By Vincent Goodwill, 2026-06-08 06:18:05
纽约——如果说麦迪逊广场花园自1999年6月25日以来的首场NBA总决赛前夕有什么预兆的话，那么周一马刺与尼克斯之间的第三战注定会热闹非凡。
周日，说唱歌手兼尼克斯拥趸贾达基斯 (Jadakiss) 和胖乔 (Fat Joe) 坐在迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 新闻发布会的后排，后者——一位球鞋狂热爱好者——调侃了这位尼克斯主帅在比赛中的球鞋选择。
演员本·斯蒂勒 (Ben Stiller) 也在现场，用手机记录着布朗，就像他在过去两轮季后赛中坐在场边席记录下许多关键时刻一样。与此同时，布朗则兴奋地向所有人宣布他见到了斯蒂勒。
门票价格一路飙升，以至于前锋乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart) 哀叹，那些在球队艰难重返竞争者行列的岁月里一直坚守的尼克斯球迷，如今却无法踏进球馆的大门。
“我觉得很多等待这一时刻很久的人，不幸的是无法进入球馆，因为最便宜的票都要七八千美元，”哈特说，“这太荒谬了。不过现场一定会嗨翻天。但显然，我希望票价能便宜一点。”
沉浸在这些喧嚣与狂热中是件很容易的事，但杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 却不为所动。这位尼克斯的领袖带着坚毅的态度来到麦迪逊广场花园，他深知系列赛2-0的领先并不意味着他的球队已经稳操NBA总冠军。
“我认为在拥有14分领先优势时，我们本该打得更好，”布伦森说，“他们反扑并反超比分的方式，恰恰证明了他们有多么优秀。”
尼克斯在周五以105-104惊险守住胜利，赢下了惊心动魄的第二战，从而成为联盟历史上第三支在客场赢下NBA总决赛前两场的球队。另外两支——1993年的芝加哥公牛和1995年的休斯敦火箭——最终都夺得了总冠军。但那两支球队在当时都拥有近期的夺冠经验，公牛完成了三连冠，而火箭则以6号种子的身份不可思议地实现了两连冠。
自1973年以来便无缘总冠军的尼克斯并不处于相同的位置，这也是为什么这支球队周围环绕着额外的狂热能量。但在谈到自己的专注度时，布伦森似乎在效仿科比·布莱恩特 (Kobe Bryant)——他在伊利诺伊州读高中时曾见过科比。当被问及是否观看过科比七次打进NBA总决赛的录像，以汲取其“曼巴精神”时，布伦森予以了否认。
“我认为我的言行举止和做事方式，归功于我父母对我的抚养方式，”他说，“但我认为他们哲学的一部分也渗透到了曼巴精神中。所以，这两者之间是有联系的。
“我尽最大努力保持活在当下，做我能做的事情来确保自己的心态正确。每天在心理和身体上都做好准备。相信自己的付出。这就是我能走到今天的原因。”
在这个系列赛中，布伦森还没有迎来爆发，部分原因在于马刺对他的防守针对性以及身体对抗。在前两场比赛中，他的命中率仅为34%，如果这一数据保持下去，将成为他季后赛生涯最差的表现。
但这种情况不太可能持续，尤其是考虑到在过去两轮季后赛中，他的命中率在50%左右，当时尼克斯横扫了费城76人和克利夫兰骑士。
NBA总决赛期间的休息日让尼克斯主帅迈克·布朗有机会在新闻发布会上开怀大笑，出席发布会的还有说唱歌手贾达基斯、胖乔以及演员本·斯蒂勒等人。美联社图片/Ross D. Franklin
“他有很多应对手段，”前锋OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby) 说道，“他坚韧不拔。无论投进还是投丢，他始终如一，总是沉着冷静、泰然自若，并且始终保持侵略性。”
布朗深知布伦森是马刺防守的焦点。他在2022年作为金州勇士的助理教练和防守端负责人时就经历过这种情况，当时他们在西部决赛中面对布伦森和达拉斯独行侠。
布伦森表现出色，场均得到18分，投篮命中率为46%，三分命中率为41%，尽管独行侠最终大比分1-4落败。那是布伦森为达拉斯效力的最后一个系列赛；他在那个夏天与尼克斯签约。
“作为防守协调员，这只是我个人的看法，进入那个系列赛时，我的担忧不是卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Doncic)，而是杰伦，”布朗说，“我们让德雷蒙德·格林 (Draymond Green) 去防守杰伦。这就是我们对他的重视程度。因为在那个时候，我们需要一个体型更大、更强壮、更强硬的球员来防守他，或者试图限制他的速度。”
布伦森一贯表示，他不会在当下驻足回味任何事情，甚至在周一晚上开球前，当期待与兴奋之情达到顶点时也是如此。
“直到一切尘埃落定，”他说。
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：Jalen Brunson, Knicks keep focus ahead of NBA Finals Game 3
Jalen Brunson, Knicks keep focus ahead of NBA Finals Game 3
NEW YORK – If the day before Madison Square Garden’s first NBA Finals game since June 25, 1999, was any indication, Monday’s Game 3 between the Spurs and Knicks will be a circus.
