Caleb Wilson Injures Hand as Bulls Squander 22-Point Lead vs. Spurs

Caleb Wilson has been the brightest spot in an otherwise brutal season for the Bulls. The rookie forward had another strong start to a game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, but did not finish the contest.

Roughly two and a half minutes into the third quarter, Wilson exited the game. He was ruled out with a right hand injury shortly after. Wilson finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and a steal in limited action.

Chicago led San Antonio by as many as 22 points and held a 73-67 advantage at the time that Wilson left the court. The Spurs dominated the second half to earn a 124-119 win and advance to 10-2, while the Bulls dropped to 1-9 with their eighth consecutive loss.

The No. 4 overall pick in this summer's NBA Draft entered the game with a 'questionable' designation on the injury report with right hip soreness. He was a game-time decision, but ended up in the starting lineup for the 10th time this season.

Wilson's lone season at North Carolina ended early due to a broken thumb on his left hand.

Jalen Smith led the Bulls in scoring, finishing with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists on 8-of-9 shooting. Nic Claxton had 17 points and six rebounds off the bench in his second game since returning from a hamstring injury. Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones both scored 13 points.

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama totaled 32 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Five other San Antonio players scored in double figures.

Through the first nine games this season, the Bulls were the worst three-point shooting team in the league at just 27.2%. In the first half of Wednesday night's game, it appeared as though the shooting variance had finally worked out in Chicago's favor.

The Bulls spent most of the first half above the 70% efficiency threshold on overall shots and made 10 of their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc.

However, the Spurs finished the second quarter on a high note, outscoring Chicago over the final four and a half minutes, 12-4. The Bulls led at halftime, 70-56, after shooting 65.9% overall in the first two quarters.

San Antonio scored seven quick points out of the break, forcing Tiago Splitter to call a timeout. That wasn't enough to stop the bleeding, though. The Spurs used a 17-3 run following halftime to tie the game at 73 points apiece.

The Spurs pulled away, outscoring the Bulls by 19 points in the second half. They led by 15 points in the fourth quarter before a late run by the Bulls' bench.