White leads comeback as Bulls stun Timberwolves in OT |
CHICAGO - When we look back on the Chicago Bulls (24-27) season and what they accomplished, there are some games you can point to as season-changing wins. Even with the trade deadline looming on Thursday and the potential for this team to look drastically different, the Bulls continue to go out there and play with heart as they are still holding on to a Play-In berth.
In what will go down as the win of the season thus far, the Bulls welcomed the Minnesota Timberwolves (35-16) to the United Center on Tuesday, and the sold-out arena was treated to an amazing game. Minnesota has been the talk of the league this season as they entered the game sitting at No. 2 in the Western Conference and sporting the top defense. That didn't seem to bother the Bulls as Coby White spearheaded one of the best comebacks we have seen in a long time to force Overtime before the Bulls put things away for good 129-123. You would've never guessed that based on how things started as Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves got rolling early. Edwards led all scorers with 38 points, 23 of which came in the first half, as he continues to be one of the best players in the league. He also added 12 rebounds to his name, but the Bulls took him out of his game in the second half. You pair that with the game Karl Anthony-Towns had with 33 points and seven triples; it shouldn't be a surprise that the Bulls found themselves down by 23 points at one point and were searching for answers. Then came the second half, where White took it upon himself to take the game over, scoring 30 of his team-high 33 points in the second half. He also connected on seven triples and nearly outscored the entire Timberwolves roster by himself in the fourth. With Zach Lavine out for the season, White will be considered this team's leader offensively and as a player. The same can be said about Demar DeRozan, although his future with this team may be decided in the coming days. Like White, DeRozan came to life in the second half to finish with 33 points, although half of his points came from the free throw line. DeRozan also had a shot to win things at the buzzer, but he could not know down his shot, which sent the game to Overtime. One of the biggest reasons the Bulls managed to stay in this game was the insertion of Andre Drummond into the starting lineup to play alongside Nikola Vucevic for the first time this season. Going against a team that has Towns and Rudy Gobert in their starting five, the best way to beat size is to match size with size, and the Bulls' bigs had a phenomenal showing. Not only did Vucevic knock down 18 second-half points and 24 in the game, but the play of Drummond stood out as he added 16 points and 16 boards in a season-high 35 minutes. That is 40 combined points and more than 20 boards for those two, as Billy Donovan needs to find a way to give Drummond more minutes should he be on this team after the deadline. Apart from those four, no one else scored in double figures, with Torrey Craig grabbing seven points off the bench before leaving the game late in Overtime with a lower leg injury. That would be a crucial loss for the Bulls, as Craig just returned from a foot injury. As mentioned, Towns and Edwards were the duo that made the Timberwolves go, and for the most part, they had their way with the Bulls in the first half. Credit Donovan for making those adjustments in the second half as they took Minnesota entirely out of their offensive rhythm, putting more pressure on what has been a great defense all season. Minnesota did see three other players land in double figures, but unlike the Bulls, those guys only provided a minimal impact at best. Gobert continued to play well with 16 boards, but he only had 12 points offensively in what was a relatively quiet night for him. You also saw Jaden McDaniels pick up 13 points while Naz Reid added 10 off the bench to lead Minnesota. With the win, the Bulls have, at the very least, given this front office a lot to think about the next 48 hours as they are in a tough spot as an organization. Do you completely gut this roster and start over from scratch, or do you roll with what you have just a bit longer in hopes of figuring things out next off-season? Those questions will be addressed soon as the Bulls get set for what will be a very challenging road trip.
