By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-06-09 14:58:14
2026年6月8日，NBA总决赛第三场在麦迪逊广场花园进行，第一节比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在纽约尼克斯队前锋OG·阿努诺比 (OG Anunoby) (8) 的防守下突破。
纽约——起初，嘘声如雨般倾泻在维克托·文班亚马身上，就像纽约球迷期盼已久、很快便会在曼哈顿天空飞舞的NBA夺冠巡游彩带一样。
随后，麦迪逊广场花园的忠实拥趸们彻底被激怒了。
“去你的，文班！”大约1.9万名被激怒的纽约人齐声向这位马刺队的全明星中锋怒吼。
如果说22岁的文班亚马在职业生涯首次NBA总决赛之旅仅仅打了三场，就已经感受到了反派的待遇，那么他很清楚，情况原本可能会更糟。
“不过，我还没到特雷·杨 (Trae Young) 的级别，”文班亚马笑着说道。他指的是那位从亚特兰大老鹰转会至华盛顿奇才的后卫，后者职业生涯一直以折磨纽约市民为乐。
如果马刺队能不可思议地完成一次载入史册的NBA总决赛大逆转——尽管要实现这一目标还有极其漫长的路要走——文班亚马就得做好准备，取代“小丑”成为哥谭市的头号公敌。
对于渴望总冠军的纽约市民来说，身高7英尺4英寸的文班亚马就是挡在他们城市与近半个世纪以来首个NBA总冠军之间的“哥斯拉”。
在周一的第三场比赛中，文班亚马毁掉了纽约自1999年以来的首场总决赛。他砍下32分，帮助球队以115-111取得胜利，重新燃起了马刺队的希望，而在此之前，这轮系列赛正面临着彻底失控的危险。
这场胜利将纽约在七局四胜制系列赛中的领先优势缩小至2-1。更重要的是，它证明了在周一之前已经在季后赛中豪取13连胜的尼克斯队，并非不可战胜。
马刺队正力求成为NBA历史上第一支在总决赛主场连输两场后最终夺冠的球队。周三，当他们重返麦迪逊广场花园进行第四场比赛时，他们将有机会扳平大比分。
在第三场比赛前，面对令人望而生畏的系列赛落后局面，马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，他毫不怀疑自己的球队能在压力下打出好表现。
“我们现在已经打了100多场比赛了，”约翰逊说。“我们知道信念一直都在。”
对于马刺队而言，这种信念源于许多地方。然而，其中绝大部分源自于那位高大的法国人，他认为只要自己穿上20.5码的球鞋踏上球场，他就是场上最出色的球员。
在第一场比赛失利中，文班亚马21投仅6中，赛后他主动承担了责任。在第二场比赛开局沉寂、上半场仅有4次出手后，他誓言要重新调整、推倒重来。
周一，文班亚马迎来了救赎。麦迪逊广场花园的嘘声和脏话，似乎反而赋予了他源源不断的能量。
“他总能在关键时刻挺身而出，”马刺队后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道。“无论是什么时刻，无论我们在哪里，无论是什么比赛，他总能站出来。”
如果文班亚马真的成为麦迪逊广场花园的下一个恶棍，那么第三场比赛将成为他反派之路的起源故事。
马刺队本周早些时候抵达纽约时，发现这座城市已经为自1973年以来的首场夺冠巡游做好了准备。
从巴特里公园到上西区，纽约本地人见面的常用问候语已经变成了“尼克斯四场夺冠”。
到了周一比赛结束时，在总统唐纳德·特朗普 (Donald Trump) 的现场见证下，文班亚马和马刺队让这句问候语在数学上彻底成为了不可能。
“我们知道他们不会束手就擒，任由我们连赢四场，”纽约队后卫乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart) 说道。“我们知道这是一场硬仗。”
在第三场比赛的前一天，文班亚马在格拉梅西公园度过，那是距离球队曼哈顿酒店以南几个街区的一片私人避风港。
在那里，他画了画雕像，度过了几个小时的宁静时光，在争夺总冠军的喧嚣之外寻找片刻的清静。
“季后赛就像一场旋风，”文班亚马说。“你很难把头探出水面呼吸。我需要一些休息时间，让大脑冷静下来，恢复精力——身体和精神上都需要恢复。”
在自己的首次NBA季后赛之旅中，寻找平静是文班亚马学到的教训之一。
当然，还有其他的教训。
其中一个发生在本系列赛首轮对阵波特兰的比赛中，当时他在第二场比赛中于霜冻银行中心脸部着地摔倒，导致脑震荡。
他从那次经历中学到了什么？
“用手撑地，而不是用下巴，”文班亚马说。
在马刺队次轮对阵明尼苏达的第四场比赛中，文班亚马因抬肘过高击中森林狼队纳兹·里德 (Naz Reid) 的喉结而被驱逐出场。
凭借维克托·文班亚马砍下的32分，马刺队在麦迪逊广场花园艰难拼下第三场胜利，阻止了尼克斯队的横扫，并保住了他们的NBA夺冠希望。 https://t.co/OZMN0gQBfF
（本次马刺季后赛报道由戴维斯律师事务所为您呈献。） pic.twitter.com/Lf9kFuF85m
— 圣安东尼奥快报 (@ ExpressNews) 2026年6月9日
那次学到的教训？
“如果真要动手，打头部以下的位置，”文班亚马说。
在过去六周的NBA季后赛中，文班亚马学到的最核心教训非常简单直接。
“最重要的是，”他说，“要保持冷酷无情。”
周一，在马刺队赛季命运悬而未决的关头，文班亚马从开场跳球起就展现出了冷酷无情的一面。
他在第三场比赛中的首个进球是一记扣篮。第二个进球同样如此。第三个进球则是接斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 一记48英尺的长传上篮得分。第四个进球则是禁区内出手命中，同时造成了OG·阿努诺比的犯规。
这一切都发生在开场前五分钟内。
最终，文班亚马在创下个人总决赛单场得分新高的夜晚，还贡献了8个篮板、6次助攻、3次盖帽和2次抢断。
“我相信维克托有很多动力来源，”约翰逊说道。“我想我们中没有人会感到惊讶，或者对他打出强势表现并主动进入攻击模式有任何意外。”
