On the second night of a back-to-back, the Bulls hosted rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at home. They defeated the Spurs, 114-95, earning their third straight victory.
Here are 10 observations from the game:
--- Torrey Craig spoke to the media pregame about the acute sprain of his right plantar fascia injury that the Bulls estimate will keep him out for 8-10 weeks. On the other hand, Craig disagreed, hoping to accelerate his rehab and return earlier.
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"Being injured sucks, but I'm just going to take it one day at a time. Usually, my body heals pretty fast so I don't think the accurate time was . . . I think I'll be back a little bit earlier than that," Craig said Thursday night. "But we'll see."
--- Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 rookie phenom, made his first trip to Chicago to play the Bulls for this one. The first time the Bulls saw him, he finished with 21 points, 20 rebounds and four assists. The Bulls came away with the win in San Antonio, however. Wembanyama, a No. 1 overall pick, also visited another No. 1 overall pick in Blackhawks center Connor Bedard.
--- Andre Drummond provided valuable minutes early on in the contest. In nine minutes in the first half, Drummond posted 10 points, six rebounds and two steals. He recorded a couple of dunks and kept Wembanyama off the boards. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
--- After a night on Wednesday when the Bulls shot nearly 53% from downtown, they struggled on Thursday. They shot 1-of-14 (7.1%) from beyond the arc in the first half of the game. DeMar DeRozan was the only player who put one down. The Bulls finished shooting 7-of-28 from 3-point land.
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--- Still, on that last note, the Bulls led the Spurs at halftime, 52-48. Vucevic led all scores (12 points), followed by Drummond (10 points), DeRozan (9 points) and Alex Caruso (8 points). Can the Bulls put eight in double figures like they did on Tuesday night?
--- The Bulls did an excellent job limiting Wembanyama on offense. He finished with a new career-low seven points. His previous career low was eight points, against the Thunder on Nov. 14.
--- The youngsters got additional minutes with the absences of LaVine and Craig, as head coach Billy Donovan said would happen on Tuesday. Dalen Terry, who played 21 minutes one night ago, finished with 17 minutes. And Julian Phillips, who is used to being part of the "victory champagne" group at the end of games, played four minutes.
--- Coby White remains on fire. He scored 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, adding six rebounds and five assists. He's shooting the 3-pointer with a ton of confidence and his ability to navigate the lane and create his own shot is admirable.
--- The Bulls are now 8-3 in this stretch without LaVine. That point will surface until the day he returns to the lineup. It'll get underlined each win the Bulls put up without him, against a four-win Spurs team or LeBron James' Lakers.
--- The Bulls will play their third of six straight home games on Saturday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. The Cavs have won three of their last four games heading into their contest against the Bulls.