Bulls pull away in fourth to put away Spurs

[December 22, 2023]  Coby White scored 22 points, including 12 in the decisive fourth quarter, as the Chicago Bulls were at their best over the final 12 minutes while beating the visiting San Antonio Spurs 114-95 Thursday.
 
The Bulls, who won their third in a row, led by four at halftime and by nine in the third quarter before San Antonio fought back to within 77-70 heading into the final quarter. 

Dec 20, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) brings the ball up court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago swung back and pushed its advantage to 15 on White's pullup 3-pointer with 8:53 to play and had more than enough down the stretch to hold on against the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

DeMar DeRozan added 21 points for the Bulls, with Patrick Williams hitting for 18, Nikola Vucevic scoring 16 and Andre Drummond producing 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 21 points while Zach Collins added 14, Malaki Branham had 13 and Keldon Johnson scored 11. Victor Wembanyama was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field. San Antonio has lost three straight games and 21 of their past 22 contests.

The Spurs led early on, with Collins' layup at the 3:30 mark that staking San Antonio to a 22-16 lead. Chicago rallied to take a short-lived, one-point advantage when Dalen Terry hit a free throw with 33 seconds left in the period. A pair of shots from the charity stripe by Collins granted San Antonio a 28-27 lead after 12 minutes of play.

DeRozan's 3-pointer with 10:14 remaining in the second sent the Bulls to a 34-33 lead that continued to grow throughout the quarter. Chicago led by nine but the Spurs refused to roll over, getting a jumper by Vassell with 50 seconds left to bring San Antonio to within 52-48 at the break.

Vucevic's 12 points before halftime led all scorers while Vassell led the Spurs with 11 points. Chicago made just one of its 14 3-point attempts over the first two quarters while the Spurs were just 5 of 18 from long distance.

San Antonio tied the game at 55-55 on Vassell's 3-pointer two minutes into the third quarter and stayed close until an 8-0 run capped by Drummond's bank shot at the 2:41 mark pushed the Bulls' lead to 71-62. Chicago led 77-70 after three quarters.

--Field Level Media

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