Bulls can't keep pace with Towns' monster game, lose in Minnesota
Now that Jimmy Butler is gone, the Bulls understood completely who the man in Minnesota is now.
Center Karl Anthony Towns was dominant Saturday at the Target Center. The Bulls were competitive for a while, but faded badly in the fourth quarter and lost to the Timberwolves 111-96.
Towns finished with 35 points, 22 rebounds and 6 assists. He got to the foul line, hit a 3-pointer and had Bulls rookie Wendell Carter Jr. shaking his head in frustration a few times.
"There's no doubt about it, we got tired," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters after the game. "We go through lulls at times with certain lineups and got off to a horrendous start in that 4th quarter."
The Bulls did OK when they could keep it to a two-man game. Former Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (28 points) and Jabari Parker (27) both had it going. But the Bulls' short bench was a problem.
Justin Holiday scored 27 points in Friday's loss to Miami, but hit just 5 of 18 shots against Minnesota. Robin Lopez and Antonio Blakeney were the only players to score off the bench, combining for a meager 15 points.
Chandler Hutchison missed his third straight game with back spasms, leaving the Bulls short at the forward spot. As good as point guard Ryan Arcidiacono has been, he was no match for Minnesota's Jeff Teague, getting outscored 18-0. Shaq Harrison helped bring the Bulls to life on the defensive end Friday, but his offensive limitations have been a problem.
The Bulls led 50-49 at halftime and trailed 84-79 heading into the fourth. To open the final quarter, Lopez threw a bad pass that led to a dunk from Dario Saric, giving the Timberwolves their biggest lead to that point.
Things only got worse as the Bulls hit just 1 of 9 shots to open the fourth quarter and fell behind 94-81. Hoiberg called a time out, the Bulls returned to the court and Arcidiacono bounced the inbounds pass across the floor and out of bounds for another turnover.
Derrick Rose finished with 22 points, continuing his comeback season. He hit 9 of 13 shots from the field, with a couple of 3-pointers and 4 assists. This was Rose's third-straight 20-point game and his seventh this month.
Minnesota didn't have much depth to their scoring, either, as Andrew Wiggins and Robert Covington shot a combined 1-for-30 from the field. That may seem hard to believe, but Covington was 1-for-18 from the field and Wiggins 0-for-12.
The Timberwolves improved to 5-2 since trading Butler to Philadelphia for Covington and Saric, and are now 9-11 overall. The Bulls dropped to 5-15.
Hoiberg said Lauri Markkanen played 2-on-2 against some coaches on Saturday, doing some limited contact. It's been just over eight weeks since the second-year forward suffered a sprained right elbow early in training camp.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls