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 Chicago cut a 10-point San Antonio lead after three quarters to
90-87 on a Justin Holiday 3-pointer with 8:36 to play, but the Spurs
would not be denied.
San Antonio boosted the advantage to 104-92 on a tip-in dunk by
Danny Green and a jumper by Tony Parker, then salted away the win
with solid play in the final minutes.
The Spurs improved to 31-0 at the AT&T Center this season, and they
have a franchise-best, 40-game home winning streak in regular-season
games dating back to last season.
San Antonio's 40-game run ranks fourth in NBA history. The Golden
State Warriors' active 46-game run is the all-time record.
With the win Thursday, the Spurs also garnered their 19th season
with at least 55 wins since joining the NBA in 1976, the second most
in the league during that time. Only the Los Angeles Lakers have
more 55-win campaigns in that period (20).
Parker added 20 points and a season-high 12 assists for San Antonio
(55-10).
Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol led the Bulls (32-31) with 21 points
each, while Gasol pulled down game-high 12 rebounds. E'Twaun Moore
added 20 points and Holiday scored 12 points for Chicago, which had
its two-game winning streak snapped.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich returned to the bench after missing the
previous two games with a "family medical emergency." He did not
travel with the team on a road trip to Indiana and Minnesota on
which the Spurs went 1-1.
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The teams were deadlocked at 27-27 at the end of the first quarter.
San Antonio led by as many as six points in the quarter, but the
Bulls ran off a 9-4 run over the final 4:43.
The first period also saw the initial action for veteran Kevin
Martin in a Spurs uniform. Martin, 33, agreed to a buyout from the
Minnesota Timberwolves on March 1, just moments before a deadline
that would allow him to play for another team in the postseason, and
signed with the Spurs on Wednesday.
He finished with one point in eight minutes.
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