Wembanyama Drops Season-High 41 on Bulls as Spurs Cruise 129-114

Victor Wembanyama scored a season-high 41 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Stephon Castle added 21 points and 10 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls 129-114 on Monday night at Frost Bank Center. The Spurs won their ninth straight and had six players in double figures. Tre Jones led Chicago with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in his first game back in San Antonio since being traded to the Bulls in the three-team deal that sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento and brought De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs. Leonard Miller added 21, Collin Sexton had 20, and Josh Giddey posted 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Bulls have now lost four straight and drop to 29-46. San Antonio improves to 57-18.

The game tipped off two hours after the Bulls waived Jaden Ivey for conduct detrimental to the team. Ivey, who is injured, did not travel with Chicago during its four-game road trip. This marks the end of a brief and turbulent tenure for Ivey, who was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. Chicago was also without Jalen Smith (right calf — out for the season), Nick Richards (right elbow), and Anfernee Simons (fractured left wrist).

Wembanyama Was Unstoppable From the Opening Tip

There was no easing into this one for Wembanyama. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first 8 minutes and 31 seconds on the court — completing the third-fastest double-double in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98), behind only Boban Marjanovic (8:13 in 2017) and Jonas Valanciunas (8:08 in 2025). He collected his 10th rebound just 1:55 into the second quarter. By halftime he had 21 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-15 from the field. It did not slow down from there — Wembanyama poured in 14 third-quarter points on 6-of-7 shooting, including two threes, and punctuated his night with a driving one-handed dunk midway through the fourth. He finished 17-of-27 from the field, 3-of-6 from three, and 4-of-4 from the line with 4 assists and 3 blocks in just 31 minutes. It was his 14th game scoring 30 or more this season.

The first quarter was the only competitive stretch. Matas Buzelis' one-handed slam gave the Bulls a 5-2 lead just 71 seconds in and prompted an angry timeout from Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. San Antonio responded with a 20-13 run fueled by Wembanyama's early dominance, but Chicago hung around — Jones had 7 points, Okoro hit a three, and Giddey dished 4 assists. The quarter ended 29-28 Spurs. Then the second quarter happened. San Antonio outscored Chicago 35-19, blowing the game open behind Castle's 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and Wembanyama's continued assault on the glass. The Bulls went 5-of-19 from the field in the period and shot 0-of-9 from three. By halftime it was 64-47, leaving the Bulls a 17-point hole to dig out of against a team riding an eight-game winning streak.

The Spurs extended the lead to 29 in the third quarter before Chicago trimmed it slightly with a 35-point third and a 32-point fourth. But the deficit was too deep. The rebounding gap told the full story: San Antonio dominated the glass 55-35, with 16 offensive rebounds to Chicago's 7. Wembanyama alone matched Chicago's total. The Spurs also dominated in transition — 23 fast break points to the Bulls' 10 — and shot 51 percent from the field to Chicago's 46 percent. San Antonio went 14-of-34 from three (41 percent) while the Bulls limped to 13-of-44 (30 percent).

Jones' Return and Bench Scoring Were the Only Bright Spots

Jones was the story on the Chicago side. Playing in San Antonio for the first time since the Fox trade, he was the Bulls' best player by a wide margin — 23 points on 9-of-13 from the field, 2-of-3 from three, 3-of-3 from the line, and 3 assists in 26 minutes. He was the only starter who shot better than 50 percent. His third quarter was electric — 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a three and 3-of-3 from the line — and he was the primary reason Chicago's third-quarter output (35 points) was respectable despite the deficit.

Miller and Sexton kept the bench competitive. Miller had 21 on 9-of-14 from the field with 3-of-8 from three, 6 rebounds (5 offensive), and 4 assists in 25 minutes. His offensive rebounding was particularly notable given the overall glass disparity. Sexton added 20 on 8-of-15 with 3-of-6 from three and was the only Bull to post an even 0 plus-minus. Giddey was efficient but quiet — 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three for just 9 points, though the 10 assists provided value. He was a -18, however, which reflected the reality of the game more than the box score numbers.

The rest of the roster struggled. Buzelis had 12 points on 5-of-12, went 1-of-6 from three, and was a team-worst -28. He had 3 blocks — the one area where he contributed defensively — but the overall impact was limited. Patrick Williams was invisible again: 2 points on 0-of-7 shooting (0-of-4 from three) in 21 minutes. Rob Dillingham shot 3-of-12 (0-of-5 from three) for 6 points. Yabusele had 15 on 4-of-10 with 6-of-8 from the line, but the 1-of-6 from three was another rough shooting night from deep for a player who has been streaky all road trip.

Looking Ahead

The Bulls are 29-46 and have now lost four straight and six of their last seven. They sit 25 games behind Detroit in the Central Division. The road trip ends at 0-4 — losses in Philadelphia (157-137), in Oklahoma City (131-113), in Memphis (125-124), and now in San Antonio. Chicago returns home to face Indiana on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. CT. For San Antonio, the win extended the league's longest active winning streak to nine games. The Spurs visit Golden State on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Spurs won the season series 2-0, having also beaten the Bulls 121-117 in Chicago earlier this year.