Victor Wembanyama and his teammates were not able to withstand the Bull’s second-half run in another deflating road loss | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images San Antonio held the lead for 47+ minutes before Chicago’s comeback culminated in a Coby White floater and dunk The guard tandem of Zach LaVine and Coby White helped Chicago stage a furious comeback spanning the last 2 1⁄2 quarters to melt away a 19-point Spurs advantage and punish them for a poorly played second half and extend its recent misery of poor road finishes. Chris Paul’s personal 7-0 run in the third and 7-2 (three clutch jumpers in the fourth - along with a key offensive rebound) burst in the fourth were not enough to keep the Bulls from their conquest. Wembanyama (23 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks) helped stake San Antonio to a 15-point lead at the half. But outside of Paul’s (18 points and 9 assists) second-half brilliance, there was little support when it mattered in crunchtime. Despite assisting on 16 of their first 18 makes (and 31 of 44 overall), their offensive execution stalled out over much of the fourth quarter. Chicago’s starters contributed 100 of the team’s 114 points tonight - led primarily by LaVine’s (35 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists) offensive explosion, White’s (23 points and 4 steals) fire, and Nicola Vucevic’s (24 points and 11 rebounds) steadiness. Observations The Ringer’s Michael Pina generated his list of the “LEAST IMPROVED” NBA players in this current season. No Spurs made the list or honorable mention section (rest easy Mr. Johnson and Mr. Collins), but the Bulls’ Patrick Williams did. Looking at the starters tonight, I had flashbacks of Bryn Forbes in the starting line-up and I had to do the Inception thing to remember where I was. The Portillo’s “4th Quarter Franks” (whereby the home fans get a free hot dog for two Spurs misses in a row) promotion is easily top five in the league. Keldon Johnson gifted the grateful United Center throng with freebies on his two misses. I just noticed that there are five Bulls logos on the court total. (Zach Lowe voice) “We only need to see maybe three at the most.” I like that the PA Announcer started with “FROM NORTH CAROLINA..... (White - cue the Price is Right losing sound)” - as that was the way Michael Jordan was introduced in the 80s and 90s. Devin’s (Defensive at least) Deeds: Channeling in his inner Danny Green, Vassell ran down a streaking LaVine and blocked his slam attempt - infuriating the former dunk contest winner. Vassell later saved a sure two by Chicago late in the fourth by earning a block shot at the rim. Sequence of the Game #1: Early in the first quarter, Vassell stole an errant Bull pass, and put his defender on a string to knock down a jumper. Sequence of the Game #2: Late in opening quarter action, moments after he niftily found Julian Champagnie for a wing three, Stephon Castle was the recipient of a transition pass from Tre Jones (who had tipped another errant Bulls pass) and uncorked a windmill jam! Sequence of the Game #3: After Wembanyama hit a buzzer beating three to stun an exasperated Vucevic, Vassell stood up a Bull and ripped the ball away. He left a timely pass to Wembanyama for a transition slam. Victor Ease: On his first drive, Vucevic thought he had Wembanyama beat down the lane, and tried to lay in a lefty - only to have it swatted beyond the sideline. Area 51: Castle initiated a brief run at the start of the second - first, by pairing with Wembanyama on a thunderous alley-oop, and then kicking it out to Keldon Johnson (who had chased netted a steal at the other end) for a smooth three. After a Sochan alley-oop, Sean Elliott referred to him as “Afroturf.” The Spurs have too much of a tendency to ‘play with their food’ when they amass a decent lead. San Antonio won both of its challenges tonight. Game Rundown The Bulls started ice-cold like the air outside United Center and put up bricks galore in the first 3 1⁄2 minutes. Sochan hit from three and up close to help San Antonio go up 7-0, while Wembanyama turned away two Vucevic attempts at the rim. Vassell’s poor closeout on a White drive caused Mitch Johnson to call a Pop-like timeout. The aforementioned Williams hit two straightaway threes to keep Chicago in shouting distance. As soon as Wembanyama subbed out, the Bulls committed to attacking the basket. Harrison Barnes willed home a desperation three and a lay-up to keep Chicago at bay. Castle excelled as a sparkplug with highlight reels to boot on both ends as soon as he entered, and the Spurs left the quarter up 29-20. Castle and Johnson acted like unleashed hounds at the start of the second, and the Spurs went up 14. Wembanyama blocked Matas Buzelis at the rim, and it caused Jacob Tobey to blurt “WEMBLAMYAHYAH.” After Chicago ran down two bad bricks and finally hit it’s third three in the same possession, Coach Johnson again called a timeout that would have made Pop proud. The massive volume of threes put up by the Bulls allowed them to keep it a ballgame. Sochan’s rebound and putback made it 53-38. LaVine put up a flurry of points later in the stanza to eat into the deficit. White’s open three brought the Bulls within eight, but Wembanyama and Vassell quickly pushed the lead back up to 15 entering the half. Wembanyama (5) nearly matched Chicago’s (6) output over the first three minutes of the third period. Wembanyama (there’s just so many of these fun times) hit a stepback three over Vucevic, swatted away a White lay-up attempt, and then had a one-handed tip-slam off a Vassell miss the next possession. Chicago caught the Spurs complacent over the next handful of minutes and went on a 11-0 run. Vucevic specifically caught fire and rampaged through the Spurs’ interior. After a rigid start, Chris Paul went on a personal 7-0 run. Two threes in succession by Castle and Champagnie extended the Spurs’ lead, and San Antonio successfully weathered a weird start to head into the fourth up 13. For the Bulls fan’s perspective, please visit BlogABull. San Antonio heads up the I-94 and gets the ESPN national broadcast treatment in facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at 8:30 PM CDT.