CHICAGO — The Spurs had one of their worst first halves in recent memory as Chicago built a 23-point lead, but won the second half 66-41 en-route to the fourth-biggest comeback in the NBA this season.
Starting center Jakob Poeltl had the best game of his career with a career-high 20 points and 16 rebounds, and in that dismal first half he was the lone bright spot. There were injury scares with both Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker IV, but both got back up and kept attacking.
Coach Gregg Popovich was pleased with his team's ability to stick with it and finish the game strong after a brutal start.
"We played two great defensive quarters in the second half, spurred on by Patty Mills' aggressiveness, and it just seemed to infect everybody else," said Popovich. "Offensively we made a few shots, which we did not do in the first half, and Jakob had a wonderful game."
After his career night, Poeltl gave credit to his guards and other teammates who picked up the energy on defense.
"They really got us going in that second half, really picked up the energy on defense," he said. "We were pressing them the whole way, got them to speed up their game and miss some shots. It was really great to see how we came together as a team on the court."
Derrick White started the game just 1-8 from the floor, but he finished with 17 points, with several of his buckets coming in crunch time.
"Just gotta stay confident in what you do," he said. "Everybody was telling me to stay with it, stay confident, just have faith that it's gonna eventually turn, and it turned for us in the second half."
Johnson twisted his ankle in the first quarter, played a bit in the second quarter, and didn't start the second half. When he got back in, though, he looked as energetic and springy as ever. He attacked the rim, hit a big three, and screamed his head off like he always does.
"I definitely want to be out there bad, I just want to do whatever to help my team win, and I just went out there man and just played hard, and did it with my teammates. We did it together, it was a team win, and we couldn't have done it without each other," he said crediting the defense with the turnaround.
"We just crawled our way back in the game, just kept chipping away, chipping away, one stop at a time," he said.
Recap
Fourth quarter
San Antonio opened the fourth quarter with the majority of a a 15-0 run.
Keldon Johnson drove in for a hook, then Patty Mills pulled up for three off a screen. Then they swapped roles, as Keldon found Patty for a driving layup and Keldon knocked down a three.
All of a sudden, a Bulls lead that was as large as 23 in the second quarter was cut down to just three. Johnson drove in for another layup to make it a one-point game.
After Chicago's first bucket of the period, solid ball movement led to another dunk by Jakob Poeltl. The Bulls finally got the lid off their basket, and pushed their lead back to six as Pop called time.
San Antonio roared back, with Rudy Gay and Dejounte Murray getting buckets at the rim before a Patty triple.
Chicago took a timeout, but that only stopped the Spurs' run for 60 seconds. Murray attacked the rim, to give San Antonio their first lead, after they trailed by as many as 23 in the second quarter.
Derrick White drove and scored, then Dejounte again, then Derrick got to the line. Murray pulled up and hit a jumper and gave San Antonio a 9-point lead to cap a 17-0 run in a stunning turnaround.
Derrick White knocked down a three off a handoff from Poeltl, putting the Spurs up 101-90.
Chicago got a few buckets in the final minute to make it interesting, but Patty iced the game at the line and gave the Spurs a 106-99 win.
The 23-point comeback is the fourth-biggest in the NBA this year.
Third quarter
San Antonio came out with much better energy and intensity to start the second half, but struggled to trim the lead as they struggled to shoot from outside.
Rudy Gay started at the four in the third, with Keldon Johnson likely icing a right ankle that he rolled badly in the first half. Johnson did come in off the bench, though.
Lonnie Walker IV continued to attack, finish strong, fall down, and get back up, but the Bulls built their lead back to 20.
San Antonio started to scramble and apply full-court pressure as they chipped away. Devin Vassell knocked down a rare three, and Jakob Poeltl got a tip-in and a free throw to cut it to 13 with a quarter to play.
Second quarter
Chicago built their lead out to 15 early in the period, and San Antonio's shooting woes continued.
On a more positive note, Keldon Johnson returned to the court in a fresh pair of shoes after rolling his ankle in the first.
As the Bulls continued to score off San Antonio misses, Lonnie Walker IV took a nasty spill after attempting a block and almost falling on his face.
Chicago extended their lead to 23. At the end of the half, Derrick White stole three free throws and got the Spurs to 40 points in one of their worst halves of basketball in recent memory.
Jakob Poeltl made 5-5 from the floor, but his teammates managed just 10-43.
San Antonio shot just 31% from the floor and 2-16 from deep, making it a small miracle that they only trailed 58-40 at the break.
First quarter
San Antonio didn't start the game on a crisp note, turning the ball over on the first possession and then giving up an open three on the other end.
Jakob Poeltl finished through contact on a roll, then got a putback and a free throw to score the first 7 points for the Spurs, but nobody else could find the bottom of the bucket as the Bulls built a 16-7 lead.
Until Lonnie Walker IV got to the rim for a layup, other Spurs shot 0-9 to start the game. He drove to the cup again for a lefty finish.
Keldon Johnson drove the lane strong, but when he planted his right foot he appeared to roll his right ankle badly. He limped to the locker room.
Patty Mills drove and dropped it off without looking to Poeltl, who finished strong with a dunk.
Still, San Antonio couldn't get the lid off the basket as shots went in and out and the Bulls built their lead out to 29-13.
Devin Vassell made a wonderful stop on a 3-on-1 fast break, so that was neat.
Rudy Gay made San Antonio's first jumper of the game with under a minute left in the first quarter. As such, they trailed 31-17 after the first quarter.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Chicago Bulls
When, where: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m., Chicago
All-time series record: Spurs lead 55-35
Last season: Bulls won series 1-0
Season series: First meeting of the season
Last meeting: Bulls won 110-109, January 27, 2020
Bulls' last game: Won vs. Thunder, 123-102
Spurs' last game: Won vs. Pistons, 109-99
Bulls' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, won 2
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, won 1
Bulls' injury/inactive report: Garrett Temple: OUT (ankle).
Spurs' injury/inactive report: DeMar DeRozan: OUT (personal); Keita Bates-Diop, OUT (hamstring)
RELATED: FINAL: Spurs beat Pistons 109-99
The Spurs are set to face off against the Bulls in Chicago coming off a dominant win over Detroit.
DeMar DeRozan is still away from the team after his father's funeral, but before the game coach Gregg Popovich said he thinks he'll be back for Friday's contest in Cleveland, but it's not yet set in stone.
The San Antonio Spurs had just suffered a tough loss to the top team in the East, but bounced back on short rest with a dominant win over the Detroit Pistons that wasn't as close as the 109-99 final score indicated.
Eight Spurs scored nine points or more in DeMar DeRozan's absence, as Dejounte Murray led the way with 19 points, 10 boards and 6 assists. San Antonio shot 57% from the floor and 48% from deep.
"It was a good bounce-back game after last night," coach Gregg Popovich said after the win.
Popovich had high praise for rookie Devin Vassell, who had three triples and a pair of transition dunks, nearly setting a career high for scoring with 13 points.
"He's really a bright young man, he's got a great personality, good teammate, he absorbs things," Popovich said. "Being a rookie with no real training camp or summer, and then the COVID, he's been exceptional."