By Joe Vardon | The Athletic, 2026-06-12 19:35:35
圣安东尼奥——圣安东尼奥马刺队目前正同时面临着几桩棘手的麻烦：可能遭遇袭击的突发事件、如何从NBA总决赛历史上最惨烈的崩盘中走出来，以及球队已然处于被淘汰的边缘。
这一切实在令人难以消化。在纽约的球队酒店外，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 被人扔了鸡蛋，而在此之前，他和马刺在第四场比赛中痛失29分领先优势，并以106-107这种最令人震惊的方式输掉了比赛。目前，他们在总决赛中大比分1-3落后于纽约尼克斯队。
再输一场，马刺队的这个赛季以及他们的夺冠梦想就将宣告终结。在这轮系列赛的前四场比赛中，他们每一场都在第四节取得过领先。第五场比赛将于美东时间周六晚上8点30分打响。好在比赛回到了圣安东尼奥的主场——弗罗斯特银行中心，文班亚马应该不用再担心有人朝他扔东西了。
话虽如此，但外界广泛报道称，大量尼克斯球迷正在疯狂抢购周六比赛的门票，这与他们在克利夫兰进行的东部决赛第四场时的做法如出一辙。
在马刺队努力理清这一堆乱麻的同时，治愈所有伤痛的唯一解药就是胜利，而这也正是他们所期待的。
“（马刺队的）每个人都相信，每个人也都知道，我们能做到，”文班亚马在周五表示，“我觉得我们需要专注于眼前的这一场比赛，一步一个脚印。我认为把精力分散到后面的几场比赛中将是一个错误。”
“我们要一场一场地去拼。”
从数据上看，22岁的文班亚马在这轮系列赛中表现出色。四场比赛下来，这位身高7英尺4英寸的法国天才场均可以砍下27.8分、10.5个篮板和3.3次盖帽。然而，他在第二场比赛末段出现了两次致命失误，直接导致了球队的失利。而在第四场比赛中，他出场了整整44分钟，第四节的投篮仅有8投2中。
赛季进行到这个阶段，抱怨已经毫无意义，而且比赛至关重要，文班亚马根本无暇顾及疲惫，但他确实已经精疲力竭了。在过去的九个月里，他从未打过如此高强度的比赛。周五，主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，他需要“确保自己能够帮助（文班亚马）保持足够的体能，从而在比赛收尾阶段展现出应有的统治力”。
考虑到目前的严峻形势，他并不是指要限制出场时间，但如果马刺队在第三节再次取得巨大领先，约翰逊可以让他的当家球星进行常规休息，以便他在第四节重新登场时能有更充沛的体能。
“这确实是一个因素，”文班亚马承认道，“但这是季后赛，每个人都一样累。我的意思是，这甚至不应该成为影响比赛的借口。……现在两场比赛之间有两天的休息时间，体能不会成为问题。”
至于被扔鸡蛋的事件（该事件已被社交媒体上的视频记录并得到了媒体报道的证实），文班亚马表示：“我谈不上讨厌。显然，这确实很糟糕，但它并不会困扰我。”
他本可以有不同的反应。他曾试图通过坐地铁、下国际象棋以及在公园里画画来拉近与纽约的距离，结果却只换来现场观众齐声高喊“去你的，文班”并朝他扔东西。不过，他现在有更紧迫的事情要考虑，比如在总决赛中生存下去。
为此，约翰逊表示，通过录像回放和对第四场比赛的深入反思，他认为真正的问题出在第三节，当时马刺队开始慢慢丧失领先优势。尽管圣安东尼奥在第三节结束时仍领先15分，但他们的紧迫感已经减弱。轮换节奏出现混乱，进攻端的好习惯也消失了，而尼克斯队则趁机找到了节奏。
“我认为这能让人非常清晰地看到哪些地方做得好，哪些地方做得不好，以及是什么导致了这种结果，”约翰逊说，“很多时候，比赛的主线可能不会直接体现在表面上的技术统计表上，但当你开始层层剖析时，你就会开始理解你所做的一切所带来的连锁反应，无论是好的还是坏的。”
在第四场失利后，约翰逊的临场指挥遭到了外界的批评，其中包括在尼克斯队最后一次进攻时的防守对位——当时文班最终去防守杰伦·布伦森，而发球人却无人看管。达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 也因为在比赛最后几秒尝试上篮、而不是迫使尼克斯队对他犯规而遭到口诛笔伐，结果他的上篮被OG·阿奴诺比封盖。接着，马刺队又漏掉了对阿奴诺比（那个无人防守的发球人）的卡位，后者随后投中了堪称“纽约历史上最经典的进球”。
“又不是人人都有我的电话号码能直接打给我，”福克斯说，“我不看那些节目，这无所谓。”
约翰逊也表示自己不看这些。“我想我已经‘被解雇’了212次，而我们‘交易’福克斯也有72次了。但明天我们依然要上场打球，我也依然要执教。”
“重要的人会团结在一起，无论高潮还是低谷，我们都并肩作战，”约翰逊说，“明天的比赛最后时刻，球依然会交到达龙·福克斯的手中，我对他抱有极大的信心，相信他会像无数次为我们做过的那样，再次挺身而出。”
在本赛季季后赛的晋级战中，尼克斯队取得了3胜0负的战绩，并且每次都将对手彻底击溃。
尼克斯队正力求成为自1973年以来首支夺得总冠军的尼克斯队伍，主教练迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 表示，他预计眼前的任务将会非常艰巨。
“圣安东尼奥是一支伟大的球队，而且他们已经退无可退，”布朗说，“我依然认为他们坚信自己能赢。”
马刺队想要从目前的困境中走出来，确实需要极大的信念。
