There’s no such thing as a must-win game in November. Teams are either already so far out of contention that they’re likely tanking already or they’re blessed with enough time left in the season to write off any loss as a building block towards future success. The Spurs are fortunate enough to still be in the latter camp, so Monday night’s tilt against a very young Bulls team would likely not rock the boat too much in either direction. All of that being said....
The Spurs needed to win this game.
Not because a loss would drastically change their probability for making to playoffs and not because a win would ensure that everything would finally be smooth sailing from here on out, but because they are better than the Bulls.