By Vincent Goodwill, 2026-06-04 11:23:29
圣安东尼奥——周三晚上的NBA总决赛首战第一节末段，当马刺队的哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 压到杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的右膝，导致后者一瘸一拐地走向更衣室时，尼克斯队上下并没有陷入恐慌。
而当活力更足、爆发力更强的圣安东尼奥马刺在第三节建立起14分的领先优势时，尼克斯同样没有慌张。也许是因为尼克斯已经在这段梦幻般的季后赛之旅中高歌猛进了数周——自首轮在亚特兰大输掉第三场比赛后，他们赢下了此后的每一场季后赛。那场失利似乎彻底唤醒了他们，自此释放出了一只在季后赛中统治力十足的猛兽。
尽管开局手感不佳，但布伦森在首战中及时调整了状态。他在第四节独砍13分（全场斩获最高的30分），帮助尼克斯在霜冻银行中心以 105-95 击败马刺，成功夺回主场优势。
这是尼克斯在季后赛中取得的12连胜，而比赛依然遵循着熟悉的剧本：比分落后，紧咬分差进入射程，然后为布伦森拉开空间，由他来收割比赛。
“杰伦在下半场就是MVP。他给球队提供了巨大的帮助，”尼克斯主帅迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 说道，“他做到了一个MVP候选人该做的一切。他扛着我们拿下了胜利。我们把球交到他手上，而他在关键时刻为我们解决了问题。”
布朗一直将布伦森视为MVP候选人，并对本赛季的投票结果愤愤不平——布伦森甚至连一张第五顺位的选票都没有拿到。共有八名球员获得了选票，其中包括蝉联该奖项的俄克拉荷马雷霆队球星谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)，而雷霆队在西部决赛中刚刚被马刺淘汰。
对圣安东尼奥马刺而言，在第四节防守布伦森被证明是一项不可能完成的任务，尤其是考虑到尼克斯在总决赛的舞台上没有表现出丝毫的局促与不适。
“我不想用‘冷静’这个词，但我认为我们很清楚自己需要做什么，”布伦森说道，“我们是一个非常团结的集体。彼此信任、互相支持，并且深知我们只需要一分一分地去蚕食分差。这要归功于我们全队上下所拥有的坚韧心态。”
首先站出来的是尼克斯中锋卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns)，在布伦森前三节打得挣扎时，他在进攻端表现得极为主动。让全票当选最佳防守球员的马刺球星维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在防守端疲于奔命是尼克斯的重要目标，而文班亚马此前从未遇到过像唐斯这样进攻手段如此丰富的对手。
“对我而言，当我上场时，我努力在进攻组织上保持侵略性，”唐斯说道，“在比赛初期，你永远不知道防守方会给你怎样的限制，也不知道比赛会如何发展，但我就是想打得更有侵略性，尤其是在比赛开局阶段。”
杰伦·布伦森砍下30分，并帮助尼克斯在比赛末段打出一波11-0的高潮，成功拿下总决赛首战。 Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
唐斯在第三节拿下了他18分中的10分，尼克斯也在该节结束时将比分扳平。第四节伊始，当马刺凭借运动能力和速度优势威胁要拉开比分时，OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby) 凭借火热的开局手感，帮助纽约紧咬住比分。
这给布伦森留出了足够的时间来寻找错位机会并展现他的魔法。在文班亚马下场休息的阶段，尼克斯频频冲击篮筐，甚至在某些时刻让文班亚马在防守时显得有些犹豫不决。
布伦森和尼克斯经历过无数个令人窒息的夜晚。在东部决赛对阵克利夫兰骑士的首战中，他们在第四节一度落后22分，但随后发起疯狂反扑，将比赛拖入加时，并彻底击碎了对手在系列赛中制造威胁的任何幻想。
在去年东部半决赛对阵波士顿凯尔特人的系列赛中，尼克斯曾多次完成20分的大逆转，出人意料地在客场取得2-0的领先，并最终通过六场大战赢下了系列赛。
虽然并非每一次逆转都由布伦森一人导演，但他往往是这些神奇逆转的核心。而这场总决赛首战也不例外。
“我认为最重要的是，深知我们是在客场作战，并且知道我的队友们一直在背后支持我，在这样的环境下，这是最关键的，”布伦森说道，“他们对我的信任以及我对他们的信任，指引着我们走到了今天。我的意思是，每当我们并肩作战的夜晚，我都对他们充满感激。”
尽管布伦森用了31次出手才拿到30分，但在胜利的光芒下，效率的缺失早已被人们抛在脑后。
“他是个为大场面而生的球员，伙计，”布朗说道，“在最关键的时刻，他总能挺身而出，这就是MVP该有的样子。我们把球交到他手里，并做好了与他共存亡的准备。而他一次又一次地为我们搞定比赛。他总能找到自己的出手点，并打成进攻。”
尼克斯可以满怀信心地迎接第二场比赛，因为他们知道，在投篮命中率仅为41%、三分命中率仅为31%的情况下，他们依然从客场偷走了首场胜利。最重要的是，他们在下半场将马刺的三分球限制到19投仅2中，这才是纽约完成逆转的关键所在。
“这显然不是我们希望陷入的处境，但我们始终保持着‘打好下一个回合’的心态，”布伦森说道，“我们不断寻找办法，一步一步地蚕食分差。我们知道不可能靠一次进攻就追回所有比分，但我们就是这样一点一点地咬了回来。”
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：Brunson keys late surge as Knicks steal Game 1 in San Antonio
Brunson keys late surge as Knicks steal Game 1 in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO – There wasn’t a sense of panic from the Knicks when Jalen Brunson limped gingerly to the locker room late in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals after the Spurs’ Harrison Barnes landed on his right knee.
