The first few minutes felt uneasy, like a storm quietly building. The San Antonio Spurs weren’t sharp out of the gate. The Chicago Bulls came in swinging, pushing the tempo and landing early blows that made the Frost Bank Center crowd shift in their seats.
But then, as he so often does, Victor Wembanyama changed everything.
It didn’t happen all at once. It never really does. First came a rebound — high above everyone else. Then a quick putback. A step-back jumper. A block that sent the ball, and the crowd,
into the air. Within minutes, the uneasiness was gone, replaced by a growing realization: This was about to be his night.
By the end of the first quarter, the rhythm had shifted. By the second, it belonged entirely to San Antonio.
“A sense of urgency and sharpness,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said of what he was looking for in his early timeout a minute into the game. “I thought we got it at times and we responded out of halftime. We didn’t sustain it as long as I’d wish or that I know we’re capable of.”
“There’s definitely areas we need to shore up and get consistent in,” Johnson added. “I’m always looking for teaching moments. We’re winning games and that feedback can be misleading… the standard and level of play we know we’re capable of must be acknowledged.”
Wembanyama was everywhere: gliding through defenders, stretching the floor, controlling the glass. The Bulls had no answer, only reactions. And each reaction came a step too late. As the Spurs surged ahead, the game began to tilt, then lean, then finally tip all the way over.
Still, this wasn’t a one-man show, it just felt like one at times.
Stephon Castle moved through the chaos with calm precision, threading passes, attacking gaps, and doing a little bit of everything. Each assist, each rebound, each bucket added another layer to a Spurs offense that was suddenly humming with its usual routine.
By halftime, the tension was gone. In its place: control. The second half opened the way the first one ended, with Wembanyama asserting himself. A quick burst pushed the lead beyond 20, and just like that, any lingering hope from Chicago began to fade. They fought back in spurts — a run here, a couple of tough shots there — but every push was met with an answer.
And more often than not, that answer wore No. 1. By the fourth quarter, the outcome was no longer in doubt. The Spurs weren’t just winning, they were dictating. The pace, the space, the moment.
“We’re preparing for something that only a few of us have been a part of,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said. “How we started today is unacceptable. We need to continue to impose our will on teams and push our best effort forward.”
When the final buzzer sounded on a 129-114 victory, it felt less like the end of a game and more like the continuation of something building and that something is going to be very dangerous. When the Spurs find their rhythm and their young star turns dominance into routine, it’s easy to see the bigger picture forming in real time.
And it’s even harder to imagine anyone stopping it.
Game Notes
- With OKC’s narrow win against an undermanned Detroit Pistons team, the race for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference might come down to the final week of the season. Spurs remain 2.5 games behind OKC and have the “lighter” schedule to close out the regular season.
- Mitch Johnson was not satisfied with his team’s effort against Chicago to start, so expect him to use these last few weeks to iron out any lingering issues with the playoffs around the corner.
- Wembanyama and Castle combined for 62 of the Spurs’ 129 points in the win.
