Keldon Johnson dropped 28 in Spurs’ scorching loss to Bulls

Spurs now move to 0-2 on the season without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup.

Coming off a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Spurs looked to get back on track with a win against the Chicago Bulls. However, they had to play without their best player. Victor Wembanyama was out due to lower back soreness. Mitch Johnson elected to start Jeremy Sochan at center for the first time in his career. The Spurs got off to a flat start by trailing the Bulls after the first quarter 36-22 and never seemed to close the gap. After trailing by 21 at one point, they cut the lead to just nine in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Spurs could not stop Nikola Vucevic (39 points), Ayo Dosunmu (27-point triple-double), and the Bulls’ hot shooting. They allowed Chicago to shoot just under 58% from the field and just under 46% from three. The Spurs ultimately lost 139-124.

Keldon Johnson led the team with 28 points, five rebounds, and a steal. He was the catalyst for leading the Spurs’ comeback attempt in the fourth by scoring eight straight points.

Cutting to the rim and slamming it home? That’s the KJ special! Shoutout to Charles Bassey for the dime!

The definition of determination. KJ rebounds his missed shot multiple times and finishes!

Euro-stepping for two! KJ finishes in transition by using the Euro-step.

Devin Vassell dropped 17 points, four steals, three rebounds, and two assists. After a slow start, his scoring picked up in the third quarter. Here, he uses his speed to finish past Nikola Vucevic on the fastbreak!

Jeremy Sochan had another double-double with 16 points and 14 boards. He also had two assists and a steal. It’s unclear if Jeremy will go back to power forward or stay at center for Friday’s game, but tonight he did all he could against 7’0” Vucevic. Here, Jeremy waits patiently under the basket for the Stephon Castle assist. Easy slam!

Silky smooth! Jeremy drives past Julian Phillips and finishes the layup!

Julian Champagnie dropped 12 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one block. He had two threes in the game, and this one got the Spurs on the board!

Corner Specialist badge activated. Julian drains the three from the corner off the Zach Collins dime!

Stephon Castle finished with 12 points, six assists, two rebounds, two steals, and a block. Even though he struggled to find his shot, he didn’t settle as he was eight of ten from the free throw line. Here, he not only strips Dalen Terry, but he fools Vucevic for the easy finish! Another non-rookie moment to add to his highlight tape.

Chris Paul dropped 12 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Here, he does his signature middy off the pick and roll!

Anytime you have CP3 leading a fastbreak, you know you’re in good hands. CP3 leads Zach Collins for the slam!

Hustle personified! CP3 picks up the loose ball and immediately drains a corner three!

Sandro Mamukelashvili dropped four points including this laser three from the wing! More Mamu minutes please!

This was arguably the worst defensive performance of the season so far. Allowing a mediocre team to come into your building and shoot the lights out has to be a wake-up call for this squad. Wemby was injured, but this team is developing a habit of slow starts. They must break their bad habit if they want to be able to scrape out wins. Flush it out, and get ready for the Kings who want revenge.

Finally, here are the full game highlights.

The Spurs take on the Sacramento Kings at the Frost Bank Center on Friday at 7:00 P.M. (CST) on FanDuel Sports Network – SW.