich decided it was time to do things in person. Fox said Popovich’s message to the team was that its performance was “BS.”
“You cannot leave the floor saying I wish, could have, should have, at this point of the season,” Spurs center Bismack Biyombo told The Athletic of Popovich’s speech. “I think that’s my takeaway from that message, because everybody’s banged up at this point of the season. Everybody’s dealing with something. If it’s not physical, it’s mental.”
Simply put, be better.
“Nothing more, nothing less,” Bryant told The Athletic after the Spurs beat the Thunder on Sunday 103-82 to tie the series at 2-2. “I mean, it’s a direct message, and the best thing when you’re in a situation like this is a direct message. So to us, we had to be better, we came out executing and we saw the outcome (in Game 4).”
The Spurs’ comeback in this series did not just stem from better execution or a show of will. It was a touch of divine inspiration. They were busy on Sunday morning, so Mass came to them.
Seated courtside during warmups were the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, a group of Catholic nuns in San Antonio who have gone viral for cheering and praying for the Spurs throughout their playoff run from afar. It was time for them to bless the Spurs in person.
After his pregame warmup, Spurs center Luke Kornet, a devout Catholic who has his own blog that originally reviewed churches on the NBA circuit, received a blessing. He ended up finally having a solid game after struggling in this series.
“We have to fly them to OKC,” Kornet said. “We have to get them on the plane.”
It’s tough to find extra room on the plane when you have the guy who takes up more leg room than anyone. Especially after this game. Victor Wembanyama really stretched his legs in this one.
With 22 points on 15 shots and six free throws in the first half, a relentless scorer lived up to the challenge that the MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, laid down in Game 3.
That’s Victor Wembanyama, the relentless scorer. Sounds weird, right? That sure doesn’t sound like Wemby. He’s the black hole that sucks everything up into his gravity. It usually all comes to him, and his job is more to fight to be in the space where gravity does its thing.
After Popovich reamed out the Spurs following Game 3, Wembanyama stepped to the podium and said they were about to find out what they were made of. They found out. This is what they have shown all year. They just needed another monstrous test to find their way back to themselves.
“I didn’t really wonder now because we didn’t do nothing unexpected, but the truth is that we had never been in this kind of situation before,” Wembanyama said after finishing with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks in Game 4. “It was our first deficit in a playoff series, and we just responded.”
Wembanyama scored 33 points for the Spurs in Sunday’s win (Scott Wachter / Imagn Images)
When Popovich spoke to the Spurs, according to Biyombo, he made it clear that there is no game plan coach Mitch Johnson could give them at this point that was truly going to change things. They already know it all. It’s his job to get them ready and to select the right coverage from the menu at the right time, but there’s nothing novel at this point.
It’s really just up to you to make it happen.
“Now you just got to sit in front of the mirror and say, look, I got everything and I know what to do now. I just got to get out there and do it,” Biyombo said. “And that’s kind of the point and my takeaway from what Pop said.”
Johnson said from his perspective, Wembanyama felt an obligation to set the tone in a variety of ways, and his aggression was a reflection of that. “I think a lot of people say (he wants that obligation) and regardless of that, I think that’s what he wants,” Johnson said. “I think he wants that responsibility to be in the lead there, and he’s built for it.”
As Popovich, Tim Duncan and the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco watched over him, he delivered. He showed who he and the Spurs truly are. Or at least who they are learning to be, in the hardest classroom the game has to offer.
After Game 3, Harrison Barnes told The Athletic that the Spurs needed to not rely on the magic of Wemby and find their way to dozens of good plays consistently over the course of the evening. That is the real mentality challenge in the playoffs. Not to get psyched up for one big play to try to swing the momentum. But by methodically inching the momentum in your direction throughout the evening. Staying locked in means never unlocking.
That’s what the Spurs did in that first half, as Wembanyama never stopped imposing his will. Then he threw up a Hail Mary from half court at the halftime buzzer, and the sisters’ prayers were answered. It was divine. It was magical. It was Wemby.
But the game wasn’t won on that exospheric jumper. It was the dozen stops he got on the other end that made sure the Thunder never found their offense again. A good win doesn’t have to be a spectacle. It just has to get the job done.
“It was nothing amazing. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we needed to do,” Wembanyama said. “The series is far from over. We got six more wins before we can rest.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic