That's three straight wins on the seven-game trip -- all against teams with winning records in the tough Western Conference -- and there's little question that this one was the most impressive.
Despite ailments to a few key performers, the Bulls went toe-to-toe with the veteran Spurs down the stretch and made more plays at both ends to pull out the victory in a game that had an intensity level not usually seen in a January NBA game.
''Hopefully, it means we're growing a little bit,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said about the way his team was able to close things out.
With the score tied at 93 with less than a minute left (after the teams traded baskets for more than three minutes), the Bulls scored the final five points. Even more improbable than the result or finish was the source of the points -- center Joakim Noah, who seemed unlikely to play minutes before tip-off because of plantar fasciitis of the left foot.
''When I went out there to warm up, it actually felt better,'' Noah said. ''I didn't think I was gonna play when I got to the arena. But the taping on the bottom of my foot actually made it feel a lot better and I went through my routine and I felt like I could help the team.''
Also unlikely by the way he looked before the game was point guard Derrick Rose, who seemed out of it because of flu-like symptoms. But Rose played 34 minutes and had a game-high 27 points on 13-for-23 shooting. After the game, he dressed quickly and went to the team bus to rest and wasn't available for comment.
The Bulls (21-22) have pulled to within a game of the .500 mark with the win, but early on it appeared the Spurs (25-18) would roll to an easy victory.
The Bulls missed three of their first four shots and the Spurs -- looking youthful and energetic -- jumped out to a 15-4 lead. The Bulls just looked sluggish.
''We were a little shell-shocked to start the game,'' guard Kirk Hinrich said. ''After the first timeout, we were able to come out, get some stops and get back in the game.''
Hinrich (18 points) jump-started the Bulls by sinking shot after shot. He had 13 first-quarter points on 6-for-7 shooting, with the only miss on a half-court heave to end the quarter.
After trailing by 12 points (20-8), the Bulls took a 27-26 lead late in the first. After runs by each team the rest of the first half, the Bulls had a 52-50 halftime lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared San Antonio would open up a tight game by jumping out to a 77-72 lead less than two minutes into the quarter. But again the Bulls responded and put together a 13-2 run for an 85-79 lead with just over seven minutes left.
But just when it looked as if they had command, the Bulls went into a prolonged draught. San Antonio's defense had a lot to do with it. The Spurs scored eight straight for an 87-85 lead with under four minutes left.
The Bulls ended a scoreless stretch of more than three minutes with a Luol Deng basket with 3:27 remaining for a tie. The teams then traded baskets until Noah followed up a Rose miss for a 95-93 lead with 36.3 seconds left. Deng then made the play of the game when he blocked a shot by Manu Ginobili at the other end and Noah hit three of four free throws the rest of the way.
''When you get caught up in the game, you start forgetting about it,'' Noah said of the pain. ''It was pretty painful. It just feels good right now because we beat three solid teams in a row. It's good for our confidence as a team.''
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