Short-handed Bulls stun Timberwolves 117-106 in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — The Chicago Bulls arrived in Minneapolis on the morning of the game, short-handed and written off after a travel nightmare. They left with the most encouraging win of their young season. Norman Powell scored 23 points, Matas Buzelis added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-106 on Saturday night in NBA action at Target Center, ending Minnesota's five-game winning streak and recording back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

The Bulls had started the season 1-9, and Friday night brought an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks in Chicago. Their trip to Minneapolis was then delayed by the nationwide ground stop that disrupted flights across the country, and the team did not arrive until the day of the game. None of it showed on the court. Chicago jumped out to a 29-17 lead after the first quarter, led 58-45 at half-time and never looked seriously threatened, improving to 3-9 while Minnesota slipped to a defeat that ended its best run of the season.

Powell was efficient all evening, shooting 10-for-19 from the field and adding five rebounds and three assists, and he delivered when Minnesota threatened late. Buzelis carried the scoring early in the absence of injured team-mates, with 14 of his 18 points coming before half-time, and he finished one rebound short of a double-double. Buddy Hield and Tre Jones each scored 16 points off the bench, and Josh Giddey contributed eight points, eight rebounds and five assists in a performance that filled the gaps all over the floor.

Chicago did it with a depleted roster. Rookie Caleb Wilson is out for an extended period with a fractured hand, Jalen Smith missed the game with a hand injury and centre Nic Claxton was sidelined with a hamstring injury. The Bulls still found scoring at the rim, with 54 points in the paint, including 30 of their 58 first-half points, and they shot 48.9 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range, making 14 of 30 attempts from deep.

Minnesota, by contrast, could not buy a shot from distance. The Timberwolves missed their first 13 three-point attempts and finished 9-for-38 from beyond the arc, shooting 41.8 percent overall. The drought included ten straight misses from deep in the first quarter. They managed only 17 points in the opening period, their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, and they failed to reach 110 points for the first time this season. Ayo Dosunmu led Minnesota with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting against his former team, including 14 in the third quarter, while LaMelo Ball added 19 points despite making only 7 of 25 shots and Jaden McDaniels finished with 18.

Minnesota did threaten a comeback. Dosunmu's running lay-up pulled the Timberwolves within 69-66 with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter, but Chicago answered with an 11-3 surge to lead 80-69 with 2:56 left in the period, finished by a Hield three-pointer off a Buzelis pass. Powell had helped Chicago close the first half on a 12-7 run, making two lay-ups in the final three minutes while Hield and Patrick Williams each knocked down a three-pointer. The Bulls entered the fourth quarter ahead 88-80, and when Ball's lay-up cut the deficit to 94-88 with 9:52 remaining, that was as close as Minnesota would get. Chicago responded with a 15-6 run to lead 109-94 with 5:24 to play, started by a Powell lay-up and three-pointer and finished with three-pointers from Giddey and Hield.

Ball was blunt about Minnesota's approach afterwards, saying the Timberwolves "just didn't respect" the Bulls. The box score backed him up: Chicago won the hustle categories that usually decide games like this, scoring at will inside and defending the arc with discipline. For a Bulls team that began the season with nine defeats in ten games, the win was more than a statistical correction. It was the first time this group has looked like a team that can win ugly, on the road, on no sleep, and with key players missing.

Minnesota also lost Jaylen Clark early in the game to right hamstring soreness; he finished with one steal in three minutes off the bench. The Timberwolves will look to regroup when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, while the Bulls take their new-found momentum to face the Cleveland Cavaliers the same night. Two wins in two nights, after a 1-9 start, will not rescue a season on their own. But for the first time this season, the Bulls have something that was missing in October: proof that they can win.