The Minnesota Timberwolves came into Tuesday’s matchup with the Chicago Bulls feeling good about themselves. Sunday's convincing win over the Houston Rockets clinched Chris Finch the head-coaching gig for the 2024 NBA All-Star game, providing Minnesota plenty of momentum to begin a tough road trip Tuesday night in the Windy City.
The Wolves rode that wave early on Tuesday night, flourishing throughout the first half, but their late-game demons reappeared. After Minnesota failed to close out the game in overtime, the Chicago Bulls pulled off an impressive 129-123 overtime win behind some epic Coby White heroics.
Let’s break down the first game of the Timberwolves’ five-game road trip.
Minnesota dominates first half
The Timberwolves came out on a mission Tuesday night. Minnesota jumped all over their competition with a strong 33-point first quarter, led by 13 points from Anthony Edwards. The Wolves' defense held the Bulls in check early, surrendering just 22 points. After the first quarter, the Timberwolves were showing exactly why they entered the action tied atop the Western Conference standings.
The second quarter was more of the same as the Wolves stepped on the gas, doubling their 11-point first quarter lead into a convincing 22-point lead at halftime. Chicago was reeling, having scored just 47 points in the first 24 minutes. With Minnesota’s epic start and superior talent, it appeared the game was as good as over.
Bulls come all the way back on Wolves
The Bulls were able to climb out of that massive halftime hole despite some incredible shot-making from Edwards in the third quarter, capitalizing on some pivotal Timberwolves turnovers. Chicago was able to get out and run off Minnesota's mistakes, opening up some easy transition buckets in the second half.
Coby White took over for the Bulls down the stretch. Nailing deep three after deep three, he was unconscious right at the time Chicago needed him most.
The Bulls were able to cut into Minnesota's 23-point lead slowly but surely. In the fourth quarter, Chicago finally took the lead with 2:28 to go on White's and-1 layup off a beautiful drive. With the Wolves down two points with 1:26 to play, Kyle Anderson was called for a technical foul while on the bench.
However, as the game tightened, Minnesota answered. Both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up big. Towns answered a few White triples with deep makes of his own. Gobert provided the inside offensive presence by hitting the glass and drawing numerous fouls in the final minutes. A KAT triple tied the game up at 115-115 with 49 seconds remaining.
Timberwolves come up short in overtime
After some clutch stops, the two teams were headed to overtime. While the Timberwolves offense collapsed again, so did their point-of-attack defense, far too often leaving Gobert to defend the ball handler and his own man at the rim in the final five minutes. A pair of late Andre Drummond buckets gave Chicago a five-point lead with 1:22 left in overtime.
Minnesota’s failure to close out a big second-half lead unfortunately continues an ugly trend we’ve seen this season. Despite a wildly successful regular season by most any objective measure, late-game meltdowns continue to rear their ugly head. In these disastrous losses, Minnesota’s offense slows down from a team-oriented approach into a series of self-serving isolation possessions. If the Timberwolves don’t figure it out soon, these crunch-time blunders could drastically impact their playoff positioning by season’s end.
Timberwolves notes
Anthony Edwards — 38 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 12-of-26 FGs
The Timberwolves All-Star guard stole the show in the first 24 minutes of game time. Chicago had no answer for Ant-Man early as he poured in 23 first-half points. Edwards continued his hot scoring into the third quarter ,racking up another seven points to raise his total to 30 entering the final frame. But he went quiet in the fourth quarter, scoring just two points in the final 12 minutes of regulation after a dazzling start.
Karl-Anthony Towns — 33 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 11-22 FG shooting
KAT showcased his all-around offensive prowess on Tuesday night. As the going got tough, Towns was clearly the most reliable offensive option down the stretch for the Timberwolves. The All-Star big man drilled numerous clutch threes down the stretch, keeping Minnesota alive despite receiving little help offensively.
Bulls player notes
Coby White — 33 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 11-21 FG shooting, 7-12 3PT
White recorded just three first-half points. The Most Improved Player candidate failed to impact the game early as Chicago got down big, shooting just 1-of-7 heading into intermission. However, the second half for Chicago was all Coby White, who seemingly couldn’t miss coming out of the halftime locker room. White poured in 21 fourth-quarter points, his deep shot-making quickly closing the gap for the Bulls and helping put the Wolves away.
DeMar DeRozan — 33 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-19 FG shooting
The veteran guard displayed the maturity in his game all night long Tuesday. DeRozan drilled multiple clutch free throws for Chicago in the final minutes of regulation and in overtime. His mid-range played as good as ever. Spin jumpers, up-and-unders and and strong drives gave the Bulls a consistent offensive attack from the opening tip.
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