Victor Wembanyama had 32 points and nine rebounds and Dylan Harper added 18 points and 10 assists as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the host Chicago Bulls 124-119 on Wednesday for their 10th straight win.
San Antonio built a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter after trailing by 22 late in the second. A torrid start boosted the Bulls before they sputtered to their eighth straight defeat.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 17 points (all in the first half) and nine assists for the Spurs, who had seven scorers in double figures.
Chicago countered with five in double figures, paced by Jalen Smith’s 23 points, which tied his career high. Nic Claxton contributed 17 points and Caleb Wilson had 15 in 15 minutes. Wilson left the game in the third quarter with a right hand injury, the team announced.
San Antonio regrouped from an uneven first half to outscore Chicago 68-49 after halftime. The Spurs scored the first seven points of the third quarter in 1:55, capped by a Stephon Castle alley-oop dunk off a feed from Harper.
The Bulls committed eight turnovers in the third quarter after seven for the first half. Chicago registered just 19 points in the third despite 50% shooting from the floor (7 of 14).
An 11-2 run to open the fourth helped the Spurs pull away. Castle contributed five points during the sequence while Wembanyama had four.
Sparked by a 17-for-20 effort (85%) from the floor in the first quarter, Chicago erupted for 41 points — the most the Spurs have yielded in a quarter this season. Smith contributed 10 points to the early surge while Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones added seven apiece.
Although they cooled off in the second quarter (29 points), the Bulls maintained momentum to take a 70-56 lead into the break after building a 22-point advantage, their largest of the season. Smith led Chicago with 17 first-half points.
Buzelis scored 13 points for the Bulls, Wilson 12 and Claxton 10.
Fox had 17 first-half points and Wembanyama 15.
Chicago’s Norman Powell (back spasms) and Devin Vassell of San Antonio (left adductor tightness) both missed a second straight game due to injury.