马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊谈及在0-2落后时保持韧性：“我们知道信念一直都在。这并不意味着仅仅因为你信或不信，就一定会赢下或输掉比赛。这其中涉及很多因素。但我们一整年都坦诚相待。每次……” pic.twitter.com/OiJoZqrf4p
— 马刺国度 (@ Spurs_Nation) 2026年6月9日
半场结束时，文班亚马已经明确传递出了一个信号：马刺队绝不打算拱手将拉里·奥布莱恩杯让给尼克斯队。
如果马刺队注定要倒下，他们也要拼尽全力战至最后一刻。
文班亚马几乎字面意义地践行了这一点。
全场最大的嘘声——以及最不堪入耳的脏话——出现在第一节早期，当时文班亚马在与纽约球星杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 卡位纠缠时，卡住后者的脖子将其推倒。
裁判在此次对抗中并未吹罚犯规，这引发了尼克斯球迷的集体暴怒，现场F开头的粗口漫天飞。原谅他们的“法语（粗口）”吧。
对于一位在麦迪逊广场花园舞台上闪耀的客队球员来说，脏话和嘘声就是荣誉勋章。在迈向第四场比赛之际，文班亚马可以自豪地佩戴这枚勋章。
“这没什么大不了的，”土生土长的纽约人、马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 说道。“显然，维克是一名伟大的球员，人们自然会这样对待他。大家各为其主，没必要介怀。”
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：Victor Wembanyama has his groove back, and maybe so do the Spurs
Victor Wembanyama has his groove back, and maybe so do the Spurs
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives to the basket while being guarded by New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) t during the first quarter of the NBA Finals, game three at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 2026.
NEW YORK — At first, the boos rained down on Victor Wembanyama like the ticker tape New York fans hope will soon flutter from the Manhattan sky in a long-awaited NBA championship parade.
Then the Madison Square Garden faithful really got riled up.
“(Expletive) you Wemby!” 19,000 or so nettled New Yorkers chanted in unison at the Spurs’ All-Star center.
If the 22-year-old Wembanyama is already feeling like a villain three games into his first foray into the NBA Finals, he knows it could be worse.
“I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though,” a grinning Wembanyama said, referring to the Atlanta Hawks-turned-Washington Wizards guard who had made a career of torturing the denizens of New York.
If the Spurs improbably pull off an NBA Finals comeback for the record books — and there is a long, long way to go in that endeavor — Wembanyama should prepare to replace the Joker as Public Enemy No. 1 in Gotham.
To the title-starved citizens of New York, Wembanyama is the 7-foot-4 Godzilla standing between their city and its first NBA championship in nearly half a century.
In Game 3 on Monday, Wembanyama ruined the first Finals contest in New York since 1999, scoring 32 points in a 115-111 victory that revived the Spurs’ chances in a series that was threatening to spiral away from them.
The triumph cut New York’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1. More than that, it proved the Knicks – winners of 13 consecutive postseason games heading into Monday – are capable of being beaten.
