It was a tale of two halves in the San Antonio Spurs’ 124-119 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs found themselves down 20 against Chicago in the first half, allowing the Bulls to shoot 66% from the field. But San Antonio completely flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Bulls 68-49.
The Spurs couldn’t get much of anything going offensively in the first half. De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama were the lone bright spots, carrying the offensive load.
Fox scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter. He started by nailing a pair of threes. Then he began to attack the rim, getting into the paint and making plays for the Silver and Black.
Fox is shooting just 33% from deep this season. He’s shot his best when the defense sags off him into the paint. That wasn’t the case against Chicago, as he hit tough shots in the Bulls’ defenders’ faces.
Wembanyama continued his 30+ points-per-game scoring streak with a 32-point performance on Wednesday. Wemby had it going from deep, hitting two of his six deep shots. This is exactly the type of three-point shot you want to see the big man taking – within the flow of the offense with a clean look at the rim.
Wembanyama did it on both ends, with 5 blocks. His rim protection was particularly helpful in the third quarter when San Antonio went on its big run.
Most of the third quarter was defined by turning the Bulls over and getting out in transition. The Spurs forced 16 steals, and Chicago turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 22 points for San Antonio. This big dunk was an example of how easy it was for the Spurs to score in transition. Josh Giddey just ducks out of the way to avoid a Wembanyama poster.
San Antonio found Wembanyama on plenty of lobs, too. Keldon Johnson’s passing was particularly impressive as he had 4 assists to go along with his 1o points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. When he’s getting downhill, he draws a lot of defensive attention, freeing up plays like this to get Wembanyama an easy dunk.
KJ found Carter Bryant for a dunk through two Bulls defenders late in the game as the team tried to seal the win. Bryant finished the game with 10 points, including two three-pointers.
Dylan Harper had a big third quarter on his way to a double-double. Harper had 18 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in the win. He did a ton of damage on the break, including this lob to Stephon Castle for the emphatic dunk.
After winning its 10th straight game, the Spurs now have the longest active win streak in the NBA. They’ll look to extend it to 11 games in a Friday NBA Cup matchup with the Golden State Warriors.
