SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama had a season-high 41 points and 16 rebounds while collecting the third-fastest double-double since 1997-98, and the San Antonio Spurs won their ninth straight, defeating the Chicago Bulls 129-114 on Monday night.
Wembanyama had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first eight minutes, 31 seconds on the court, collecting his 10th rebound 1:55 into the second quarter. It was the third-fastest double-double in the play-by-play era, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, behind only Boban Marjanovic (8:13) in 2017 and Jonas Valanciunas (8:08) in 2025.
Wembanyama punctuated his season high with a driving, one-handed dunk for his final points midway through the fourth quarter. He was 17-for-27 from the field and 3-for-6 on 3-pointers in scoring at least 30 points for the 14th time this season.
The 27 shot attempts were also a season high, something Wembanyama said was intentional.
“Just figuring out some stuff,” he said. “Felt like I needed my offense to get back to a certain level [on offense], but that shouldn’t be at the cost of a defense either.”
Stephon Castle added 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which has won nine consecutive games. Wembanyama talked about his growing chemistry with the second-year point guard, particularly on lob plays.
“We’ve had the chance to spend lots of minutes on the court together, and he understands me very well,” Wembanyama said of Castle. “That’s not just randomly, we’re just in sync. We get along together because he, as the ball handler, is actively trying to get the best shot for the team, and me, as the roller, I’m trying to make sure every time he throws it up high enough.”
Bulls point guard Tre Jones had 23 points in his first game in San Antonio since being traded to Chicago as part of the deal that brought De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs. Leonard Miller added 21 points, and Collin Sexton had 20 as the Bulls lost their fourth straight.
San Antonio, which had six players score in double figures, extended its lead to 29 points in the third quarter.
The Bulls took the court two hours after waiving Jaden Ivey for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Ivey, who is injured, did not travel with the team during its four-game road trip.
The news didn’t impact Chicago early, as an uncontested one-handed slam by Matas Buzelis gave the Bulls a 5-2 lead and led to an angry timeout by Spurs coach Mitch Johnson 71 seconds into the game. San Antonio responded with a 20-13 run fueled by the start of Wembanyama’s early double-double.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
