The Spurs’ win streak has reached 10 games. Despite looking lackadaisical and digging a hole for themselves early in their visit to Chicago, they managed to mount a second-half comeback to beat the Bulls 124-119.
It’s hard to predict when a trap game is coming, but when the Bulls, losers of seven straight heading into the matchup, made the Spurs, winners of nine in a row, look helpless in the first half, it seemed like Wednesday’s bout was going to be one of them. The NBA has a way of humbling even the teams
that are steamrolling opponents because on any given night, the tables can turn. Early on, the play of De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama was enough to keep up with a shockingly hot Chicago team that simply couldn’t miss, but as the minutes passed, and especially when the bench checked in, San Antonio found itself looking at a mounting deficit and not a lot of answers on how to reduce it.
There were a lot of reasons for the struggles in a first half in which the Silver and Black gave up 70 points. The Bulls’ five-out look, with Jalen Smith at center, prevented Wemby from being the defensive presence he normally is at the rim. Some questionable lineups from Mitch Johnson predictably struggled on both ends, with the ones featuring Luke Kornet really floundering, as the big man couldn’t make an impact in any area. Fox and Wembanyama did well, but the offense as a whole featured either a lot of hesitation or guys forcing the issue and trying to score one-on-one instead of making a terrible Chicago defense move. It was the perfect storm of poor play from the Spurs and surprisingly good minutes from their opponent.
Trap games will happen, and they normally don’t mean much, so when the Silver and Black were down 22 in the second quarter, it was reasonable to assume their streak might end sooner than it should have, and that was fine. As they trimmed the Bulls’ lead to 14 heading into the break, a comeback appeared possible, but it seemed like it would require adjustments in strategy and attitude that, after such an underwhelming start, didn’t look all that likely. Then, as the second half started, the Spurs decided that, actually, they wanted their 10th win in a row, and that was that.
The ball started moving, and there was no hesitation going to the basket. Harper came alive, both dishing out assists and scoring, while Wemby continued to dominate, roaming more on defense and consistently making the right play on offense. Even the bench, which had been dreadful earlier, held its own thanks to an active Kornet and good minutes from the three forwards.
The Spurs looked like the juggernaut they are in the third, as they tend to do when they don’t make unforced errors and play with energy, instead of the timid team that opened the game. It helped that the Bulls came back to earth after a scorching first half from beyond the arc, but the opponent rarely matters when San Antonio starts operating near its highest level. Heading into the final frame, the visitors led by one.
The Spurs only got the lead to 15 at a point in the fourth quarter, which is hardly large enough in the modern NBA to be confident about it being secure, but while the box score didn’t accurately reflect how in control San Antonio was, it was obvious to those watching. After showing the low floor that has Mitch Johnson worried in the first half, the Silver and Black had their sky-high ceiling in full display in the second. Consistency is still not the team’s strong suit, but as long as they keep winning, no one should really be too worried about the ups and downs of November games.
Game notes:
- Wembanyama has been Tim Duncan-esque in the way he doesn’t need to have loud games to have great ones. There were spectacular moments involving him, as they always are, but without looking otherworldly, he easily logged 32 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. It’s too early in his career to start taking his greatness for granted, but he has been making the game look so easy lately that it might start happening if we are not careful.
- De’Aaron Fox played the perfect Robin to Wemby’s Batman in the first half as a scorer, dropping 17 points. Dylan Harper took over the role in the second half, scoring 11 points of his total 18. Harper finished with 10 assists while Fox had nine. On a night in which Stephon Castle struggled, the other starting guards stepped up.
- With Devin Vassell still out, Julian Champagnie got another start and had a decent game, finishing with 12 points, two assists, and two steals on 35 minutes of play. Curiously, he didn’t log a rebound. It’s the second time it has happened this season. Last season, it didn’t happen a single time in 82 games. Rebounding is one of Champagnie’s strengths, but the different roles and lineups might be affecting his ability to secure boards.
- Like most of the team, the bench was bad in the first half, but had a much better showing in the second half, with 21 of the 30 points scored by the non-garbage time subs coming in the last two quarters. Keldon Johnson, who is looking like a much better passer, also had four assists. Everyone did their job, which helped the Spurs tremendously.
Next game: vs. Warriors on Friday
The Warriors have been better than expected this season, but Stephen Curry had to leave the game on Wednesday against the Rockets with an injury, so they could be missing their engine in their visit to San Antonio.
