SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (14-40) started the Rodeo Road Trip in Chicago with their ninth loss in a row after falling apart in the fourth quarter.
Before the game, Coach Popovich and DeMar DeRozan shared a warm embrace.
Neither team missed in the first eight attempts. Keldon Johnson was questionable before the game, but started and got the first make for San Antonio after it looked like he was trapped under the bucket. Malaki Branham drove and dished to Jakob Poeltl for a score through a foul. Keldon drove for a couple of physical layups, Josh Richardson hit a stepback, and Keita Bates-Diop connected on a three.
San Antonio built a five-point lead with a short run, but the Bulls answered with a 16-2 run to take the lead back. They eventually fell behind by double figures, which has been a death knell all season.
Blake Wesley came into the game and knocked down a corner three before scoring inside, and Zach Collins crammed in a dunk off a nice touch pass from KBD.
The Spurs were down 39-28 after a quarter. Malaki Branham pulled up for a mid-range jumper, then found Doug McDermott in the corner for three. Collins got a couple more layups as San Antonio pulled within four before the Bulls pushed back.
McDermott passed cross-court to Branham in the corner for three, then Keldon ripped a steal and took it coast to coast for an and-1.
Branham dished to Johnson for another layup that made it a one-point game, but again the Bulls pushed back.
Keldon crossed, drove, and scored in the restricted area once again. Richardson found Poeltl, then hit a tough floater. KJ scored in the paint again, giving him 17 points at the half. 14 came right at the rim, the other three at the stripe. Chicago led 62-59 at halftime.
Poeltl put back his own miss to start the second half. Branham drove and stopped and popped for a floater, then he found Keldon for a layup, then he made a backdoor cut and finished a feed from Poeltl. Branham swung the ball to Keldon who kicked it to Richardson in the corner for three. Poeltl scored underneath on a reverse to make it a two-point game.
KBD pulled off an impressive block on DeMar, then forced another miss. Nikola Vucevic tried to put Jak on a poster, but Poeltl sent it back. Keldon went the other way and earned free throws, hitting both to tie it at 74. Vuc broke a scoring drought for the Bulls, then Jak answered on the other end. Collins got free throws to give the Spurs their first lead since the early going.
Stanley Johnson drove strong for an and-1, then Richardson scored on a physical attack. Keldon turned the corner beat three defenders, but got called for an offensive foul. Chicago took the lead back as DeMar finally started to get it going. He hit the last three baskets of the quarter to put the Bulls up 90-85 with a quarter left.
The wheels began to fall off for the Spurs at the start of the fourth. The Bulls opened on a 12-3 run, taking advantage of sloppy fouls and turnovers by San Antonio. That trend only accelerated, and in the blink of an eye they fell behind by over 30.
Chicago outscored the Spurs 38-19 in the final period and cruised to a 128-104 win. Keldon led the Spurs with 21 points, and Branham knocked in 15. It was the ninth loss in a row for the Spurs.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 137-125 loss versus the Sixers at home.
Malakai Branham had 26 points and three assists to lead the team while Keldon Johnson added 18 points. Jakob Poeltl finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Josh Richardson recorded 10 points in the loss.
Tre Jones, Romeo Langford, and Jeremy Sochan did not play due to injuries.
"Another carbon copy. They never give in," Gregg Popovich said. "I thought Malaki had a great game tonight. Blake Wesley after a while got his confidence and did some good things. Everybody on the court did things they should do but they [76ers] made more threes which is not unusual. We're in that situation a lot. Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible. That's the most disappointing part of the game."
INJURY REPORT
LOCKED ON SPURS PREVIEWS BULLS-SPURS
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Classic Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Bulls are 1-4 versus the Spurs in their last five meetings.
2. The Spurs are 3-3 versus East teams this season.
3. The Spurs have lost 10 straight road games.
4. The Spurs are allowing 127.7 opponent points per game in their last three games.
5. The Spurs are 13-5 on the road when leading after the third period.
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