Johnson, Bulls finish off Timberwolves
Playing their only set of back-to-back games in preseason, the Bulls started fast and rookie James Johnson finished strong to earn a 99-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Wednesday.
The Bulls raced to a 32-16 lead at the end of the first quarter by shooting 65 percent from the field and hitting 4 of 5 shots from 3-point range.
Neither John Salmons nor Luol Deng shot very well in Tuesday's win over Milwaukee, but both delivered in Minnesota. Salmons scored 16 points and Deng had 14 in limited minutes, while both players shot 50 percent from the field. Deng left the game earlier than expected with an injured finger, but should be fine.
Center Joakim Noah had another good performance, with 14 points and 7 rebounds in 24 minutes, along with a couple of dunks in traffic.
"It's always a good feeling to win, but we know it doesn't really mean that much because it's preseason," Noah told reporters after the game. "It's all about improvement. It's our first back-to-back and having two wins in a row and having the right mind-set, it's important."
The Bulls improved to 4-1 in preseason. They have three games remaining, all at the United Center, beginning with a Minnesota rematch on Friday.
The Bulls' rookies and reserves pulled this one out after Minnesota came from 11 down at the end of three quarters to take the lead several times down the stretch.
Chris Richard, a 6-9 free agent from Florida, had his best game of preseason, leading the Bulls with both 17 points and 13 rebounds. Rookie power forward Taj Gibson cooled off a bit, fouling out with 6 points and 6 boards.
For the second straight night, top draft pick Johnson did little for three quarters, then came alive down the stretch. At one point in the third quarter, the 6-9 forward from Wake Forest shot air balls from 3-point range on consecutive trips down the floor.
The Timberwolves' last lead was 91-90 with 3:47 left before Johnson's personal 6-0 run turned things around. First, he ran down the baseline and jumped to the other side of the basket to tip in a Jannero Pargo miss.
After Derrick Byars swatted a Kevin Love shot in the lane, Johnson added 2 free throws. On the next trip, Johnson drove past Love for a lay in that made it 96-91 with 1:38 remaining.
Johnson scored all 9 of his points and collected 6 of his 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Once again, the Bulls had just 10 players available for this game. Derrick Rose (sore right ankle) and Tyrus Thomas (bruised hip) sat for the fourth straight game, while Brad Miller missed his second contest with the flu. Thomas is expected back at practice Thursday, while the Bulls are hoping Rose can play next week.
One disappointing aspect for the Bulls is Pargo's inability to find his shooting touch. After making just 3-of-13 shots on Wednesday, Pargo is at 33 percent (16 for 48) in preseason.
Rookie Jonny Flynn and guard Ramon Sessions led Minnesota with 13 points each.