Hinrich stays red hot as Bulls beat Wolves 96-85

Is there such a thing as a quality win over a team with the NBA's worst record? Considering the circumstances, this one might actually count.

The Bulls were without leading scorers Ben Gordon and Luol Deng for the fourth straight contest, while Joe Smith didn't even attend the game because of an illness.

Throw in point guard Chris Duhon, out with a bruised left knee, and the Bulls were missing 53 points per game -- more than half their offensive output.

The Minnesota Timberwolves do, in fact, possess the league's worst record at 8-36. But they arrived in town having won three of their previous four games and the lone loss was a 1-point heartbreaker at Boston.

So this game was far from a sure thing for the home team, but the Bulls managed to record a relatively easy 96-85 win at the United Center after leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Bulls (18-26) and Timberwolves will hold a rematch in Minneapolis tonight.

Among the questions to ponder after this performance was whether the Bulls have been using guard Kirk Hinrich correctly. He recovered from missing 9 of 10 shots in the first half to finish with a game-high 27 points.

In the four games without Gordon and Deng, Hinrich has averaged 27.5 points, 6.8 assists and shot an even 50 percent from the field. Otherwise, Hinrich has averaged 11.3 points this season.

"I don't think it's a matter of using him any differently," coach Jim Boylan said. "I think it's a matter of Kirk approaching the game in a different way.

"We've had a conversation about that, about not changing that when Ben and Lu come back. He's got to continue to play with that same kind of thrust on the offensive end when other scorers are out there on the floor. If he does that, I think that will make our team very, very difficult to guard."

Another highlight was the rediscovery of the ultimate forgotten man, Viktor Khryapa. The 6-foot-9 forward appeared in just five games this season and never once took the court in the first half.

Against the Timberwolves, Khryapa actually checked in before halftime and ended up scoring 11 points in 15 minutes, while hitting 5 of 6 shots from the field.

"He stays prepared. He works hard in practice every day," Boylan said. "Whether I played him early, played him late, I'm glad I played him tonight."

Ben Wallace seemed to step up to the challenge of guarding Minnesota center Al Jefferson, who had games of 40 and 39 points in the past week.

The fact that a quiet night for Jefferson was 20 points and 12 rebounds speaks well for the 23-year-old's offensive talents.

"I take every night as a challenge," Wallace said. "Some nights just go better than others. We just tried to limit his touches a little bit. He still had 20 and 12, so I wouldn't say I shut him down."

Joakim Noah got the first start of his pro career in place of Smith and came through with 10 points and 13 rebounds.