Timberwolves 95, Bulls 86: Kevin Love poured in 31 points as visiting Minnesota snapped a string of seven straight losses to Chicago.
Love went 14-for-14 from the foul line and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have won four of five. Ronny Turiaf scored 14 points and fellow reserve Chase Budinger added 12.
Carlos Boozer tallied 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who lost for just the fourth time in 14 games this month. D.J. Augustin added 19 points and Jimmy Butler scored 16 as all five Chicago starters scored in double figures but the bench contributed just 11 points.
Chicago kept it close all night but could never make a run. The closest the Bulls got in the second half was five points, including at 84-79 on Augustin's 3-pointer with 1:29 left, but Love scored inside and Rubio's outlet pass set up Corey Brewer for a transition dunk to squelch the rally.
The Timberwolves dominated inside early and were up by 11 in the first quarter before settling for a 23-20 advantage after one quarter. Love made back-to-back layups off feeds from J.J. Barea to open the second quarter and Chase Budinger nailed a 3-pointer to push the margin to 30-20 before Minnesota took a 54-46 lead into the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Both teams' were missing their starting centers, as Chicago's Joakim Noah was sent home before the game because of illness and Minnesota's Nikola Pekovic played just six minutes before exiting with a sore right Achilles. … The Timberwolves finished their road trip with a 3-1 mark, the first time they've won three games on the same trip since a 4-0 swing in December 2005. … Turiaf had 11 points in the first half, securing his first double-digit scoring output since Jan. 17, 2013.
Minnesota | Chicago | |
Kevin Love 31 | Scoring | Carlos Boozer 20 |
Jose Juan Barea 7 | Assists | D.J. Augustin 6 |
Kevin Love 8 | Rebounds | Carlos Boozer 14 |
Kevin Love 14 | Free Throws Made | Jimmy Butler 4 |
Corey Brewer 3 | Steals | Carlos Boozer 3 |
Ronny Turiaf 3 | Blocks | Taj Gibson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Minnesota | 95 | 46.6 | 5-17 | 22-26 | 20 | 40 | 8 | 8 | 14 |
Chicago | 86 | 37.6 | 8-24 | 14-16 | 20 | 42 | 4 | 9 | 15 |