Spurs erase 22-point hole to beat Bulls 124-119 as Wembanyama's 32 extends streak to 10
For a half, the Chicago Bulls could not miss. Then Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs took the game away. San Antonio came back from 22 points down to win 124-119 at the United Center on Wednesday night, stretching its winning streak to 10 games.
Chicago's red-hot half
The Bulls scored 41 points in the first quarter and led 64-42 midway through the second, TalkBasket reported. They shot 66% from the field in the first half and made 10 of 15 three-pointers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The hosts still went into the break 14 points up. Chicago coach Tiago Splitter had told his players they needed to shoot well from three and pull Wembanyama away from the paint. For two quarters, both rules held.
How the Spurs flipped it
San Antonio erased the deficit about six minutes into the second half, the Sun-Times said. Dylan Harper scored 11 of his 18 points after half-time and finished with 10 assists, while De'Aaron Fox added nine assists, according to Pounding The Rock.
The Spurs then took control with an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter. Jalen Smith led Chicago with 23 points.
| Player | Team | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | Spurs | 32 pts, 9 reb, 5 blk |
| Dylan Harper | Spurs | 18 pts, 10 ast |
| Julian Champagnie | Spurs | 12 pts |
| Jalen Smith | Bulls | 23 pts |
Source: Pounding The Rock; TalkBasket; RealGM box score.
'Appropriately concerned'
Wembanyama said the Spurs simply had to play better rather than talk about it. He described the half-time locker room as "focused, not worried, but appropriately concerned."
They wanted more than us in the first half. Couldn't get a stop. We let them get a rhythm and it was a whole new game in the second half.
Chicago forward Matas Buzelis blamed himself. He committed four of his six turnovers in the third quarter, the Sun-Times reported.
"That was our game to win. I feel like I lost that game for us," Buzelis said.
What's next
Splitter praised Wembanyama afterwards. "There's no comp. You can't comp him to anybody," he said, calling him a player who is "going to change the game."
San Antonio, back home after its unbeaten trip, hosts the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Chicago is still looking for its second win of the season.