Wemby displays ‘completion,’ scores 38 as Spurs defeat Bulls

CHICAGO — Victor Wembanyama nearly outscored the Chicago Bulls by himself during a dominant fourth quarter to seal San Antonio‘s 121-117 victory on Monday night.

Wembanyama scored 18 of his 38 points in the fourth period, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the final seconds to lead the Spurs to a come-from-behind victory. San Antonio outscored Chicago 32-19 in the final period.

«He walked that game down possession by possession there,» Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. «He was just very fundamentally sound, very focused and he kind of just dominated a lot of possessions.»

Wembanyama also added 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks and a steal on 11-of-19 shooting to put together a complete effort to overcome the Bulls, who opened up a 12-point lead with 11 minutes left in the quarter and led by five with 1:43 remaining.

«Of course, the shots and blocks and stuff,» Johnson continued. «But the communication, connecting the team defensively, it was just a really poised fundamentally sound, professional way to finish.»

Wembanyama put his stamp on the game in the closing sequences. With a minute left and the Spurs trailing by three, he made a 27-foot pull-up jumper in front of the outstretched hand of Bulls center Nikola Vucevic to tie the score.

Bulls guard Tre Jones drove the lane for a layup attempt at the other end, but it was contested by Wembanyama and officially blocked by Harrison Barnes, as Wembanyama corralled the rebound. When Wenbanyama got the ball back near midcourt, he took his time dribbling and surveying the court until five seconds remained on the shot clock, pulling up again from 3 and knocking down another clutch basket to give the Spurs the lead.

«When he gets going like that from 3, it’s not the whole lot you can do,» Vucevic said. «You can contest, but I don’t know. I don’t honestly know how much he sees me.

«For players, when you get in the rhythm, you don’t really see anybody or anything. You just see the ball in the hoop.»

Wembanyama recorded a block for the 95th consecutive game, the third-longest streak in NBA history and was 6 of 9 on 3s, including all three in the fourth quarter. He said afterward that he knew he was going to take the first pull-up 3 but decided to take the second one only when he couldn’t create the initial separation.

«Guess I chose right,» he said. «I feel like experience, reps played a big role in that confidence because at the end of the day, I only have like 130 or so games in my career and then there’s lots of things that I wish would go faster, but I just need some reps. It’s never a straight curve, but it’s definitely trending up.»

The Spurs improved to 8-2, their best 10-game start since 2015-16 when they finished a franchise-best 67-15.

«I’ll say we’re where we want to be,» Wembanyama said. «What I like is that we keep each other accountable, the coaching staff keeps us accountable so I know we’re only going to keep getting better.»