https://tinyurl.com/c8j4wedp The Timberwolves are in the NBA Western Conference finals for the second time in as many seasons, but this series was framed as polar opposite to 2024. 灰狼队连续两个赛季闯进西区冠军赛，但这次呈现面貌与2024年截然不同。 They were well-rested, coming off their second-round near-sweep of the Golden State Warriors. Last season, the Wolves had to grind through a seven-game slugfest against the Denver Nuggets in the second round. 在第二轮接近横扫勇士队，他们得到了充分休息。相反地，上个赛季则是在 第二轮与金块队经历了七场鏖战。 And yet, after a 128-126 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 on Monday, the Wolves find themselves in the same position: down 3-1 and preparing for a must-win Game 5 to keep their season — and their hopes for a first trip to the NBA Finals in their 36-year history — alive. 然而，在第四战中以128-126败给雷霆队後，灰狼队发现自己又处於同样的情 境：以1-3落後，并准备迎接没有退路的第五战，以延续本赛季，以及36年队 史首次晋级总决赛的希望。 It’s both win or go home, and win and go home, if the Wolves force the series back to Minnesota for a Game 6 on Wednesday. 如果灰狼队能将战线带回明尼苏达主场的第六战，那麽既是「赢球否则回家 」，也是「赢球才能回家」。 “We’re just trying to get another home game and trying to play in front of our home crowd again,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “Everybody has counted us out all year. We’ve been through a lot. We’re together as a locker room. We don’t care what the media is going to say.” 「我们只想着再争取一个主场比赛，并再次在主场球迷面前打球。」Donte DiVincenzo 表示。「一年来，外界都看衰我们。我们经历了很多。球队休息 室里团结一致，并不在乎媒体怎麽说。」 Last season, playing in their first conference finals since 2004 and down 3-1 to the Dallas Mavericks, the Wolves were handed their biggest loss of the series, 124-103 at Target Center in Game 5. They found themselves down early against Dallas, as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving dropped 36 apiece and helped Dallas spring out to a 35-19 lead by the end of the first. Oklahoma City, the top seed in the West after setting an NBA record (+12.9) for point differential, won the first two games of this series at home. 上个赛季，灰狼队自2004年以来首次闯入西区冠军赛，面对达拉斯独行侠队 以1-3落後，在第五战在主场以124-103惨败，这是该系列赛的最大分差失利 。他们早早陷入落後，当时 Luka Doncic 和 Kyrie Irving 各拿下36分，帮 助达拉斯在第一节结束取得35-19领先。这次雷霆队作为西区头号种子，赢得 了本系列赛的前两战主场比赛。 “At home, they start super well, so we’ve just got to [slow] their little run at the beginning,” said Wolves guard Jaden McDaniels. “We’ve got to play tougher, playing stronger and just hold them to one shot.” 「他们在主场开局非常好，所以必须在开局时就限制他们的攻势。」Jaden McDaniels 说。「我们必须打得更强硬、更坚韧，并控制对手二波进攻机会 。」 Only 13 teams in 296 playoff series in NBA history have come back from 3-1 deficits — most recently, the Denver Nuggets, who accomplished the feat twice in 2020. Oklahoma City let a 3-1 lead slip to the Warriors in 2016’s Western Conference Finals. 在NBA史上296个季後系列赛中，只有13支球队曾从1-3的劣势中逆转，最近 一次是金块队，他们在2020年两次完成这项壮举。雷霆队也曾在2016年西区 冠军赛，将3-1的领先优势拱手让给了勇士队。 The Wolves face the added challenge of staging a series comeback against the team with the NBA’s best regular-season record (68-14, compared to the Wolves’ 49-33), led by the league’s MVP, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 灰狼队面临的额外挑战，他们必须面对本季例行赛战绩最佳球队下完成系列 赛逆转。 “They finished first in the NBA for a reason,” DiVincenzo said of a Thunder team that hasn’t lost three games in a row this season. “They get to where they want to get to. They get to the free-throw line at crucial moments. We have to weather that storm and do our best to not put them on the free-throw line.” 「他们能拿下联盟第一有其原因。」DiVincenzo 谈到雷霆队本赛季从未三连 败时说道。「他们能打出他们想要的进攻。在关键时刻获得罚球机会。我们 必须度过这场风暴，并尽力避免让他们站上罚球线。」 After dropping a season-low 14 points in the Wolves’ 141-103 Game 3 win, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff career-high 40 on Monday, shooting 13-for-30 from the field and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line. 灰狼队第三战以141-103获胜，SGA仅得到本赛季新低的14分之後，他周一攻 下季後赛生涯新高的40分，投篮30投13中，罚球14罚12中。 “[Game 3], he was seeing like three or four bodies,” McDaniels said. “I feel like this game, he only seen like the man guarding him and the main gap person.” 「(第三战)他面对着三、四个人的包夹。」 McDaniels 说。「我觉得这场比 赛，我觉得这场比赛，他眼前只有防守他的人和主要协防的人。」 On Monday, the Wolves’ bench had to outscore their starters, 64-62, to keep the game close. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Minnesota with 23 points off the bench, while DiVincenzo scored 21. The Thunder forced 23 turnovers — seven in the first quarter — and kept Anthony Edwards (5-for-13 for 16 points) and Julius Randle (1-for-7 for 5 points) quiet for the Wolves. 周一，灰狼队板凳群的贡献，让比赛保有赢球机会。Nickeil Alexander-Walker 以23分领跑，而 DiVincenzo 则拿下21分。雷霆队迫使灰 狼队出现23次失误，其中第一节就发生7次，并压制 Anthony Edwards (13投 5中得到16分) 和 Julius Randle (7投1中得到5分)表现。 “We’ve gone through these periods before,” coach Chris Finch said Tuesday. “We know we’ve got to stretch the floor, create more depth in transition, get those guys to the bottom of the floor for a variety of reasons, so it should be a pretty easy adjustment. 「我们以前也经历过这些时期。」教练 Chris Finch 周二表示。「我们知道 必须拉开空间，在转换进攻中创造更多层次，让球员出於各种原因来到底线 和篮下，这应该是一个相当容易的调整。」 “Just got to put the effort in.” 「只要付出努力就行了。」 Alexander-Walker recalled Finch calling the team out after a February loss to the league’s worst team, the Utah Jazz, after which Minnesota went 17-4 to finish the regular season. NAW回忆起二月输给联盟战绩最差的爵士队後，Finch 训斥球队，後续球队以 17胜4败结束例行赛。 But this time, the Wolves only have a single game to prove that their wake-up call was well received. 但这一次，灰狼队只剩下最後一场比赛来证明他们已经确实被「点醒」。 “Every time we’ve had a come-to-terms talk with each other, we’ ve always responded well,” Alexander-Walker said. “We have a resilient group. 「在每次进行过坦诚的谈话後，我们都反应良好。」NAW说道。「我们是一支 坚韧的团队。」 “We’ve got to play like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’ t. It’s not about how much we can score. It’s about: Can we get the stops? Can we rebound? Can we find a way to make winning plays relentlessly and consistently?” 「我们必须全力以赴，因为已没有退路。关键不在於我们的进攻能力，而是 能否成功阻挡对手？能否掌握篮板球？能否持续稳定地创造赢球的机会？」 --- 没有明天的比赛，续命之战， 但未来不知道，只能紧握住当下机会。 不管怎样，小市场球队成功没有捷径， 不断累积经验，一步步建立赢球文化。 持续保持下去。 --

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