For a half, the Chicago Bulls looked like a different team. The league’s weakest shooting side came out scorching, piled up 41 points in the first quarter and stretched the margin to 64-42 before the break. The San Antonio Spurs then flipped the night around and left the United Center with a 124-119 win, their 10th in a row.
The turn came quickly after halftime. San Antonio raised the pressure, turned a string of Chicago giveaways into transition baskets and had wiped out the deficit within a few minutes. Victor Wembanyama drove the comeback, finishing on 32 points with nine boards and five blocked shots, 17 of his points coming after the interval. Rookie Dylan Harper added 18 points and 10 assists, and De’Aaron Fox chipped in 17.
Chicago centre Jalen Smith went five for five from three-point range and matched his career best with 23 points, but the Bulls still slipped to 1-9 with an eighth straight defeat.
Few teams have bounced back from a poor start like this. According to the league, only the 2017-18 Boston Celtics had previously strung together 10 consecutive victories after opening a season with two losses. Over the streak, Wembanyama is averaging better than 32 points and four blocks a night.
Elsewhere in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-112 for a seventh straight win, with Luka Dončić scoring 16 in the opening quarter, though Austin Reaves left with a heel problem. Golden State’s eight-game run ended with a 115-108 loss in Houston after Stephen Curry departed early with abdominal soreness. Kevin Durant moved past Shaquille O’Neal into seventh on the career list for made field goals. In the East, Boston also erased a 22-point hole to edge Toronto 98-93.
