Rose gets it done again in Bulls' win
While the Bulls tackle the challenge of three games in three nights, this is almost like the Derrick Rose up-and-comers challenge.
On Monday, he dominated a matchup with Detroit rookie Brandon Knight. On Wednesday, he will line up against last year's No. 1 draft pick, Washington's John Wall.
On Tuesday at Minnesota, it was all about Rose vs. Ricky Rubio. The Spanish rookie was impressive, leading the Timberwolves all the way back from a 24-point deficit.
But when Rose is on, there are no answers. The MVP posted 31 points and 11 assists to lead the Bulls past pesky Minnesota 111-100 at the Target Center.
“Rubio played a heck of a game,” Rose said. “At the end we just found a way to win.”
Rubio, who was drafted two years ago, finished with 13 points and 12 assists.
“He's great,” Rubio said of Rose. “It's hard to defense him. Maybe he's one of the best, if not the best, player I've ever played against. He's the fastest guy I ever played.”
There was an injury scare late in the first quarter. Rose lunged for a loose ball after getting it knocked from his grasp, and Minnesota power forward Anthony Tolliver landed on top of Rose's leg and ankle.
Rose went to the locker room but returned to the floor at his normal time, midway through the second quarter. After the game, Rose said he aggravated a turf-toe injury.
Another key to victory was that the Bulls (9-2) were locked in from long range, hitting 11 of 20 attempts from 3-point range. Rose led the way at 4-for-8, while Kyle Korver hit all 3 of his 3-point shots and scored 13 points.
Ronnie Brewer had another good shooting night and finished with 17 points. Luol Deng finished with 21. Deng and Joakim Noah grabbed 11 rebounds each. Luke Ridnour led Minnesota with 22 points.
There was no difference in the Bulls' injury situation. Richard Hamilton (groin) sat out for the sixth time in seven games, while C.J. Watson (elbow sprain) missed his sixth contest.
The Timberwolves (3-7) played their third game in three nights and for a while it looked as though the game would be a runaway.
Leading 13-11 in the first quarter, the Bulls went on a 16-0 run, capped by a Rose 3-pointer that boosted the advantage to 18 points.
Eventually, the lead reached 24 points at 51-27 with 5:20 left. But the Bulls had a bad experience with a team playing on a third straight night last weekend in Atlanta and this was nearly a repeat performance.
Minnesota finished the first half on a 15-0 run to close the gap to 53-47 at halftime. Rubio had 6 assists during the surge and power forward Kevin Love knocked down 3 baskets from 3-point range.
“The way it started off we thought it was going to be a good game,” Rose said. “It took another turn where we weren't playing defense, they were knocking down their shots, executing their plays and we were really getting hurt.”
The Timberwolves opened the second half with Rubio and Luke Ridnour at the guards and the home team eventually tied the score at 70-70 on a Ridnour 3-pointer with 3:46 left in the third.
“They're tough to match up with because there are always two point guards on the floor and their big guys can really shoot,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
“So they've got you spread out pretty good. You've got to concentrate on your body position. You've got to keep the ball in front. You've got to close on the shooters. You've got to challenge their shots.”
The Bulls responded with away with a 9-2 run to take the lead for good. A couple of 3-pointers by Korver helped stretch the lead to 86-76 early in the fourth.
Minnesota got as close as 5 points a few times, but the Bulls never cooled off from 3-point range. Brewer and Rose added long-range bombs in the final two minutes to wrap things up.
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com