Inside The Spurs

Bulls Rally to Beat Spurs despite Victor Wembanyama's Stellar Performance

San Antonio Spurs led by as many 15 points in the fourth quarter of Monday's game, but found itself on the wrong end of a 114-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Taylor Hodges|
Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) battles for the ball with San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the first half at United Center.
Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) battles for the ball with San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the first half at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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San Antonio Spurs

A few days after the Chicago Bulls retired the No. 1 jersey, the San Antonio Spur’s No. 1 jersey nearly lived up to that reputation of Derrick Rose who wore the retired jersey number.

Second-year Frenchman Victor Wembanyama;s impressive performance wasn’t enough for the Spurs to overcome a fourth quarter rally against Chicago, losing 114-110 in Monday night’s road game.

The Spurs’ second-year center scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in their loss to the Bulls on Monday night. It’s the Spurs’ second loss in four games after notching wins against the LA Clippers (122-86), Nuggets (113-110) and a loss to the Nuggets a day later, 122-11.

San Antonio held the lead for most of Monday’s game, building a 29-20 lead after the first 12 minutes and a 65-50 lead at halftime. The Spurs made nearly 60 percent of their field goals in the opening half (57.1 field goal percentage) while holding the Bulls to just a 38.9 field goal percentage. Chicago was also charged with nine turnovers while San Antonio had just seven and outscored the Bulls 15-4 points off turnovers.

The Bulls took the lead with 15.2 seconds left to play on a Colby White on an assist from Zach LaVine and never relinquished the lead..

San Antonio saw seven of its 10 players reach double-digits. Wembanyama led the way with 23 points, Every other starter had 10 or more points, including Chris Paul (18), Devin Vassell (11, Jeremy Sochan (11) and Harrison Barnes (10). Julian Champagnie led the Spurs off the bench in scoring with 12 points. Keldon Johnson had 11 and rookie Stephon Castle had 10 of his own.

LaVine kept the Bulls in the game with 35 points scored, Nikola Vucevic had and Coby White added 23 each to help Chicago. The Bulls were exceptionally proficient in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spurs 32-15

San Antonio will have Tuesday to travel to Milwaukee for an 8:30 p.m. Tip-off against the Bucks and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokoounmpo is set to be televised on ESPN.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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