By Tim MacMahon, 2026-05-27 11:34:33
俄克拉荷马城——在周二这场至关重要的西部决赛第五场天王山之战中，蝉联MVP的谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 出现了三次失误，且前四次运动战投篮全部偏出，遭遇了他自称职业生涯中最糟糕的开局之一。
但与前两场比赛不同的是，俄克拉荷马城雷霆队在面对圣安东尼奥马刺队时，开局并没有陷入需要苦苦追赶的两位数落后泥潭。事实上，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大在第一节还剩31.2秒时命中了一记接球投篮三分，这也是他的首个进球，帮助球队追平了比分。
从那时起，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大稳住了阵脚，雷霆队的轮换阵容也持续提供关键火力，最终在佩科姆中心以 127-114赢下比赛，重新夺回了系列赛的领先优势。
“我总是说，我们在场上是一个整体，”吉尔杰斯-亚历山大说道，他本场比赛砍下32分和9次助攻，但19投仅7中，并伴有6次失误。“如果没有更衣室里所有15名球员的付出，我们走不到这一步，我不会取得这样的个人成就，球队也不会取得成功。我们今晚证明了这一点。
“如果场上有四五个我这样状态的人，我们第一节打完就得落后20分了。但队友们在开局阶段表现得棒极了。我可能再也不能打出那样的开局了，我得给球队创造更好的赢球机会，但好在队友们撑住了局面。”
入选最佳阵容三阵的大前锋切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 打出了他在这轮系列赛中影响力最强的一场比赛，贡献了16分和11个篮板。在吉尔杰斯-亚历山大开局慢热的情况下，霍姆格伦早早进入状态显得尤为关键。霍姆格伦有一半的分数是在首节拿到的，当时他4投全中。
由于杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams)（腿筋受伤）和阿杰伊·米切尔 (Ajay Mitchell)（小腿受伤）缺阵，主教练马克·戴格诺特 (Mark Daigneault) 试图为阵容注入更多得分火力，后卫贾里德·麦凯恩 (Jared McCain) 迎来了职业生涯的首次季后赛首发，他在下半场砍下了个人20分中的18分。马刺队曾试图在防守端针对麦凯恩，但在他作为主要防守人时，圣安东尼奥全队14投仅4中，仅得到11分，其中斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 合计9投0中。
“关于他，有一点你根本不需要去提醒，那就是保持自信和侵略性，”雷霆老将前锋亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 在谈到麦凯恩时说道，“无论是作为一个人还是作为一名球员，这就是他的特质。”
就像系列赛前三场比赛一样，卡鲁索在替补席上扮演了主角。他在28分钟的出场时间里贡献了22分、6次助攻和3次抢断，当他在场时，雷霆队净胜马刺队18分。
“如果场上有四五个我这样状态的人，我们第一节打完就得落后20分了，”谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大说道，“但队友们在开局阶段表现得棒极了。我可能再也不能打出那样的开局了……但好在队友们撑住了局面。” Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images
“他是这支球队中打过最多大场面比赛的人，”吉尔杰斯-亚历山大在谈到两届总冠军得主卡鲁索时说道，“那种经验是无法复制或凭空制造的。AC并不是那种天赋异禀的球员……但他绝对是NBA中数一数二的铁血斗士，每晚皆是如此。他以此为傲，并为我们整个团队奠定了这样的基调。在这轮系列赛中，由于有人缺阵，他不得不挺身而出，而他的这种特质也展现得淋漓尽致。”
本场比赛中，正负值比卡鲁索还要出色的球员只有：俄克拉荷马城后卫凯森·华莱士 (Cason Wallace)（出场31分钟，正负值+29）和中锋以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein)（出场31分钟，正负值+24）。
在第四场比赛担任首发后（当时俄克拉荷马城遭遇了五年多来最糟糕的进攻表现），华莱士重新回到了替补席，并在防守端展现了极强的威慑力。哈尔滕施泰因则贡献了12分、15个篮板和4次助攻，并且作为主要防守人，将马刺球星维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的投篮限制在11投仅3中。
“这是团队协作的结果，”哈尔滕施泰因在谈到对文班亚马的防守时说道，后者最终15投4中得到20分。“对于任何伟大的球员，你都不可能靠一个人去防死他。所以我们要做的就是协防，增加他的出手难度，确保他无法轻松得分。我认为我们作为一个团队在执行这一点上做得非常好。重申一遍，他是个伟大的球员，所以你必须依靠集体力量去防守。”
随着雷霆队掌控局势，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大在第二节和第三节砍下了他32分中的23分。
“在这个阶段，要击败[马刺]或任何球队，光靠谢伊一个人是不够的。”
亚历克斯·卡鲁索
“我总是对他身上的一点感到惊叹，那就是他在比赛中及时调整和纠错的能力，”戴格诺特说道，“他通常不会整场比赛都陷入那样的挣扎。显然他开局时没有拿出最强状态，但他依然能够专注于当下。他的信心从未动摇。他对自己有着极大的信任，这在今晚展现得淋漓尽致。”
卫冕冠军雷霆队在今年季后赛中取得了11胜2负的战绩，距离重返NBA总决赛仅一步之遥，届时他们将面对东部冠军纽约尼克斯队。
“在这个阶段，要击败[马刺]或任何球队，光靠谢伊一个人是不够的，”卡鲁索说道，“自从我来到这里，在我们打过的每一场比赛中，他都是对方球探报告上的头号防守目标。他可能会砍下40分左右，但我们不可能轻松拿到40分、50分。他会拿到25到35分，并且为此付出艰苦的努力。在整场比赛中，还有很多其他的得分机会和其他的战术需要整个团队去完成。这只需要我们彼此信任，然后上场去拼。”
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：Thunder use balanced attack to win Game 5, take series lead
Thunder use balanced attack to win Game 5, take series lead
OKLAHOMA CITY – Back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander committed three turnovers and missed his first four shots from the field, getting off to what he described as one of the worst starts of his career in Tuesday’s pivotal Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
But unlike the previous two games, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have a double-digit early deficit they had to attempt to dig out of against the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, Gilgeous-Alexander’s first bucket, a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left in the first quarter, tied the score.
