By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-06-06 14:09:29
圣安东尼奥马刺中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在2026年6月5日星期五于圣安东尼奥霜银中心举行的NBA总决赛第二场第四节中对一次判罚做出反应。
纽约——达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 以为这球要进了。迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 也是这么想的。
纽约中锋米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 已经竭尽全力去阻止这记出手，他深知球队的命运此刻正悬在半空之中。
周五晚上，当马刺球星文班亚马舒展他那整整8英尺的臂展，迎来绝杀比赛的机会时，霜银中心的所有人都屏气凝神，等待着理应发生的那一幕。
一记完美的空心入网。一场载入史册的NBA总决赛胜利。全场陷入疯狂。
“那一球他已经投进过上千次了，”后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说道。
但文班亚马没能投进第1001次。
随着终场哨响，他那记20英尺外的跳投砸在篮筐后沿弹开，纽约尼克斯得以将105-104的比分守到最后，赢下第二场比赛。随着系列赛第三、四场将移师麦迪逊广场花园，纽约已经取得了2-0的绝对领先优势。
马刺正在与历史进行一场艰难的抗争。
在NBA历史上，还从未有任何一支球队在主场输掉总决赛前两场后，依然能够逆转夺冠。
“我们必须努力不让历史重演，”福克斯说道。
在第一场比赛马刺以95-105落败后，文班亚马曾表示，他对于球队的反弹能力“一点也不担心”。
但现在，他该担心了。
凭借这场胜利，尼克斯成为总决赛历史上第三支在客场取得2-0领先的球队，加入了1993年的芝加哥公牛队和1995年的休斯敦火箭队的行列。而那两支球队最终都捧起了拉里·奥布莱恩杯。
尼克斯将在周一回到气氛狂热的曼哈顿进行第三场比赛，他们距离自1973年以来的首个NBA总冠军仅差两场胜利。但回到主场的他们不敢有丝毫懈怠。
“即便系列赛形势如此，下一场比赛，我们的心态也必须重新归零，”纽约后卫杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 说道，“你不能感到安逸，不能对任何现状感到满足。”
如果说在系列赛移师大苹果城之际，马刺还能找到一丝慰藉的话，那就是在第二场比赛下半场的某个时刻，他们终于想起来文班亚马还在队里了。
相应地，文班亚马也重新想起了自己是这个星球上最出色的球员之一。
这位22岁的全明星球员最终砍下29分、9个篮板和4次盖帽，在马刺第四节抹平12分分差的逆袭中留下了自己的烙印。
对于马刺和文班亚马来说，这一刻虽迟但到。
“我们需要他做回自己，”福克斯说道，“只要他打得有侵略性，我们就是最强的。”
周五的上半场，马刺全队仿佛在玩一场“文班亚马去哪儿了？”的游戏。
在第一场失利中，文班亚马全场21投仅6中，而在第二场上半场，他仅仅出手了4次。他投中了其中的两个——一次扣篮和一次上篮。
世界上最著名的这位身高7英尺4英寸的法国人，在任何地方都不太可能凭空消失，更不用说是在NBA总决赛的球场中央了。但偏偏，事情就这样发生了。
“在这样的舞台上，半场只有4次出手是无法接受的，”马刺主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道。
约翰逊并没有把上半场“隐身”的全部责任都推到文班亚马一个人身上。
约翰逊表示，确实，他的当家球星可以做得更好，展现出更强的自主性，并多去主动制造机会。
教练组也可以做得更好，通过战术配合让文班亚马在更靠近篮筐的位置获得出手机会。而文班亚马的队友们也需要更好地把握住尼克斯在内线给他的少数机会。
“我认为这些因素都有一些，”约翰逊说道。
赛后，文班亚马表示，他也说不清楚是什么原因导致了自己上半场的低迷。
“这是一个很难回答的问题，”他说道。
中场休息后，文班亚马找到了一些答案，这几乎——但终究差了一点点——拯救了马刺的第二场比赛。
他在下半场出手了17次，全场最终21投11中。在第四节，文班亚马9投4中斩获10分，并送出两次盖帽，点燃了马刺疯狂反扑的火星。
第四节尼克斯的第一次进攻中，兰德里·沙梅特 (Landry Shamet) 命中三分，帮助球队取得87-75的领先。随后，马刺轰出一波14-0的高潮，重新悬念再起。
比赛还剩2分28秒时，文班亚马接福克斯的传球完成空接扣篮，将分差缩小至100-99。在比赛还剩57.3秒时，他在卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 身上打成2+1，帮助马刺以104-102反超比分。
“中场休息时我们走进来对他说，‘我们需要你打得更有侵略性，’”福克斯说道，“事实就是这样。他在下半场站了出来，为我们打出了好得多的表现。”
然而对马刺来说遗憾的是，文班亚马没能完成最后的收尾。
在双方战成104平后，马刺防下了布伦森的投篮。文班亚马抢下篮板，随即将球传向前场，但卡斯尔对此毫无防备。
球砸在卡斯尔的背上反弹，正好落入布伦森怀中，后者造成犯规并两罚一中，在比赛还剩9.5秒时帮助纽约领先1分。
这也为文班亚马在总决赛舞台上创造历史的最后一击搭建了舞台。
当文班亚马接到福克斯的传球，无视罗宾逊伸展的长臂拔地而起，投出那记如果投进、必将引发圣安东尼奥前所未有的全城鸣笛狂欢的跳投时，场馆内的每一个人都屏住了呼吸，等待着结果。
“那样的球，他闭着眼睛都能投进，”马刺的新秀后卫哈珀说道。
“那种球他十投九中，”福克斯说道。
概率在第二场比赛的最后时刻背叛了马刺。现在，他们前往纽约，希望能战胜更渺茫的胜算。
马刺现在重回总决赛竞争轨道的唯一途径——如果还存在的话——就是文班亚马必须想起来，自己是文班亚马。
即便第二场比赛的结局是他宁愿选择遗忘的。
“我会感到遗憾吗？是的，当然，”文班亚马说道，“我会把这当作下一场比赛激励自己和全队的动力吗？那是绝对的。”
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' NBA Finals chances start with Wembanyama remembering who he is
Spurs’ NBA Finals chances start with Wembanyama remembering who he is
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts to a call in the fourth quarter during Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Friday, June 5, 2026.
