Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images San Antonio missed opportunities to put Chicago away early and paid for it by allowing a comeback that showcased new and familiar issues. The Spurs suffered one of the most painful losses of the season in their visit to Chicago. Despite leading by as many as 19 and being up seven with under four minutes to go, they completely collapsed late, going scoreless the rest of the way, to allow Zach LaVine and Coby White to lead the Bulls to a comeback win. What makes this loss hurt even more than most is that early on, the Spurs had the right focus and energy for this matchup. The intensity on defense was there, with Victor Wembanyama leading the way by owning the paint but everyone else also playing with purpose. On the other end, things weren’t as copacetic, and Wemby was once again in the middle of it. The star center strung together some bad decisions that prevented the lead from ballooning in his first stint, despite the work of a sharp Devin Vassell. Things changed in Wemby’s second stint, as the lineup that had him paired with the second unit did work on both ends. The group closed well, San Antonio was up nine after one, and the lead could have been bigger if not for some mistakes. The bench plus Wemby lineup started the second quarter with great effort on defense, pushed the pace and hit some outside shots to create more separation. Once the starters returned and Victor took a break, the Bulls looked primed to make a run but everyone wearing Silver and Black did their job and prevented it. The synergy was strong across the board, so there were no opportunities for Chicago to find a moment of weakness to pounce on. San Antonio made the simple plays when it needed to, got highlight moments that bailed out possessions and didn’t let up as the minutes passed. They showed poise and managed their double-digit lead they got early in the frame and went into the locker room up 15. For a few minutes in the third quarter, it seemed like the Spurs still had the game in their control. Zach LaVine and Coby White were scoring whenever they wanted, but there was always a response. Unfortunately, things started to fall apart soon after. The game became sloppier in general, which helped the fast-paced Bulls’ comeback attempt. The offense stagnated for San Antonio, with players either trying to force big individual plays or standing around with no purpose. A good stretch by Chris Paul helped stop the bleeding and the team hit enough shots to keep a double-digit lead heading into the final quarter, but it was clear that solid play from the first half had given way to the type of careless performance that leads to close games and painful losses. Mitch Johnson talked about fighting complacency and how the Spurs failed to do it when they were ahead in his press conference. He was right in that San Antonio slowing down and getting overconfident allowed the Bulls to get back into it, but once the game was close, there were mistakes that can’t be explained away so easily. The defense left huge gaps and relied on Wembanyama to clean up mistakes; a few missed free throws at the wrong time gave Chicago more oxygen; there were no adjustments when the spacing issues caused by Jeremy Sochan’s lack of shooting reared their head. It was a reminder that despite their record and occasional flashes of maturity, this is still a flawed, young team. Chris Paul almost salvaged the win but the Bulls adjusted and the Spurs had no answers. Play of the game A pretty set play that allowed Wemby to repay Stephon Castle, who had dished out an alley-oop to the big man in the first half. GET , STEPH! pic.twitter.com/gtW75l7Qfz— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 7, 2025 Game notes Victor Wembanyama was a terror on defense except for a few specific plays, but he had a bad offensive game despite scoring 23 points and dishing out four assists. Wemby overpassed consistently instead of taking decent shots and was reluctant to attack the rim as aggressively as he has recently. The results were turnovers and only two free throw attempts. Wemby can take as many threes as he wants as long as he’s assertive inside the arc. Passing up shots and hesitating turns him into a more easily stoppable scorer. Chris Paul took over the game a few times but his great stretches didn’t manage to wake up his teammates. The Point God scored 18, one shy of his season high, and dropped nine dimes. He did his job on offense. The threes didn’t fall for some of the shooters. Devin Vassell missed six of his seven attempts and Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes both went 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. Julian Champagnie did have it going, connecting on four of his nine attempts but he only played a shade over 16 minutes. Speaking of minutes, Jeremy Sochan is on a restriction. In the two games since returning from injury he’s played around 26 minutes. He had a solid stat line but the Bulls left him open often to pack the paint and it worked. The guys who got some of his minutes, Charles Bassey and Keldon Johnson, did a solid job, but hopefully Sochan will get his regular playing time soon, as it would signal he’s fully healthy. Stephon Castle had 10 points and six assists off the bench. He can be a ball-stopper at times and had an inexplicably bad defensive possession, but he continues to show flashes of potential. Tre Jones was active in his 12:29 on the floor and pushed the pace in the first half. Good stuff from the backup guards. After playing Zach Collins in the loss to the Nuggets, Mitch Johnson went with Bassey this time around. The big man did fine in his almost 14 minutes. Playing with the starters a lot probably helped. Next game: at Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday Things don’t get easier for the Spurs, who will play the next three on the road, including a visit to a Bucks team that demolished the Raptors on Monday.