The Chicago Bulls will carry a season-best three-game winning streak into San Antonio when they square off against the reeling Spurs on Friday.
The Spurs return home after a 102-94 loss at league-leading Minnesota on Wednesday. The Spurs led most of the game but, as has been the norm this year, they faltered down the stretch and dropped their 15th consecutive contest, one off the team record that was set last season.
Devin Vassell, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time after coming off the bench for six games following a left adductor strain, led all scorers with 22 points. Keldon Johnson added 21 points and 10 rebounds, Zach Collins and Victor Wembanyama each scored 12 points and Doug McDermott tallied 11 off the bench. Wembanyama also had 10 rebounds.
Cedi Osman was inserted into the starting five in lieu of Jeremy Sochan but the changes could not shake the Spurs out of their prolonged slump. San Antonio hasn’t won since Nov. 2 at Phoenix.
Wembanyama was asked if the lineup change can spark the team.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It all (comes) down to the coaches, but you need to be ready to play in any condition.”
Sochan, who has struggled at times playing at the point this season, said his benching was likely an experiment.
“It is what it is,” Sochan said. “It depends on what the coaches want, depends on how the team is going to be, and we will just see from there.”
The Bulls head to the Alamo City after beating Charlotte 111-100 at home on Wednesday. DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with a game-high 29 points, Nikola Vucevic recorded a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, Coby White scored 19 points and Alex Caruso had 12.
Chicago shot just 42.2 percent from the floor but canned 12 of 25 from beyond the arc. The Bulls went 3-for-3 on their homestand and play five of their next six games on the road.
The Bulls had lost five straight before their streak and have struggled with pace this season, ranking last in the league in possessions per 48 minutes. That’s changed in the winning streak.
“We’ve got to run,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We’ve got to get down the floor and play with force. With the number of possessions in an NBA game — that’s a lot of running.
“And we’ve got to be able to sustain that. We’re not going to be this ultrafast team in the NBA, but we can do a better job of coming across half court with a little bit more of a thrust than we have.”
The Bulls announced Wednesday that guard Zach LaVine will need an additional three to four weeks rest for his injured right foot. LaVine has missed the past three games.
“We’ve just got to stay locked in and be prepared for when guys get all the way healthy,” DeRozan said. “We’ve got to keep building.”
–Field Level Media
