Timberwolves storm back, stun Bulls in Thibodeau's return

[December 14, 2016]  By Brian Hedger, The Sports Xchange

Timberwolves storm back, stun Bulls in Thibodeau's return

CHICAGO -- The Minnesota Timberwolves were on the mat when coach Tom Thibodeau called his second timeout of the game in the first quarter Tuesday night at the United Center.

They trailed by 20 points with 5:10 left in the quarter in Thibodeau's first return to the city where he coached five seasons, but the Timberwolves were far from knocked out in what turned out to be a 99-94 comeback victory to end a four-game losing streak.

"It was a bad first quarter," said forward Andrew Wiggins, who had 23 points and nine rebounds. "But we fixed it."

It didn't happen right away, but the Timberwolves eventually overcame a 21-point deficit in the second quarter to make sure Thibodeau's return was a success.

"That just fueled the fire," Wiggins said. "All of us wanted it more and wanted to do it for Coach."

After surging into the lead in the third, the game stayed close to the end, when Minnesota overcame one last push from Chicago before closing out the win.

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler tied it 91-91 on a fade-away jumper with 1:34 left, but the Timberwolves responded with eight straight points scored by Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and Wiggins to seal it.

Butler hit a 3-point with 8.9 seconds left, but it was too late. The Timberwolves (7-18) ended a four-game losing streak for Thibodeau, who was given a standing ovation from Bulls fans prior to the game.

"Yes, it was a big one, but we needed a win," said Thibodeau, who was fired by the Bulls after the 2014-15 season. "Getting it was great. It's great to come back (to Chicago). It was not just the great games we played here, but the people. It didn't end great, but most of the time it was great here."

Butler led all scorers with 27 points for the Bulls (13-11). LaVine had 24 points and Wiggins finished with 23 for Minnesota, which had five players finish in double-figure scoring.

Gorgui Dieng and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 16 points and Rubio added 11 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who trailed by as much as 51-30 with 6:37 left in the second quarter.

Chicago got double figures from Robin Lopez (14 points), Dwyane Wade (12 points) and Taj Gibson (10 points).

"It's bad losing at home anytime," Wade said. "When you lose at home against a team you shouldn't lose to, it feels worse. We need to find a way to fix it."

After trailing the entire first half, Minnesota pulled even for the first time since the opening tip when LaVine dunked off a turnover to tie it 61-61 with 7:41 left in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves then took their first lead on LaVine's 3-pointer to put Minnesota up 64-63 with 6:34 left. It led 78-75 starting the fourth.

The Bulls were scorching hot to start the game and built that 26-6 lead by hitting 11 of their first 13 shots, including 2-of-2 from the 3-point line -- both by Jerian Grant.

Chicago led 38-22 starting the second, staying comfortably ahead until the final 4:14 of the quarter. That's when Minnesota heated up and the Bulls went cold, resulting in a 16-1 run for the Timberwolves to close out the first half.

Dieng scored seven of his 13 first-half points in the run, including a 3-pointer with 10.7 seconds left to cut the Bulls' lead to 56-52 at halftime.

"I was so encouraged after that first quarter, the way we came out of the gate and scored 38 points," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We got out in transition, got stops and then we just quit playing. It is beyond me to have a team down like that and you let them back in. You've got to have that killer mentality, and step on them when they are down."

NOTES: Bulls PG Rajon Rondo didn't play because of an ankle injury sustained Monday in practice. "Rajon was having one of his best practices of the year (Monday)," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He was all over the place. It was a freak play right at the end of practice. He just landed on it wrong and tweaked it." The Bulls hope Rondo can return Thursday or Friday in one their back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Bucks. ... Reserve G Michael Carter-Williams missed his 21st game because of a left knee bone bruise and left wrist sprain. Hoiberg is hopeful Carter-Williams can return soon. He's scheduled to see a doctor Friday. ... Timberwolves reserve forward Nemanja Bjelica (right ankle) returned to the lineup after missing two games. ... Chicago didn't welcome Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau back with a scoreboard video tribune. Thibodeau coached the Bulls for five seasons.

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