Nor was there panic when San Antonio, looking fresher and more explosive, built a 14-point third-quarter lead. Perhaps it’s because the Knicks have been on this magic carpet ride for weeks, having won every postseason game since Game 3 of the first round in Atlanta, a loss that seemingly woke them up and created a playoff monster that has dominated since.
Brunson worked himself into Game 1 following a rough start, scoring 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks steal home-court advantage with a 105-95 victory at Frost Bank Center.
It was the Knicks’ 12th straight playoff win, and it had a familiar formula: fall behind, get to within striking distance and clear the way for Brunson to close.
“Jalen, he was the MVP in the second half. He was huge for us,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do. He carried us home. We put the ball in his hands, and he got it done for us down the stretch.”
Brown has routinely been calling Brunson an MVP candidate, railing against this season’s voting, which didn’t see him earn even a fifth-place vote. Eight players received votes, including the back-to-back winner, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whom the Spurs eliminated in the Western Conference finals.
For San Antonio, guarding Brunson in the fourth quarter proved to be an impossible task, especially since the Knicks don’t seem the least bit uncomfortable on the Finals stage.
“I don’t want to say calmness, but I think we know what we have to do,” Brunson said. “I think we are a pretty together group. Be able to trust each other and still have each other’s back and know that we just have to keep chipping away, chipping away. It’s just a credit to the mentality that we have as a team.”
First, it was Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who became assertive on offense as Brunson struggled in the first three quarters. Keeping Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, occupied is a high objective for the Knicks, and Wembanyama hasn’t seen anyone as diverse as Towns on offense.
“For me, when I go out there, I try to be aggressive in playmaking,” Towns said. “Early in the game, just you never know what actually the defense is going to give you. You don’t know what is going to unfold, but I just wanted to be aggressive, especially early in the game.”
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and helped the Knicks finish on an 11-0 run to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Towns scored 10 of his 18 points in the third, and the Knicks pulled even by the end of the quarter. OG Anunoby kept New York afloat with a torrid start to the fourth quarter, when the Spurs’ athleticism and speed was threatening to overtake the Knicks.
That left just enough time for Brunson to find his matchups and work his magic. The Knicks attacked the basket when Wembanyama sat for stretches and had him perhaps overthinking at times.
Brunson and the Knicks have been through plenty of stressful nights. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they trailed by 22 in the fourth quarter before roaring back, sending the game to overtime and essentially ending any idea of a threat in the series.
There were the multiple 20-point comebacks against the Boston Celtics in last year’s second-round series, as the Knicks took a surprising 2-0 road advantage before winning the series in six.
Brunson didn’t solely engineer every comeback, but he has often been at the center of it. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was no exception.
“I think most importantly, knowing we’re on the road, and knowing my teammates have my back, I think that’s the biggest thing in an environment like this,” Brunson said. “The trust they have in me and the trust I have in them, it’s got us to this point. I mean, I’m very thankful for them every single night we go out there together.”
It took 31 shots for Brunson to score 30 points, but the lack of efficiency will get lost in the moment.
“He’s a gamer, man,” Brown said. “In the biggest moments, he shows up, and that’s what MVPs are supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands and said we are going to live and die with him. And he got it done for us, and that’s happened time after time after time. He got to his spots, and he made plays.”
The Knicks can head into Game 2 with confidence, knowing they stole the opener after shooting just 41% from the field and 31% from 3-point range. Most important, they held the Spurs to 2-for-19 shooting from 3-point range after halftime, making the New York comeback possible.
“It’s a position we obviously don’t want to be in, but it’s always a next-play mentality,” Brunson said. “We continue to find a way and just kind of keep chipping away. We knew one play was not going to bring us all the way back, but we just kept chipping away.”
By Vincent Goodwill, via ESPN