Wiggins Leads Wolves' Late Game Surge To Top Bulls 112-105
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Wiggins scored six of his 21 points in the final 90 seconds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves surge past the Chicago Bulls in a 112-105 victory on Saturday night.
Trailing by five with 2:30 to play, the Wolves closed the game with a 12-0 surge to win it. Wiggins scored the final six of the run, including a pullup jumper with 20 seconds to go that gave them a five-point lead. Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 17 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng added a career-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Wolves, who have won two in a row.
Pau Gasol had 25 points and eight rebounds and Derrick Rose had 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for the Bulls in their first game without All-Star guard Jimmy Butler, how strained his left knee on Friday night against Denver.
There is no timetable for Butler's return, but the team was encouraged when an MRI showed no structural damage to his knee.
In addition to the relatively good news the Bulls got on butler, they also saw Mike Dunleavy make his season debut after missing the first 49 games while recovering from back surgery. Dunleavy played 14 minutes and scored five points and his return is crucial for a banged-up team that is also missing Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah.
Gasol missed the game against the Nuggets on Friday night and was questionable for the game with a sore left hand. But he played with a big black wrap to protect it. But he showed no ill effects, making eight of 16 shots to keep the Bulls in the game early.
The Timberwolves aren't exactly healthy themselves. Kevin Garnett (leg), Kevin Martin (wrist) and Nikola Pekovic (foot) all were out for them, but Dieng has blossomed since moving into the starting lineup for Garnett six games ago. He came into the night averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds on 64 percent shooting in those games, and he made 10 of 13 shots on Saturday night.
The game was tight the whole way and included 10 lead changes in the fourth quarter before Bobby Portis's layup gave Chicago a 105-100 lead with under three minutes to play.
The Wolves found another gear after that, with Wiggins hitting a jumper, scoring over Gasol in the paint and capping it with a tough pull-up jumper late in the shot clock. The reserved Wiggins let out a howl after the shot, and the Wolves closed out their first season sweep of the Bulls since 2008-09.
E'Twaun Moore had 17 points and seven assists while starting for Butler.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Coach Fred Hoiberg spent seven years in Minnesota as a player and executive for the Timberwolves and still has a lake home in the area. About 600 fans made the trip up from Ames, Iowa to cheer on the former Iowa State player and coach and his wife, Carol, had a suite with many friends and family from the area.
Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. ... The Wolves out-rebounding Chicago 45-31 to offset a 3-point shooting deficit. They were 1 for 12 from deep while the Bulls were 8 for 20.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit Charlotte on Monday.
Timberwolves: Host New Orleans on Monday.
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