Spurs hand depleted Bulls another loss

[November 27, 2018]  DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 -- including five in a key late-game stretch -- as the visiting San Antonio Spurs came back to beat the short-handed Chicago Bulls 108-107 on Monday.

Chicago led 101-98 with 5:58 to play before the Spurs leapfrogged to the front via a 10-0 run, with Aldridge accounting for half the points. Chicago pulled within 108-107 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Ryan Arcidiacono but Zach LaVine missed a 3-pointer with four seconds to play.

After a foul and a steal in a last-gasp scramble, Arcidiacono had a chance to win the game with a shot at the buzzer, but it was off the rim short.

The win was just the Spurs' third in their last nine games, but second in the first three games of a four-game road trip that concludes Wednesday in Minnesota.

Patty Mills added 17 points off the bench for San Antonio while Bryn Forbes and Jakob Poeltl scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Spurs.

LaVine led all scorers with 28 points, with Arcidiacono adding 22. Jabari Parker had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Justin Holiday tallied 17 points. Depleted by injuries to three starters, Chicago has dropped three straight and seven of its last eight.

The first half went back and forth with nine ties and nine lead changes over the first 24 minutes.

All 10 of the players who saw court time in the first half for the Spurs scored at least two points, led by Forbes' nine and eight each from DeRozan and Rudy Gay. San Antonio's bench players outscored the Bulls' reserves 18-4 in the half, and the Spurs ruled the paint with a 26-10 edge.

San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan (10) has his shot blocked by Chicago Bulls guard Shaquille Harrison (3) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Still, the Spurs led only 52-50 at intermission as Chicago got 14 points from Holiday and 11 from LaVine in the first half.

Holiday's 3-pointer with 9:12 to play in the third quarter gave the Bulls a 59-56 advantage and started a 9-2 run to give them the upper hand, at least for a while.

The Bulls stretched the margin to a game-high eight points, at 79-71, on a hook shot by Robin Lopez with 2:40 to play in the quarter, but the Spurs closed the quarter with a 9-4 flurry that brought them within 83-80 heading to the final period.

Chicago returns to the court on Wednesday in Milwaukee.

--Field Level Media

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