From that point, Gilgeous-Alexander steadied himself and the Thunder continued to receive significant contributions throughout the rotation, cruising to a 127-114 win at Paycom Center to regain the series lead.
“I always say we’re a team out there,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 32 points and nine assists but was only 7-of-19 shooting and committed six turnovers. "We don’t get this far, I don’t have this individual success, this team doesn’t have the success without all 15 guys in the locker room. We proved it tonight.
“If it was four or five me’s out there, we would’ve been down 20 after the first quarter. But the guys were great to start the game. I probably should never start like that again and give us a better chance to win a ballgame, but the guys held it down.”
Third-team All-NBA power forward Chet Holmgren had his most impactful performance of the series, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Holmgren’s early production was especially important while Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a slow start. Half of Holmgren’s points came in the first quarter, when he made all four of his shots.
Guard Jared McCain, making the first playoff start of his career as coach Mark Daigneault sought to add scoring punch to the lineup with Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) out, scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half. The Spurs attempted to target McCain on the other end, but San Antonio scored only 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting with him as the primary defender, including 0-of-9 combined by Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell.
“One thing with him, you don’t have to tell him to be confident, to be aggressive,” Thunder veteran forward Alex Caruso said of McCain. “That’s who he is as a person and as a player.”
As was the case in the first three games of the series, Caruso played a starring role off the bench. He had 22 points, six assists and three steals in 28 minutes, and the Thunder outscored the Spurs by 18 points with him on the court.
“If it was four or five me’s out there, we would’ve been down 20 after the first quarter,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But the guys were great to start the game. I probably should never start like that again … but the guys held it down.” Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images
“He’s played in the most big games on this team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Caruso, a two-time champion. “That experience you can’t recreate or manufacture. AC isn’t some uber-talented guy. … But he’s one of – if not the best competitor in the NBA night in and night out. He wears that and he sets that tone for us as a group, and it’s come full-fledged this series with guys out and him having to step up.”
The only players who had a better plus-minus in the game than Caruso: Oklahoma City guard Cason Wallace (plus-29 in 31 minutes) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (plus-24 in 31 minutes).
Wallace returned to a reserve role after starting Game 4, when Oklahoma City had its worst offensive performance in more than five years, and was a defensive menace. Hartenstein had 12 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and held Spurs star Victor Wembanyama to 3-of-11 shooting as the primary defender.
“It’s a team thing,” Hartenstein said of the defensive effort on Wembanyama, who finished with 20 points on 4-of-15 shooting. “With any great player, you’re not going to stop him with one player. So it’s going in there, just making his looks hard, making sure he just doesn’t get anything easy. I think we just did a great job as team just executing that. Again, he’s a great player, so you just have to do it as a collective.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 of his 32 points over the second and third quarters as the Thunder seized control.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point.”
Alex Caruso
“One of the things that I always marvel at with him is his ability to course correct inside of a game,” Daigneault said. “He usually doesn’t go a full game struggling like that. He obviously didn’t have his fastball early, but he stays so present. His confidence never wavers. He really has great trust in himself and that was on display tonight.”
The defending champion Thunder are 11-2 this postseason and one win away from earning a return trip to the NBA Finals, where they would face the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks.
“It’s going to take more than just Shai to beat [the Spurs], to beat any team at this point,” Caruso said. “He’s No. 1 on the scouting report every game we’ve played since I’ve been here. Might get up into like 40 [points], but we’re not getting an easy 40, 50. He’s going to get somewhere 25 to 35 and work hard for it. There’s a bunch of other points and other plays to be made through the game for the team to make. And it’s just about being confident in each other and going out there and playing.”
By Tim MacMahon, via ESPN