Preview: Bulls At Timberwolves

[April 09, 2014]  The Chicago Bulls seek a season-high sixth straight win when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The current surge has placed the Bulls two games up on Brooklyn in the race for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and tied with third-place Toronto with five games to play. Chicago should be rather fresh, too, as it has not played since a 96-78 win at Washington on Saturday.

Minnesota is coming off a 110-91 rout of San Antonio on Tuesday, its sixth win in the last eight home games. Ricky Rubio continued his offensive surge with 23 points as the Timberwolves moved back above .500 as they bid for their first winning season since 2004-05. The Bulls have won four straight in Minnesota and three in a row on the road overall.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago (Chicago), FSN North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE BULLS (45-32): Chicago has put forth some vintage defensive efforts of late, holding 12 of its last 13 opponents under 100 points and giving up an average of 88.4 during the five-game run. D.J. Augustin scored 25 points and Joakim Noah added 21 and 12 rebounds in the 18-point win over the Wizards. Noah was out with an illness and starting guard Kirk Hinrich sidelined with a hamstring injury when Minnesota recorded a 95-86 win at Chicago on Jan. 27.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (39-38): Minnesota's last two wins have come against the top teams in each conference — Miami and San Antonio — and they have come in very different ways. The Timberwolves first outlasted the Heat in a wild double-overtime affair on the road before returning home to dominate a Spurs team that would need to completely collapse to lose home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Kevin Love returned from a one-game absence with back spasms to score 19 points and grab 12 rebounds in 33 minutes against San Antonio.

BUZZER-BEATERS

1. Minnesota is 11-3 at home against Eastern Conference teams.
   

2. Bulls F Mike Dunleavy has made 43-of-44 free throws over his last 22 games.
   

3. Love had 31 points in the win at Chicago in January.
   

PREDICTION: Bulls 101, Timberwolves 98

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