The Spurs are seeking to become the first team in NBA history to lose the first two games of a Finals series at home and go on to win a championship. They have a chance to even the series when they return to Madison Square Garden for Game 4 on Wednesday.
Facing a daunting series deficit entering Game 3, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said he had no doubt his team would perform under pressure.
“We’ve played over 100 games now,” Johnson said. “We knew that the belief was going to be there.”
For the Spurs, that belief stems from a plethora of places. Most of it, however, flows from a towering Frenchman who considers himself the best player on any basketball court he sets his size 20 ½ feet upon.
Wembanyama took the blame after he shot 6-of-21 in the Spurs’ loss in Game 1. He vowed to go back to the drawing board after a quiet start to Game 2 saw him attempt only four field goals in the first half.
Redemption came Monday for Wembanyama, amid the boos and expletives at Madison Square Garden that only seemed to empower him.
“He just steps up to the moment all the time,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “No matter what moment it is, where we’re at, what game it is, he’s just going to step up.”
If Wembanyama does indeed become the next MSG villain, Game 3 will mark his origin story.
The Spurs touched down in New York earlier this week to find a city primed for its first championship parade since 1973.
The phrase “Knicks in four” had become a common salutation among New York natives from Battery Park to the Upper West side.
By the end of Monday, with President Donald Trump in attendance, Wembanyama and the Spurs had rendered that greeting a mathematical impossibility.
“We knew they weren’t just going to lay down and let us win four straight,” New York guard Josh Hart said. “We knew this was going to be a battle.”
Wembanyama spent the day before Game 3 in Gramercy Park, a private sanctuary a few blocks south of the team’s Manhattan hotel.
There, he killed a few peaceful hours drawing pictures of statues and searching for solitude away from the tumult of a title-chase.
“The playoffs, it’s like a whirlwind,” Wembanyama said. “It’s hard to put your head out of the water. I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover – recover as much for the body as for the mind.”
The quest for quiet is one lesson Wembanyama has learned throughout his first NBA playoff run.
There are other lessons, as well.
One came in the Spurs’ opening-round series against Portland, when he suffered a concussion in Game 2 courtesy of a face-first fall at the Frost Bank Center.
What did he learn from that experience?
“Brace with your hands and not with your chin,” Wembanyama said.
In the Spurs’ second-round series against Minnesota, Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 for throwing a high elbow that clocked the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid in the Adam’s apple.
The Spurs gutted out a Game 3 victory in Madison Square Garden, denying the Knicks a sweep and keeping their NBA championship hopes alive behind 32 points from Victor Wembanyama. https://t.co/OZMN0gQBfF
(This Spurs playoff coverage is brought to you by Davis Law Firm.) pic.twitter.com/Lf9kFuF85m
— San Antonio Express-News (@ ExpressNews) June 9, 2026
The lesson there?
“Hit below the head, if you do,” Wembanyama said.
The overriding lesson Wembanyama has taken from the past six weeks of NBA postseason basketball, is straightforward enough.
“Most importantly,” he said, “be relentless.”
With the Spurs’ season in the balance Monday, Wembanyama was relentless from the opening tip.
His first basket in Game 3 came on a dunk. So did his second basket. His third came on a layup off a 48-foot pass from Stephon Castle. His fourth came on a paint shot while drawing a foul on O.G. Anunoby.
All in the first five minutes.
In the end, Wembanyama added eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals to his highest-scoring night in the Finals.
“I’m sure Victor has numerous sources of motivation,” Johnson said. “I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything different than a strong performance and him being on his front foot in attack mode.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, on being resilient down 0-2: “We knew the belief was going to be there. That doesn’t mean you’re going to win a game or lose a game just because you believe or not. There’s a lot of things that go into it. But we’ve just been honest all year. Every time… pic.twitter.com/OiJoZqrf4p
— Spurs Nation (@ Spurs_Nation) June 9, 2026
By halftime, Wembanyama had made the message clear: The Spurs had no plans of simply handing the Knicks the Larry O’Brien trophy.
If the Spurs were going down, they were going down swinging.
Wembanyama took that almost literally.
The loudest boos – and the choicest expletives – came early in the first quarter, when Wembanyama shoved New York star Jalen Bruson down by the neck while the pair were grappling for position.
No foul was called on the play, sending Knicks fans into an uproar of F-bombs. Pardon their French.
For an opposing player starring on stage at Madison Square Garden, four-letter words and catcalls are a badge of honor. Heading into Game 4, Wembanyama can wear his with pride.
“It’s nothing out of the ordinary,” said Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, a lifelong New Yorker. “Obviously, Vic is a great player and that’s just what people are going to do to him. No hard feelings.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News