NEW YORK – De’Aaron Fox thought the ball was going in. So did Dylan Harper.
New York center Mitchell Robinson, who had done everything in his power to prevent the shot from going up at all, knew his team’s fate was literally up in the air now.
As Spurs star Victor Wembanyama uncoiled all 8 feet of his wingspan for a chance at a game-winner Friday night, the Frost Bank Center braced for what should have happened next.
A picture-perfect swish. An NBA Finals victory for the ages. Puro pandemonium.
“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” guard Stephon Castle said.
Wembanyama could not make it 1,001.
His 20-footer bounced off the back iron at the horn, preserving the Knicks’ 105-104 triumph in Game 2 and handing New York a commanding 2-0 series lead as the festivities shift to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4.
The Spurs are fighting an uphill battle with history.
No team has dropped the first two games of a Finals series at home and gone on to win a championship.
“We just got to try to make history not repeat itself,” Fox said.
After the Spurs’ 105-95 defeat in Game 1, Wembanyama said he was “not worried the slightest” about his team’s ability to bounce back.
He should be worried now.
With the victory, the Knicks became the third team to seize a 2-0 Finals lead on the road, joining the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets. Both of those teams went on to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Knicks return to an electrified Manhattan for Game 3 on Monday two wins away from the club’s first NBA title since 1973. They head home taking nothing for granted.
“Even with the series as it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” New York guard Jalen Brunson said. “You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything.”
If there is solace for the Spurs as the series moves to the Big Apple, it’s that at some point in the second half of Game 2, they remembered Wembanyama is on the team.
Wembanyama, in turn, remembered he is one of the best players on the planet.
The 22-year-old All-Star finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, making his mark on the Spurs’ comeback from 12 points down in the fourth quarter.
For the Spurs, and for Wembanyama, it was about time.
“We need him to be him,” Fox said. “Whenever he’s aggressive, we’re at our best.”
The Spurs spent the first half Friday playing “Where in the world is Victor Wembanyama?”
After going 6-for-21 from the field in the Spurs’ Game 1 defeat, Wembanyama attempted only four shots in the first half of Game 2. He made two of them, a dunk and a layup.
It is not often the world’s most famous 7-foot-4 Frenchman can disappear anywhere, let alone on a basketball court in the middle of the NBA Finals. But that is what happened.
“Four shots in a half on this stage is not acceptable,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Johnson did not put the full onus for the first-half vanishing act solely on Wembanyama.
Yes, Johnson said, his star player could do a better job of being assertive and forcing the action a bit more.
The coaching staff could also do a better job of putting him in actions that free Wembanyama up nearer to the rim. Wembanyama’s teammates can do a better job of taking advantage of the rare opportunities the Knicks are allowing him in the paint.
“I think it’s a little bit of all of it,” Johnson said.
After the game, Wembanyama said he wasn’t sure what all went into his quiet first half.
“That’s a hard question,” he said.
Wembanyama found some answers after intermission, and it almost — but not quite — salvaged Game 2 for the Spurs.
He attempted 17 shots in the second half, finishing 11 of 21 from the field. In the fourth quarter, Wembanyama was 4 of 9 for 10 points with a pair of blocked shots, fueling a frantic Spurs’ comeback.
New York took an 87-75 lead when Landry Shamet buried a 3-pointer on the Knicks’ first possession of the fourth. A 14-0 run brought the Spurs back into the game.
Wembanyama cut the deficit to 100-99 on a lob dunk from Fox with 2:28 to play. He put the Spurs on top 104-102 with a bucket and a foul on Karl-Anthony Towns at the 57.3-second mark.
“We came in (at halftime) and we were like, ‘We need you to be aggressive,’ ” Fox said. “That is what it is. He came out in the second and was much better for us.”
Unfortunately for the Spurs, Wembanyama couldn’t finish the job.
With the score knotted at 104, the Spurs forced Brunson into a misfire. Wembanyama collected the rebound and fired the ball ahead to an unsuspecting Castle.
The ball caromed off Castle’s back and into the arms of Brunson, who absorbed a foul and made one of two free throws to put New York ahead by one with 9.5 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for Wembanyama’s last-second attempt at NBA Finals immortality.
As Wembanyama took a pass from Fox, ignored Robinson’s outstretched arm and rose for a jumper that would have set off a round of honking car horns the likes of which San Antonio has never seen, everyone in the building held its breath for what happened next.
“That’s a shot he makes in his sleep,” said Harper, the Spurs’ rookie guard.
“He makes that shot nine times out of 10,” Fox said.
The odds betrayed the Spurs in the final moments of Game 2. Now they head to New York hoping to defy even bigger ones.
The Spurs’ only path back into the NBA Finals now — if there is one — involves Wembanyama remembering he is Wembanyama.
Even after a close to Game 2 he would rather forget.
“Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course,” Wembanyama said. “Am I going to use that to fuel me and fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News