Naz Reid scored a season-high 33 points and Anthony Edwards added 23 to lift the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves to a 136-101 victory against the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Minnesota outscored Chicago 81-51 after halftime and had six players in double figures to stop a two-game losing streak. The Bulls lost their second straight on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
Julius Randle notched a double-double with 17 points and 14 assists for the Timberwolves, while Donte DiVincenzo and Bones Hyland chipped in 12 points each. Jaylen Clark added 11 points.
Sparked by Reid’s 6-for-10 showing, the Timberwolves went 15-for-37 from beyond the arc and led by as many as 41 points.
Injuries plagued the Bulls both ahead of tipoff and during the game.
Chicago coach Billy Donovan announced before the game that center Zach Collins would be out with right toe soreness for at least the next week.
Leading scorer Coby White, who entered the night averaging 20.5 points, re-injured his right calf in the first quarter and didn’t return. Josh Giddey, the team’s second-leading scorer, followed White to the locker room early in the third, limping off after hurting his left hamstring.
Nikola Vucevic paced Chicago with 23 points. Matas Buzelis followed with 13, while Jalen Smith (12), Tre Jones (11), Giddey (11), and Ayo Dosunmu (10) all reached double-digit scoring.
Chicago committed 17 turnovers and finished minus-4 on the glass. Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Kevin Huerter, Dosunmu and Smith had six boards apiece for the Bulls.
Minnesota slumped to 35% shooting in the first quarter as Edwards and Randle, its top two scorers, combined only for an Edwards free throw.
The duo began clicking in the second quarter, scoring a combined 18 points.
Giddey scored four points in a 36-second span midway through the quarter to extend the Bulls’ lead to 43-34. The Timberwolves responded by scoring 21 of the next 28 points headed into the break.
Minnesota took a 55-50 lead into the locker room while flexing its muscle inside. The Timberwolves’ final two field goals of the half were a Gobert dunk and Randle driving layup.
Minnesota extended its series winning streak to three games, with each victory coming by at least 16 points.
–Field Level Media