在联盟历史上，只有一支球队在总决赛1-3落后的情况下完成了夺冠奇迹。这发生在10年前，当时勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 和克利夫兰骑士队连赢三场，爆冷击败了斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry) 领衔的金州勇士队。
马刺队深知这段历史，他们也坚信，从数据上看，这轮系列赛前四场的胶着程度远超10年前的那场勇士与骑士的对决。10年前的那轮系列赛中，局势在某个节点发生了转变——勇士队精疲力竭，而詹姆斯（以及凯里·欧文 (Kyrie Irving)）则火力全开。在整个总决赛期间，马刺队总共也只比对手少拿了7分。他们距离胜利近在咫尺，只需要解决好比赛末段的失误，就能扭转局势。
“我们依然抱有信念，因为我们亲眼见证过，”福克斯说，“我们看到过有球队在1-3落后的情况下完成逆转。我认为即使在那些系列赛中，他们输掉的比赛也往往输了两位数。而我们输掉的比赛全都是惜败。”
“我们依然坚信自己有机会赢，”福克斯继续说道，“但我们要一场一场地去拼。我们不会去想还必须赢下三场比赛。我们只需要赢下明天的比赛，从而为自己争取再打一场的机会。然后再去考虑下一场比赛。”
以及再次前往纽约的旅程——在那里，可能还有鸡蛋在等着他们。
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：After a historic collapse, Wemby still believes the Spurs can win the NBA Finals
After a historic collapse, Wemby still believes the Spurs can win the NBA Finals
SAN ANTONIO — In no particular order, the San Antonio Spurs are dealing with incidents of possible assault, of getting over the biggest meltdown in NBA Finals history and of being on the brink of elimination.
It’s a lot to unpack. Victor Wembanyama had eggs thrown at him outside the team hotel in New York after he and the Spurs blew a 29-point lead in Game 4 and lost in the most stunning of ways, 107-106. They fell behind 3-1 in the finals to the New York Knicks.
The season, and the Spurs’ championship hopes, will end with one more loss. They have held leads in the fourth quarter of all four games in this series. Game 5 is 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday. At least it is in the friendly confines of San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, so Wembanyama shouldn’t have to worry about anything else being thrown at him.
Then again, there are wide reports of Knicks fans buying up tickets for Saturday’s game, which is exactly what they did for Game 4 of the conference finals in Cleveland.
As the Spurs try to sort through this litany of issues, the one anecdote for all that ails them is to win, which is what they’re expecting.
“Everybody (on the Spurs) thinks, everybody knows, we’re going to do it,” Wembanyama said Friday. “I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time. I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games.
“It’s one game at a time.”
