San Antonio Spurs (57-19) beat Chicago Bulls (29-46) 129-114 at home on Monday, March 30, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 29-28 and a 1-point lead after one. The Spurs kept the pressure on with a 35-19 second quarter, carrying a 17-point lead into halftime.
The Spurs won the third 38-35 to create some separation, taking a 20-point lead into the fourth. The Bulls took the fourth 32-27; the Spurs held on for a 129-114 regulation win.
What decided it
The Spurs grabbed 36.4% of their own misses, while the Bulls recovered 15.2%. The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 58.3% effective field-goal shooting compared with 53.2% for the Bulls. The second chances kept adding up.
At roughly 103 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 124.8 points per 100 possessions to 110.3 for the Bulls.
Who made the difference
Victor Wembanyama was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 41 pts, 16 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk on 17-27 shooting. His Game Score of 39.2 led everyone. His team was +15 with him on the floor.
Leonard Miller led the Bulls with 21 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast on 9-14 shooting, good for a 21.5 Game Score.
Victor Wembanyama (41 pts, 16 reb, 4 ast) and Stephon Castle (21 pts, 8 reb, 10 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Spurs about a 94% chance.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Chicago Bulls lead 2-1.
The Spurs are now 57-19, and the Bulls are 29-46. The Spurs last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.