Timberwolves vs. Bulls: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
Tom Thibodeau won plenty of games at the United Center as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, but he earned a victory on the other side Tuesday.
Thibodeau's Minnesota Timberwolves came into Chicago and beat the Bulls, 99-94, after falling behind by 21 points in the first half. Minnesota ended a four-game losing streak and moved to 7-18 on the season, while Chicago dropped to 13-11 with its first loss in three games.
It was Thibodeau's first contest against his old team after he went 255-139 with Chicago from 2010 to 2015, and all five of his starters scored in double figures. Zach LaVine led the way with 24 points, while Andrew Wiggins chipped in 23 points and nine rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns struggled from the field at 6-of-21 but still finished with a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ricky Rubio dished out 10 assists, and Gorgui Dieng scored 16 points and played with additional motivation, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com noted:
As for the Bulls, they played without Rajon Rondo, who was out with an ankle injury, per Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score.
Jimmy Butler carried the offense with 27 points and six assists, but no other Chicago player scored more than Robin Lopez's 14. Dwyane Wade scored 12 on 4-of-13 shooting, and the team as a whole shot 4-of-15 from deep.
Despite the loss, the Bulls steamrolled Minnesota and their old coach out of the gates and jumped out to a 26-6 lead. The Timberwolves trimmed the deficit to 16 at 38-22 by the end of the first quarter, but Chicago was firmly in control in the early going.
While Butler was impressive with six points, five assists and three rebounds in the opening 12 minutes, Chicago received some offense from secondary sources. Gibson had 10 points, while Jerian Grant was 3-of-6 from the field for eight points.
Chris Bleck of ESPN Chicago said, "This is the best I've seen Jerian Grant play," and Zach Harper of AWolfAmongWolves.com had some fun with Lopez's quick start:
Wade played facilitator during the early portion of the second quarter and helped Chicago extend its advantage to 49-28 with a basket and two assists in a two-minute span.
Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press weighed in on Wade's impact:
Just when it appeared as if Chicago would bury the Timberwolves in the first half, Minnesota closed the second quarter with a commanding 22-5 run to trim the halftime deficit to 56-52 after falling behind 51-30. The Timberwolves settled in on defense and forced the Bulls to miss their final seven shots of the half, which allowed Dieng and Wiggins to spearhead the comeback.
They each had 13 points at the half, and Dieng drilled a three in the final seconds to climb within four.
The Timberwolves erased the lead when LaVine tied the game at 61 with a dunk. He then hit a three to put the Timberwolves ahead, 64-63, and finished an alley-oop to tie the game at 66 during a solid individual stretch.
Minnesota's defense set the tone during the run and created a number of fast-break opportunities, but Bleck looked at things from Chicago's perspective:
While the United Center crowd delighted at Lopez's block on Towns' dunk attempt, Minnesota took a 78-75 lead into the fourth quarter after its big man threw down a dunk in the open court.
The NBA shared Towns' dunk:
ESPN Radio's Ryen Russillo praised Minnesota's comeback effort after it faced the daunting deficit:
The two teams exchanged spurts in a back-and-forth opening stretch of the fourth quarter. Minnesota took an 85-81 lead with a Towns three-pointer, but Chicago answered with a 6-0 run to seize the lead again after Butler knifed through the defense and scored at the rim.
The two defenses controlled the majority of the quarter, and the game was tied at 87 with less than four minutes remaining. Chicago had just 12 points to Minnesota's nine in the fourth to that point, and the Bulls were sagging off Rubio's perimeter shot to help elsewhere.
Minnesota found a way to score by getting to the free-throw line twice and built a 91-87 lead, but Butler answered with two straight baskets to tie the game.
That's when Wiggins hit a clutch jumper and Chicago fell asleep on defense, which allowed LaVine to leak out for a fast-break dunk and four-point lead with less than a minute remaining. Mark Strotman of CSN Chicago reacted to the spurt from LaVine:
Minnesota then stopped shots from Butler and Wade, although the latter thought he was fouled on a drive and was promptly ejected after arguing with the officials. Analyst Doug Gottlieb pointed to Wade's lackluster showing down the stretch:
The Timberwolves finished the comeback on the free-throw line and earned the win.
What's Next?
The Bulls' next two games come against the Milwaukee Bucks. The 11-12 Bucks have lost three straight games, and Chicago has an opportunity to create additional separation from the fellow Eastern Conference playoff contender in the early portion of the season.
The Timberwolves have home games against the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns. While this is shaping up to be something of a lost season for young Minnesota, it will attempt to build some momentum at home after Tuesday's win.
Postgame Reaction
Wade commented on the loss, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "Of course when you lose against a team that you shouldn't lose to, it feels worse. We play very well against good teams and very subpar against teams that aren't as good recordwise. We have to fix it."
Butler discussed the game, per Johnson: "We got away from doing what it said to do on that (grease)board before the game—getting back, rebounding. They capitalized."
Thibodeau reflected on his time in Chicago after beating his old team, per the Associated Press (h/t Waco Tribune-Herald): "There were far more great times than there were real problem times. In the end, it didn't end great, but most of the time things were good. I'm proud of what our team did. I loved being here, and that's how I look at it."
LaVine talked about the strong performance, per the AP: "I feel like we're good enough to have those results. We've been in every game. We were winning or really close throughout almost every game that we've played, so it shows that record could be flipped. There are a lot of games we should have won."
If the Timberwolves play like they did down the stretch Tuesday, the results will follow.