Wembanyama, 22, is having a great series statistically. Through four games, the 7-foot-4 French sensation is averaging 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. However, he had two substantial mistakes at the end of Game 2, which led directly to a loss. And he was just 2-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter of Game 4 — a game in which he logged 44 minutes.
It’s too late in the season to complain about it, and the games are too important for Wembanyama to entertain the thought, but he is exhausted. He’s never played even close to this much basketball in a span of nine months. On Friday, coach Mitch Johnson said he needs to “make sure that I help (Wembanyama) have the energy required to finish the game as strong as he needs to finish the game.”
He didn’t mean a minutes restriction, given what’s at stake, but if the Spurs have a massive lead again in the third quarter, Johnson could give his best player a normal rest session so he’s fresher when he returns in the fourth quarter.
“Definitely a factor,” Wembanyama conceded. “But it’s the playoffs. Everybody’s just as tired. I mean, it shouldn’t even be a factor in the game. … Now we’ve got two days between games. It’s not going to be a factor.”
As for the egg-throwing incident, which was both captured on video posted to social media and confirmed by media reports, Wembanyama said, “I don’t dislike it. Obviously, it’s not good at all. But it doesn’t bother me.”
He could have gone the other way with it. He’s tried to endear himself to New York with subway rides, chess games and drawing pictures in the park, only to have the crowd chant “f— you Wemby” and throw things at him. Still, he has more pressing concerns, like staying alive in the finals.
To that end, Johnson said a film review and deeper consideration of what happened in Game 4 led him to believe that the real problem came in the third quarter, when the Spurs slowly lost their lead. San Antonio was still ahead by 15 at the end of the quarter, but the urgency waned. Substitution patterns slipped. Good habits on offense receded, and the Knicks found their rhythm.
“I think that’s what gives someone a lot of clarity on what went well and what didn’t, what led to it,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of times (when) themes of the game that may not necessarily show themselves in a box score on the surface level, that when you start peeling back the layers, you start to understand the ripple effect, good and bad, of what you do or what you did.”
In the aftermath of the Game 4 loss, Johnson has been criticized for his in-game management, including a defensive alignment on the Knicks’ final possession in which Wemby ended up on Jalen Brunson and no one guarded the inbounder. De’Aaron Fox has received blowback for trying a layup in the waning seconds of the game instead of forcing the Knicks to foul him, only for OG Anunoby to block the shot. And then there was the lack of a box-out on Anunoby, the unguarded inbounder, who delivered arguably the “most iconic shot in New York history.”
“It’s not like people have my phone number and can call me,” Fox said. “I don’t watch those shows. It doesn’t matter.”
Johnson said he doesn’t watch either. “I think I’ve been fired 212 times and we’ve traded Fox 72 times. We still have to show up and play tomorrow, and I’ve got to coach.
“The people that matter, we bond together, we stick together through the highs and lows,” Johnson said. “De’Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence he’s going to deliver like he’s done countless times for us.”
The Knicks are 3-0 this postseason in closeout games and have obliterated their opponents each time.
Attempting to become the first Knicks team to win a finals since 1973, coach Mike Brown said he expects the task at hand to be difficult.
“San Antonio is a great team, (and) they’re desperate,” Brown said. “I still think they believe.”
It will take a fair amount of belief for the Spurs to recover from here.
Only one team in league history has won an NBA title after going down 3-1 in the finals. It happened 10 years ago, when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers upset Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors by winning the last three games.
The Spurs are aware of the history, and they’re holding on to the fact that this series, statistically, was much closer than that Warriors-Cavs series through four games. Something switched in that one 10 years ago — the Warriors wore out and James (and Kyrie Irving) kicked it into hyperdrive. Over the entire finals, the Spurs have only been outscored by seven points. They’re right there and need to clean up their late-game mistakes to flip the results.
“We still have this belief because we’ve seen it,” Fox said. “We’ve seen it be done, that teams have come back from 3-1. I think even with those series, the games that they lost, they were losing by double digits. The games that we’re losing have all been close games.
“We still have that belief that we have a chance to win,” Fox continued. “But we’re taking this one game at a time. We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow, and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game. Then you look at that next game.”
And another trip to New York, where the eggs probably await.
By Joe Vardon, via The Athletic