On Sunday, rappers and Knicks fans Jadakiss and Fat Joe sat in the back of Mike Brown’s news conference, with the latter – a sneaker aficionado – teasing the Knicks coach about his footwear choices during games.
Actor Ben Stiller was there, too, recording Brown on his phone, just as he has documented many critical moments in the past two playoff rounds from his courtside seat. Brown, meanwhile, was thrilled to announce to everyone that he had met Stiller.
Ticket prices are sky high, to the point forward Josh Hart lamented Knicks fans being unable to get in the door like they had for years as the team struggled to get back into contention.
“I feel like a lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time unfortunately aren’t able to get into the building, when the cheapest ticket is seven or eight thousand dollars,” Hart said. “So that’s ridiculous. But it’s just going to be rocking. But obviously I wish those were a little cheaper.”
It would be easy to get wrapped up in all the hoopla, but Jalen Brunson was having none of it. The leader of the Knicks showed up to the Garden with a steely approach, knowing a 2-0 series lead doesn’t mean his team has the NBA title locked up.
“I think playing better with the lead that we had, the 14-point lead,” Brunson said. “The way they fought back and took the lead is just a credit to how good they are.”
The Knicks held on in a 105-104 Game 2 thriller Friday, becoming the third team in league history to win the first two NBA Finals games on the road. The others – the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets – went on to win the title. But both of those teams had recent championship experience, the Bulls completing the three-peat and the Rockets improbably going back-to-back as a No. 6 seed.
The Knicks, title-less since 1973, aren’t in the same position, hence the extra energy surrounding this team. But Brunson seemed to mimic Kobe Bryant, whom he met as a high schooler in Illinois, when addressing his own focus. Asked if he’d watched any of Bryant’s old film from his seven NBA Finals appearances to pick up anything from his “Mamba Mentality,” Brunson said no.
“I think the way I carry myself, the way I do things, is a credit to how I was raised by my parents,” he said. "But also part of their philosophy I think seeps into the Mamba Mentality, as well. So, there’s a connectivity there.
“I do my best to stay present in the moment, to do the things I can to make sure my mind is right. Being mentally and physically ready every day. Trusting my work. That’s what’s gotten me here.”
Brunson hasn’t gone off yet in this series, partly because of the Spurs’ defensive attention and physicality with him. He’s shooting 34% in the first two games, which would be his worst playoff showing if it stands.
But it seems unlikely to hold, especially considering he shot around 50% in the past two playoff rounds, as the Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
An off day in the NBA Finals gave Knicks coach Mike Brown a chance to have a few laughs at a news conference attended by rappers Jadakiss and Fat Joe and actor Ben Stiller, among others. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
“He uses a lot of counters,” forward OG Anunoby said. “He’s relentless. Doesn’t matter if he is missing shots or making shots, he’s always the same way, always composed and poised and always aggressive.”
Brown knows Brunson is the focal point of the Spurs’ defense. He experienced that scenario in 2022 as an assistant coach and point man for the Golden State Warriors’ defense when they faced Brunson and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.
Brunson played well, averaging 18 points on 46% shooting and 41% from 3-point range as the Mavericks lost in five games. It was the last series Brunson played for Dallas; he signed with the Knicks that summer.
“As a defensive coordinator, this is just me, going into that series, my concern wasn’t Luka [Doncic], my concern was Jalen,” Brown said. “We put Draymond Green on Jalen. That’s how concerned we were. Because we needed a bigger, stronger, tougher guy to try to do it or to try to slow him down at that time.”
Brunson routinely has said he won’t take stock of anything in the moment, not even when the anticipation and excitement culminate Monday night before tipoff.
“Not until it’s over,” he said.
By Vincent Goodwill, via ESPN